NASUWT warns against over-use of computers in PE lessons

09:38 7th April 2009

A teachers' union has voiced its concern that Physical Education (PE) lessons in schools may place too great an emphasis on computers.

The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) responded to an Ofsted report recommending increased use of information communication technology (ICT) in PE lessons.

Ofsted reported that ICT could be incorporated into PE by encouraging pupils to use laptops to analyse their performance in the gym, but the NASUWT has warned that PE lessons could become dominated by computer training, rather than simply using ICT as a learning tool.

A spokesperson for the NASUWT said: "Learning activities should not be technology-led but learning-led. ICT supports learning - it doesn't dictate it."

The spokesperson added that teachers should not be expected to have to install and maintain ICT equipment, as this could threaten the focus of a lesson.

In a new report focused on PE teaching methods, Ofsted found that ten per cent of schools currently use ICT during gym lessons.