The Effects of Using some Technological Tools in Teaching & Learning Language

Abstract:
The increasing availability of technologies in the classroom is promoting discussions among instructors & educators concerning the best way to teach students and how can instructors effectively utilize the available technologies to enhance learning. What instructors need to utilize such technologies?
The research will demonstrate some technological tools and the effects of the use of each tool to enhance students’ learning experience. Currently, both instructors & students use different technologies in teaching and learning, starting from using computers, and surfing on internet, doing assignments on black boards, creating animations on smart boards and writing daily inputs in weblogs, then ending by Wikis & portable devices.
The importance of this topic is to find out the effects of using some technological tools to meet diverse learners’ styles and the ways to bridge the digital divide. The effects of using these technologies also should include: - Designing suitable curriculum for teaching and learning online, developing methods that help integrate these technologies into curriculum, competence in applying such technologies & equal distribution of technologies among schools, regardless of location, ethnicity, origin or socio-economic of students.
Knowing that, it’s so hard to determine one technological tool is the best over other tools to be integrated into teaching/ learning. See experts’ arguments on this issue. http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech/tech234.shtml
Introduction:
The influence of technology on our daily life is increasing every minute. It has become very important and necessary to improve the quality of our performance, make our schools more sustainable learning environment & attractive for students and teachers to perform their duties and assignments. In general, the current generation is dealing with different technological tools, such as computer, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), internet, blogs, emails, wikis, cell phones, Black boards, Thumb drives and smart boards, Since people are very familiar with such tools and they have become part of daily life for communication, why should not we use such technologies to help enhance students’ learning in schools and encourage them to explore knowledge & acquire more skills for their future life.
As accessibility to computer- based technology in schools and classrooms is to prepare teachers to use technology for instructional purpose, in Defense Language Institute (DLI), integrating technology plays an important role in delivering lessons in classrooms, especially in teaching/ learning Language and culture. DLI is teaching more 26 different languages for special purposes and missions. Arabic and Chinese are considered the most difficult languages. Technologies help teachers use hypermedia in delivering lessons, with some interactive combination of texts with pictures, animations, sound, and video.
The majority of DLI students who have electronic devices, most likely use them primarily for educational purposes, secondarily for communication, classroom activities, presentation and surfing Internet for fun and pleasure. The popularity of using technologies has changed the way; we assume our tasks, activities and communicate with each other.
The influence of technologies has created a world that is much smaller in aspects, because ideas, information and knowledge through online classes can be shared easily across the globe. I think integrating technology into education and using it in the classroom helps close the digital divide and change the central role of teachers to be facilitators and providers of learning environment and knowledge for students, as well as the role of the students is changed to become proconsumers.
The use of technology in instruction improves students’ skills to be able to do research, assignments, getting online feedback from instructors’ interactive communication, such as chatting, email messaging and discussion to empower collaborative learning, in addition to sharing ideas and knowledge round the world and receives variety of ideas in one topic being under discussion.
According to what is mentioned previously, technology can be used in many ways as an integral part of the curriculum to meet the needs of the diverse learners. It gives both teachers and students more opportunities for feedback, reflection, and revision. Technology can also help learners organize and re-organize their knowledge. Using technology helps learners save time, and improves the learning outcomes. According to what have been reviewed from online literature, most writers are putting great emphasis on technology integration in the classroom along with the standards laid down by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education & the International Society for Technology in Education (NCATE & ISTE). Also U.S Department of Education Program provides substantial funding to help American schools and Communities bridge the digital divide, reducing inequities in the access to information technology and the internet, most likely through Community Technology Centers.
Research questions:
1- Why do instructors use technologies in teaching & leaning language?
2- How do instructors use and apply technologies in teaching & learning language?
3 – What is required to use & apply technologies in teaching & learning language?
4 - How does distribution of technologies help bridge the digital divide?