SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 3, 2010 - More than half (53 percent) of the administrators and information technology decision makers in K-12 institutions, community colleges and universities say they are likely to invest in video technology over the next year to make their schools "more effective and efficient," according to a new Clarus Research Group survey commissioned by Cisco.

The survey also found that the most important classroom issue facing schools today is "increasing student performance through a better learning experience." 

School administrators and IT personnel also said "equipping classrooms with advanced technological equipment," and "using new technologies to help students and faculty work better together" were the two most important technology issues faced by their schools.

"These results mirror what we have been hearing from education leaders and customers. They want to invest in new technology, but it must deliver good value and drive cost efficiencies," said Michael Stevenson, vice president, Global Education at Cisco. "The Video-Enabled Teaching and Learning Solution we are launching today will provide educators at all levels with a platform to deliver a collaborative classroom learning experience while improving administrative, operational and energy efficiencies. That is the power of the network."

Additional Key Survey Findings:

• Most respondents (84 percent) believe that technology will play a large role in "improving how students learn."
• A similar number (82 percent) believe that technology will play a large role in "helping prepare students for the workforce of the future."
• After "retaining good students" –which ranked first – respondents feel that the most important administrative and strategic issues facing schools are:
• Communicating better with students' parents
• Providing physical safety on campus
• Providing online network security
• Communicating better with students
• Taking advantage of new technology
• Improving the ability of teachers to use technology, media and computing tools
• Communicating better with faculty and staff

"When technology meets learning, dynamic learning societies are formed, and great things happen to students, communities and societies," Stevenson added. "Integrating video into the classroom environment can play a key role in improving collaboration, security and interactive learning."

About the Survey:

The survey was conducted for Cisco by Clarus Research Group, a polling and research firm based in Washington. The survey was conducted by live telephone interviewers of 600 education administrations and IT professionals between February 9 and March 1, 2010. The sample was distributed among K-12, community college, and four-year college and university audiences and consisted of:

• K-12 education administrators (N=100)
• K-12 information technology decision makers and influencers (N=100)
• Community college administrators (N=100)
• Community college information technology decision makers and influencers (N=100)
• University and four-year college administrators (N=100)
• University and four-year college information technology decision makers and influencers (N=100).