Report: Games and Online Video Gain Traction in Education
Nearly half of all teachers — 48 percent — are using games in their instruction now, according to a new Speak Up research report released by Project Tomorrow. That’s more than double the percentage from five years ago (23 percent).
Things are not all positive for gaming, however. While nearly half of school and district administrators indicated they had instituted some form of game-based learning in their schools, “38 percent of school administrators and 47 percent of district administrators said they have not and they have no plans to do so,” according to the report. Just 27 percent of administrators said they are providing teachers with professional development for game-based learning, while 50 percent of teachers said they are “looking for professional development to better use games within instruction” (up from 26 percent in 2012).
The report, From Print to Pixel: The role of videos, games, animations and simulations within K-12 education, is being released today as part of a Congressional briefing on education technology. It presents findings from a fall 2015 poll of more than 38,000 teachers, 38,000 parents, 2,800 school administrators, 600 district administrators, 2,000 librarians and 415,000 students.
The latest report focuses on digital technologies used in instruction.
“Many more schools are demonstrating greater use of digital content, tools and resources today than six years ago and we believe that the increasing adoption of interactive, visual media in the classroom by teachers is the driver for much of that change,” said Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, in a prepared statement. “The explosion in teacher interest and usage of videos and game-based learning could be a harbinger of a new awakening for digital learning.”
Some of the findings from the report include:
- 68 percent of teachers now use online videos in instruction, up from 47 percent in 2010;
- 25 percent of teachers said they’re actively seeking “curated sets of resources organized by grade level and content area to better support their integration of digital content”;
- 57 percent of teachers said they’re looking for “planning time” to work with their colleagues;
- 54 percent of administrators said motivating teachers “to change their practice to accommodate digital learning” was a top priority for them.
“This increased emphasis on digital learning in school is also shining a brighter light on the need to address the quality of students’ out-of-school connectivity, otherwise know as ‘the homework gap,’” Evans added. “Thirty-five percent of students in this year’s survey said they go to school early or stay late to access the school’s internet, 24 percent go to public libraries and 19 percent said they go to fast food restaurants and cafes for internet access. Nearly 70 percent of teachers told us they are reluctant to assign homework that requires Internet access because they are worried about this ‘gap.’”
The complete report is available on the Speak Up site.