200 days of teaching time a year lost due to poor tech

Secondary schools are losing over 1,300 hours (or 200 days’ worth) of teaching time annually because of broken computers and technical failures, according to new research.

The study of 913 secondary teachers by ASUS reveals that teachers are each wasting an average of 37 minutes per week wrestling with slow computers, frozen screens and crashed systems. In a typical secondary school with 58 teachers, this mounts up to more than 1,334 hours of lost instruction time every year.

More than half (55%) say their school computers regularly take over five minutes just to start up. The same proportion report their machines crash or freeze at least once a week, forcing teachers to abandon planned lessons or watch on as students lose interest during lengthy waits.
 
Two-thirds (65%) of teachers think their pupils are being let down by their school's IT provision. Many (33%) report having to 'play it safe' with lesson planning because they cannot trust the technology to work when needed.
 
The problems stem from schools running increasingly outdated equipment. While half of devices are between one and five years old, 41% are aged between six and 10 years. And some schools are persisting with machines over a decade old, with 2% using computers more than 15 years old.

According to the Beyond the Frozen Screen report, ageing technology is creating real problems in the classroom. Over half (53%) of teachers say they cannot run multiple applications simultaneously, while 52% struggle to play videos smoothly. Interactive whiteboard features fail regularly for 41% of teachers, forcing them to scrap planned activities mid-lesson.

The impact goes beyond mere inconvenience. Teachers report that outdated hardware leads to slower lesson pace (57%), reduced student engagement (43%) and restricted teaching methods (33%). And in an age when teenagers expect instant responses from their personal devices, the contrast with sluggish school computers can make educational content seem outdated and irrelevant.

The technology troubles are also affecting staff morale, with 46% of teachers believing their school's IT has a negative impact on staff retention. This adds another layer to the recruitment challenges which schools are already facing.

The cost of maintaining old equipment is becoming increasingly burdensome, with 56% of schools regularly discussing repair bills at senior leadership level. Schools are budgeting an average of £2,491 annually for hardware upgrades and maintenance, but this appears insufficient given the scale of problems reported.
 
Teachers are clear about their priorities if additional funding becomes available. Two-thirds (67%) would choose to upgrade school hardware, while half (50%) want improved IT support for existing technology.

When it comes to new devices, the ASUS research suggests that teachers want practical features rather than flashy innovations. They prioritise good user experience (54%), easy support (52%) and longer battery life (41%) over cutting-edge specifications.
 
Nick Mitchinson, Commercial Marketing Lead at ASUS, commented: “Schools that continue to patch up old systems may find the real cost lies not in their IT budgets, but in the quality of education their teachers are able to deliver."