Use of Digital Applications in Physical Education: Current Practices and Teachers’ Pedagogical Needs

Abstract

The article addresses the issue of implementing digital applications in physical education as a component of the digital transformation of education. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to modernize physical education lessons, increase students’ motivation, and develop teachers’ digital competence. The aim of this study is to identify current practices of using digital applications in physical education lessons and to analyze the pedagogical needs of physical education teachers regarding their implementation and development.

Methods: analysis and generalization of scientific literature, sociological research methods including questionnaire-based surveys, and mathematical data processing.

The results demonstrated a predominantly positive attitude toward digital technologies: 59.6% fully support their use, 33.5% rather support them, 5.0% oppose them, and 1.9% remain undecided. A gap between attitudes and actual practice was identified. During lesson planning, 13.7% of teachers use digital tools constantly, 43.5% frequently, 28.6% occasionally, 12.4% rarely, and 1.9% do not use them. Directly during lessons, 1.9% use them constantly, 19.9% frequently, 53.4% occasionally, 21.7% rarely, and 3.1% do not use them. These findings indicate a fragmented integration of digital tools into physical education practice.

Conclusions: digital applications increase the effectiveness of physical education, provide opportunities for individualized learning, and enable monitoring of students’ physical activity. However, the level of their use remains uneven and depends on teachers’ digital competence and the resource support of educational institutions. The study revealed the need for systematic methodological support and improvement of teachers’ digital literacy. Prospects for further research are associated with the development of professional development courses aimed at fostering the digital literacy of physical education teachers.