United States: increase in the use of electronic games for learning purposes

A recent American study shows that younger teachers use digital educational games more often in their classrooms, but that a lack of training is an obstacle to wider integration.

Conducted with nearly 700 U.S. K-8 teachers^e year, study Level Up Learning: A National Survey on Teaching with Digital Games observes that the use of computer-based learning games is on the rise. It also raises several other aspects, such as the frequency of their use and the main reasons that encourage teachers to use them.

The results of the study, which took place in the fall of 2013, have just been published by the Games and Learning Publishing Council of Joan Ganz Cooney Center, an organization that studies and promotes the use of technology in the education of children.

According to data from the report, nearly 3 in 4 K-8 teachers^e year in the United States use computer games as part of their education. Some use them as supplementary teaching material, while others make more widespread use of them, for example to teach fundamental notions. Younger teachers use games on electronic media more, believe in a higher proportion in their educational potential and see much more positive effects in them than their older colleagues.

The results of the study also highlight the obstacles encountered by many teachers. The difficulty of integrating digital games into the classroom, the lack of official training on the use of these resources and their sometimes arduous linking with the school program are on the list.

Several recommendations are proposed in the report, including the need for training for teachers who use or wish to use electronic games as a teaching aid as well as the urgency of developing an integration model in order to facilitate the use and implementation of learning software.

The summary of the study can be consulted here.