JogNog.com, a producer of digital learning games, recently surveyed 150 teachers about how they could use digital learning to overcome classroom challenges.  The survey found student motivation to be the greatest challenge for teachers and that they believe video games could be an excellent tool to overcome it.

Of the teachers surveyed, 93% stated that they would assign online games in class if the subject matter matched their curriculum. The problem is that 67% of teachers – both in public schools and supposedly computer-ready private schools – feel that their schools have too few computers or tablets for their students to use digital learning tools effectively.

Other notes from the research:

• Digital learning is in its infancy. 35% of teachers do not use any digital learning tools. Despite the proliferation of products and services, no single tool garnered the interest of more than 25% of the teachers surveyed.
• Motivating students is the number one challenge for more than 50% of teachers, followed closely by dealing with behavioral problems.
• 44% of teachers spend more than two hours each week preparing for standardized tests, with 12% spending more than six hours per week.
• Teachers see broad applicability for digital learning across all subjects, with math as the clear favorite, followed closely by science, history and English.

“Our research shows that teachers need digital learning tools – and students like them as well - but everyone is constrained by the limitations of available technology in their schools,” said Stephen Smith, CEO of JogNog.com. “Despite this current challenge, we believe it will only be a few years before most schools migrate from paper textbooks to tablets and smartphones for interactive, digital learning.”

The full research report can be found here.