Running head: LACK OF TECHNOLOGY FUNDING

Lack of Technology Funding in Education

Stacie Laufer

EDU 352 Fountations for Educational Technology

Susan Cannon

August 5, 2017
LACK OF FUNDING 2

Lack of Technology Funding in Education

I chose this topic to learn more about funding in technology for schools. Technology is

constantly changing and updating. I believe it is hard for some schools to get adequate funding

for basic technologies. In my own school district, we got voter approval last November for a $4

million technology bond. The technology that was purchased over the summer is already a year

out of date.

I read a couple of different articles. A survey conducted by Agnew Associates, Inc., of

5000 Texas educators found that 25% see a lack of government funding hindered them from

obtaining additional computers and adding more technology courses (School Planning &

Management, 2000). A similar percentage indicate a lack of advanced technology on inadequate

infrastructures. 86% expect funding in technology to increase over the next few years but only

55% indicate it will be a moderate increase (School Planning & Management, 2000). In a

survey taken in 2015, LEGO Education polled LEAP teachers on what they thought about

technology. 90% of those polled believed their school was successful in classroom integration of

technology (Tech & Learning, 2015). In 2013 the US spent more than $4 billion on mobile

devices. Schools are using bond monies to keep up with technology. David Levin, president and

CEP of McGraw-Hill Education, said Some of the challenges schools have is that devices

progress quickly and reach obsolescence before the bond issues mature. (Koba, 2015). The

main points of the articles were teachers wanted more training on technology, keeping up with

the constant change is expensive and in one article, education technology companies are making

millions of dollars and provide value for investors, not necessarily schools.
LACK OF FUNDING 3

Part of the problem is the cost of the technologies. For rural school districts that may not

have a high tax rate or even passed bonds, they are not being provided with monies to update and

add any new technology.

LACK OF FUNDING 4

Reference

Herold, B. 2016. Technology in Education: An Overview. Retrieved

from: http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/index.html (Links to an

external site.)Links to an external site.

Koba, M. (2015, April). Education tech funding soars- but is it working in the

classroom? Fortune. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2015/04/28/education-tech-

funding-soars-but-is-it-working-in-the-classroom/

Schools Attribute Inadequate Technology to Lack of Funding. (2000). School Planning and

Management, (12).

SURVEY: TEACHERS ON TECH. (2015). Tech & Learning, 36(3), 14.