Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Hauck (
2010
) explored the interrelationship between multimodal literacy and online
communication and concluded that educators need to be teachers of the technology,
not just facilitators, if their learners are going to be able to fully partake of the
opportunities for language learning and intercultural development (Hauck
2010
). In
other words, if teachers are going to expect their students to use technological
applications (viz. CMC) it would be appropriate to ensure that all students can utilize
them effectively. Common sense maybe, but nevertheless literature suggests that it
remains a significant hurdle.
8.3.2 Appropriacy
In a world that seems to rapidly churn out all manners of technological marvels and
innovations, teachers need to be able to cherry pick the most relevant options for
their classroom: options that enhance, rather than distract from, the learning process
for their students.
In choosing a collaborative technology, instructors should determine how much,
and what type, of student interaction is needed to complete group assignments and
facilitate learning (Parker and Ingram
2011
). As referred to previously, functionality
can be exciting, but it is only one part of the selection criteria. Timmerman and
Kruepke (
2006
) point out that more features are not necessarily better. Function
availability doesn't equate to student usage. Having too many tools - or tools with a
steep learning curve - can impede, rather than facilitate, student learning (Falowo
2007
). Otherwise, as Loveless et al. (
2001
) point out, effective learning through
integrated use of Internet Communicative Technologies (ICT) is likely to occur
despite, and not because of, the role of the teacher. One example of this distractive
quality is the recent usage of avatar-based CMC (such as in Second Life or Active
Worlds), after which some students concluded that they had been sidetracked by the
novelty and that they might have gotten better return by just sticking to simplified
chat forums (Deutschmann et al.
2009
).
8.3.3 Accessibility
Despite the recent ubiquity of CMC, accessibility remains an issue. Accessibility
hinges on a number of aspects, such as; age, location, and time.
Learners are of all ages, and accordingly CMC may be utilized at all age levels.
However, younger learners often need more teacher-centered pedagogy to partici-
pate productively in class, while older participants may feel marginalized with
regard to technology. What this means is that age may affect how accessible the
CMC is perceived by learners. Perception can be a powerful psychosomatic reali-
zation despite environmental factors that may indicate otherwise.
