Using Digital Technologies to Support Learning in Physical Education

Abstract

This chapter helps to make informed decisions about how to use digital technologies to support learning in physical education. The pedagogical decision to use digital technologies in physical education should therefore be framed around whether and how digital technologies have the potential to extend or enhance pupil learning. The accessibility and use of digital technologies are therefore disrupting the flow of traditional forms of health knowledge, that is from teacher to pupil. Digital technologies are spaces where commercial, government, community and individual contexts overlap and where reductionist, normative and neo-liberal constructs of health tend to be promoted. Digital technologies can be integrated within physical education lessons to support, develop and extend learning in physical, cognitive, social and affective domains. Cognitive learning outcomes are often reported alongside physical outcomes, where the development in knowledge and understanding is reported to improve physical performance. Social learning outcomes are often broadly conceptualised in relation to communication, teamwork and leadership skills.