Report: Students More Motivated in Digital Learning Environments

Students in digital learning environments are more interested in what they are learning in school, more motivated to do well, and feel a stronger connection to their school than students in traditional, face-to-face classes, according to a report released today from Blackboard and Project Tomorrow®.

The report found that nearly 50 percent of virtual high school students say they were interested in what they were learning in school, while only 32 percent of traditional high school students said the same. A similar disconnect exists in terms of motivation to do well with more than one-third of virtual school students saying they are motivated because they like school. Only a quarter of traditional school students say the same.

The findings are included in Trends in Digital Learning: Students’ Views on Innovative Classroom Models, which was released at the 2014 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The report is based on data from the 2013 Speak Up annual survey of more than 400,000 K-12 students, parents, educators, administrators and other community members across the U.S.