Digital tools reshape how students learn physical education movements

<p><strong>Background</strong>: Student learning is not just a natural development; rather, it is an activation grounded in the student's actions and volition. This view resonates particularly well with understandings of learning as embodied and practical. Meanwhile, learning can take different routes and is notoriously difficult to capture from a research perspective. In this paper, a pragmatist, action-oriented perspective on student learning is used.</p><p><strong>Purpose and research questions</strong>: This study aims to explore students' learning of movements when they practise and use DigiTech. The paper focuses on meaning-making in transactions to understand student learning (Dewey 1963). The following research questions guide the investigation: (1) How do students create meaning when they are practising and using DigiTech? (2) What are the consequences for student learning based on the meaning-making transactions when students are practising and using DigiTech?</p><p><strong>Methods</strong>: The context is Swedish secondary PE, where four teachers enacted the practising model in five classes over 10-17 lessons. A total of 101 students participated, with 69 lessons recorded on video used as data, along with 125 student self-recorded videos. John Dewey's concepts of transaction and meaning-making were used as a theoretical framework. An Iterative-thematic Inquiry was used for data analysis.</p><p><strong>Findings</strong>: The findings are structured around three contradictory consequences for student learning: (1) Productive distraction, (2) Inspiration (dis)engagement, and (3) Visual high-definition blind spots. Productive distraction involves some students using DigiTech productively while practising. An example is using video recordings as a guide for planning, but there are simultaneously examples of DigiTech distracting from practising. Inspiration (dis)engagement involves YouTube clips that motivate students to practise in inspiring ways, but when some students realise the distance left to their goal, they become disengaged. Visual high-definition blind spots include students not being able to discern parts of their movement, even though they use slow-motion recordings of their own efforts in practising.ConclusionsThe findings advocate a cautious approach to DigiTech use and to avoid viewing DigiTech as a shortcut to student learning. The consequences for student learning when practising and DigiTech are included are complex and not all good or all bad. This ambiguity warrants further exploration to provide more tailored recommendations.</p>