From survival to strategic use: Technology, AI, and collaboration five years after emergency remote teaching

This research is a follow-up to a study conducted in 2022, where the researchers examined the experiences of a purposive sample of 25 elementary teachers who had never taught online and were forced into emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the 2020 pandemic. Findings from the original study conducted in 2022 indicated that teacher collaboration and technology use and knowledge increased during their time in ERT. Three years after the initial study, 19 of the original 25 teachers participated in a follow-up email survey of nine open-ended questions asking them to describe their technology practices, collaborative structures, AI integration, and support needs three years into post-pandemic teaching. Data were analyzed using open and axial coding and thematic analysis. Teachers indicated that technology use and skills have improved, and collaboration with peers has increased since ERT. Teachers also indicated that technology tools including AI improve their efficiency and ability to support students. They also indicated that they have become more selective about the tools they use, set boundaries, and use educational technology as a companion to instruction instead of a primary teaching method. Based on the findings, school leaders should provide scaffolded technology use training for teachers, time to learn and experiment with technology, and support both face-to-face and virtual opportunities for teachers to collaborate.