international e-journal for research in e l t · vibes: international e-journal for research in...

International E-Journal

Research in E L Tfor

ISSN: 2395-0595

Vol. 1 Number 4October 2015

VIBES PUBLICATION

Published By

7

ELT VIBES: International E-Journal for Research in ELT

A QUARTERLY, INDEXED, REFEREED AND PEER REVIEWED OPEN ACCESS

INTERNATIONAL E-JOURNAL

http://www.eltvibes.in

__________________________________________________________________________ ______

Article information Volume 1, Number 4. 07-17. (2015)

Article Received: 10/09/2015 ISSN: 2395-0595

Revised on: 21/09/2015

Acceptance: 26/09/2015

THE REQUIREMENT OF TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATED TEACHING-

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: PRESENT STATUS AND FUTURE

PERSPECTIVES

Milan Pandya1

, Dr. Bharti Rathore 2

1Lecturer, Ahmedabad University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

2Assistant Professor, Waymade College of Education, Vallabh Vidyanagar ,India

_________________________________________________________________

Abstract

A massive change due to integration of technology and globalization have

accelerated the process of change in various fields especially education and has

created a new global education system “powered by technology, fueled by

information and driven by knowledge”. The use of technology in education has

become an integral part of today’s educational phenomenon. It is creating a new

learning environment in which a student is now having the chance to learn

through computer-application based courses of studies. This is an era where

technology and teacher education go hand in hand. The use of technology in

teaching mediums is taken very seriously by governments and education systems

around the world. Hence, it becomes too important to be aware of the current

status of this discipline and its future directions. This paper throws light on the

emergence of information technology and teacher education [ITTE] followed by

the paradigms for research and development work in ITTE.

http://www.eltvibes.in/

ELT VIBES: International E-Journal For Research in ELT

Volume 1, Number 4. 07-17. (2015)

ISSN: 2395-0595

Cite this article as: Pandya, M.,Rathore , B.(2015). The Requirement of Technology Integrated Teaching-Learning Environment: Present Status and Future Perspectives .ELT VIBES: International E-Journal For Research in ELT. 1(4). 7-17.

8

It also projects our knowledge about ITTE in the current scenario and shows a

way towards the research needs in the field for the ubiquitous development. This

paper touches all mentioned aspects of ITTE on a surface level. It shows how this

discipline evolved and throws light on the possible areas that can be explored and

endeavored. This paper becomes significant in terms of consideration of the brief

past, its current status and future perspectives in ITTE.

Key Words: Technology, Education, Learning, Teacher Development.

_________________________________________________________________

Introduction

The area of ‘Educational Technology’ has connections that go back for almost

eighty years. The most significant development to be reported in this area is the

success of training and development work during the two world wars. In 1950s, a

remarkable visible growth in the field of Educational Technology continued to

play an essential role in many institutions dealing with higher education. The

distinctive filed of educational technology that is explored and researched by the

researcher in this research paper does not include a long past.

A scholarly and professional discipline of Information Technology has witnessed

noteworthy growth in the recent era. It was observed during the 1970s and early

1980s that while most educational technology programs continued to emphasize

more traditional concepts and skills such as the systematic design and

development of instructional materials, a separate group of graduate programs

emerged that provided some of the foundations for ITTE known as ‘Educational

Computing’ programs. They dealt with skills and concepts needed to support the

educational uses of computers. By 1970s the use of computer was quite limited,

however as the field developed and the technology became more diverse and

complex, it becomes obvious that there was a need for specialization. A good

number of educational computing programs have matured into general

educational technology programs while some have elected to specialize is a sub

discipline. One of those is now known as technology and teacher education or

ITTE.


Volume 1, Number 4. 07-17. (2015)

ISSN: 2395-0595


9

The emergence of ITTE as a discipline

In the use of computers, it was noted by the academicians that a special group for

teacher educators had become interested in 1983. The International society for

technology in education [ISTE] was the first organization to recognize the

emerging needs of ITTE. That same year the special interest group published the

Journal of computing in teacher education, the first referred quarterly journal

dedicated to scholarly research and professional practice in ITTE. In 1990 the

first national ITTE conference was sponsored by the organization later named the

society for Information Technology and Teacher Education [SITE].

At present scholars and practitioners have a number of publications outlets for the

general field of ITTE. They include the specialized journals, journal of

computing in teacher education, journal of technology and teacher education and

journal of information technology and teacher education. In addition to the

general journals on technology and education and the journals on ITTE, there are

also a number of content specific journals that accept papers related to the

support of teachers in those fields. All the general ITTE journals are less than

twenty years old and many of the content specific journals are even younger.

One more signal of the emergence of ITTE as a sub discipline in the pattern of

reports from the congressional office of technology assessment [OTA]. The main

OTA report on technology and education [OTA 1988] dealt with the entire field.

One area of that reports dealt with teacher education. The final report, “Teachers

and Technology” making the connection 1995 [OTA 1995] was one of the last

reports produced by OTA before congress eliminated the agency.

Research paradigms and progressive work in ITTE

ITTE is heavily influence by psychology, particularly education psychology.

Defining the term research in an educational or psychological context was not

difficult some years ago, research was quantitative which involved a research

design and it was done to support a particular theory. But a promising

dissatisfaction with quantitative research brought about other research paradigms.

There are three predominant research paradigms in the field today 1] empiricism

2] critical theory 3] interpretivism.


Volume 1, Number 4. 07-17. (2015)

ISSN: 2395-0595


10

Empiricism also called logical positivism is based on the assumption that the

scientific method is the only proper method for studying human behaviour

because of its success in hard sciences. Most researchers’ working from empirical

view believes in an external reality that can be known. It also tries to examine

narrowly defined variables in a small sample of a given population in order to

generalize findings back to the overall population. Survey projects are its best

examples. Truly it has provided the field with a continuing story of the

development of computer use. It suggested that integration of computers into

classroom learning was an almost painful slow process. The surveys provide

continual update for scholars interested in understanding and changing classroom

teachings related to computers.

Critical theorists are mainly referred to as the Frankfort school because the

movement originated at the University of Frankfort. Critical theory research is

ideological. It thought that modern societies had within them many power

relationships that benefited one group at the expanse of another. It attempts not to

describe a single study nor did it summarize result of a series of individual

studies, instead it took a broad view of the field. This study discussed in detail

whether teaching as a profession will be enhanced and empowered by the advent

of technology. The common approach among critical theorist is often concerned

with larger and more complex issues, such as the study of how integrated

learning systems improve the achievement test score of disadvantaged students.

Critical theorists argue that in a computer-intensive learning environment, the roll

of the teacher as an interpreter and clarifier of cultural knowledge becomes

important because of the bias built into the computer as an educational tool.

Many critical theorists have even developed specialized methodologies to study

various aspects of educational technology. They regularly adapt and revise

existing research methodologies to better fit their purposes, but the defining

characteristics of critical theory research to date is the focus of the research, not

the methodology used. The critical theory literature can, indeed, provide only a

negative perspective and far too few examples of positive work have been done

from a critical perspective. However that is changing, more and more critical

theorists are taking the initiative and developing approaches to problems in our

field that reflect their values and perspectives. Research from the critical

perspective in educational technology is appropriate and crucial to the field’s


Volume 1, Number 4. 07-17. (2015)

ISSN: 2395-0595


11

growth with the use of instructional design process to create new instructional

experiences based on the critical perspectives.

Interpretivism is the third research paradigm for ITTE. It is a philosophy of

science related to constructivist theories in psychology and to the forms of

research that are rather described as qualitative. The crux of the interpretive

approach to research is that social science cannot hope to find universal truths

about human behaviour. There are multiple reasons for that but the ultimate

outcome is the rejection of a search for law like generalizations. The realities of

social science research once discovered are true for now and forever. In the

interpretive paradigm, realities are local, transitory and contextually based.

Realities are constructed by humans in groups is the statement given by

interpretivism. So what becomes real for one group may not be the same for the

other group. This approach to the central idea of what constitutes meaning and

reality leads to a decidedly different approach to research in comparison with

other paradigms. For example much more importance is given to the context of

the research since much of the meaning is in the context. Then without surprise,

experimental research which is done ‘out of context’ in carefully controlled

settings is much less significant and relevant than research done in context. The

argument which interpretivists would raise is that in empirical research, the

technical quality of the research called as internal validity is often more important

than whether or not it carries our attention which means external validity.

Therefore, relevance in the most important criterion is in interpretive research.

The stress on meaning in context would lead to acceptance to a wide range of

activities which frame research, for example thoughtful case studies might only

be useful to restrict empiricists as forerunners to a later research study could

become a valuable primary source of understanding since they offer rich data on

a topic instead of data gathered in qualitative studies.

Interpretivists welcome and accept reflective professional practice papers. The

argument that sources of understanding such as case studies and professional

papers are unacceptable is because they are subjective and are dealing with local

context. One fact that all truth is local breaks down a number of barriers in

research. For instance, the contrast between research and program evaluation

melts away since it is based on the idea that program evaluation leads to local

truth, on the other side research leads to generalizations that go well beyond the


Volume 1, Number 4. 07-17. (2015)

ISSN: 2395-0595


12

entire particular settings of the study. Because interpretivists believe that all

knowledge is local, there is no need for the distinction. The prominence on

context also points interpretivists towards what has been termed particularly

research. Particularly research consist particular action research and many other

forms that break that break down the wall between the research and participants.

In this approach there are participants, not subjects, and they may play active

roles in everything from the design and development of the research to the data

analysis and write up. At last, the interpretivists have led to broadening of the

ways research can be done. Still traditional research papers filled with context

and recognition of the subjective nature of the research is the most common form

of reporting are also acceptable. A case that is told as a story, a video or a play, a

metaphor, a piece of art and others is taken into consideration.

Knowledge about ITTE:

Since this largely depends on the paradigm used and differs from one point of

view to another, the empiricist paradigm is called the most restrictive as it

accepts valid research studies that meet with detailed criteria. The next most

restrictive theory is critical theory because it emphases on ideological framework

on research. Least restrictive is interpretive one which embraces the fact that we

can learn from many different forms of research. In order to include findings

from each paradigm, we can use the interpretive perspective to sum up our

knowledge in ITTE today in order to include findings from each paradigm. It

should also be noted that interpretive doesn’t accept the idea of an external reality

and that creates some challenges. The problem is that we can’t review the

literature and conclude that certain facts are absolutely true. The best we can do is

to come at some of the general agreement about ITTE. There are chances that this

general agreement may change, evolve or even disappear over the next few

decades but it is what our knowledge says about it today. However, it is

impossible to provide a truly comprehensive review of the ITTE research base.

Survey research has provided some noticeable contributions to the knowledge of

ITTE. End number studies examined the current status of the field. In general, the

surveys report that teachers have positive attitudes about the use of technology

however they are not confident of their ability to use technology and do not think


Volume 1, Number 4. 07-17. (2015)

ISSN: 2395-0595


13

that their teacher education programs prepare them to use technology in

innovative ways. It is also observed that future teacher education students would

not appreciate the potential of technology in teacher education and thought that

technology in classroom actually builds the teacher-student relationship. Other

survey studies have also looked at specific aspects of ITTE. One study viewed at

the computer literacy skills and fond that teacher education reported only limited

computer expertise. Although, a steady increase in the level of computer literacy

was also reported. One more type of attitude study involves looking at changes in

attitudes after technology related experiences. Numerous studies suggest that

completing a computer course improves attitudes towards technology. There have

also been a number of criticisms of attitude and survey research. The point is not

that we don’t require additional studies of attitudes toward technology. It is that

we need many other types of research as well. Surveying attitudes is a relatively

straight forward methodology that is easily implemented. Being easy to do

however does not mean it is always important as a means of advancing the field.

Another issue called as policy issue is by nature to be a somewhat a neglected

aspect of ITTE and can be approached from any of these paradigms. Major four

threads consistently identified by the experts as very important to training teacher

to enable the design of constructivist based distance learning environments

include 1] determining facilitator roles for teachers. 2] Embedding assessment

within the learning process. 3] Creating non-problem based learning and 4]

creating multiple approaches for knowledge development. Perhaps the most

surprising fruit of this investigation was the secondary role of technology tools in

the process. Many training sessions have centered on issues such as time

management, instructor presence and presentation issues. The results show that

the training should center on the instructional issues first and on the operational

issues second.

Diffusion of innovation is also another important aspect since numbers of

scholars have reported efforts to infuse technology across the entire teacher

education curriculum. It says that students who had more contact with technology

also supported more student-centered approaches and had more confident in their

ability to be successful teachers. It truly appears to be a promising method for

work in integrating technology across the teacher education curriculum. It shows

that students were more comfortable with technology, more confident and more


Volume 1, Number 4. 07-17. (2015)

ISSN: 2395-0595


14

positive about technology in education. In order to add knowledge to ITTE, one

must look at the literature on diffusion in ITTE as it comes from the proponents

of the innovation. The teachers felt that the preparation before they were to

implement the innovation was inadequate and that they did not realize the

potential of the technology until they were well into the implementation phase. It

mainly argues that conceptions of change and diffusion that are situated solely in

institutional and organizational context are incomplete because all change is also

personal change.

One must observe that there have been number of interesting component studies

in ITTE looking at the impact of adding a computer based simulation activity to a

field experience. It is observed that students who were involved in a simulation

which called for them to make decisions about the use of technology in the

classroom had higher score than to those who did not use it. It also looked at

whether pairing students when they learned to use an electronic mail system via a

computer tutorial was more effective to pair students. Numbers of studies on the

impact of adding telecommunication resources to a teacher education course are

available observing that the course experienced is enhanced by the addition of

email or discussion activities. Teachers were linked via email to practicing

teachers to help the students to gain a greater understanding of philosophies of

reading through collaboration.

The prospects in a multi paradigmatic background

A discussion on frame research must not catch our attention as one should

question how we should deal with the issue of paradigm. One possible solution is

that one can pick a paradigm he likes and then both conduct research and keep up

with the research done within that paradigm. Naturally research from other

paradigm would be ignored. We think that is an inappropriate response for

several reasons. First, the foundations for each of the paradigms are flawed; none

is so compelling that it virtually requires any thoughtful and open person to

accept the paradigm. Also, valuable information has been developed by

researchers in all three paradigms. In a general opinion, most scholars and

practitioners will want to concentrate on doing research confining them in just

one framework because it takes considerable efforts to master the professional

knowledge and procedures associated with each of the three paradigms. Still


Volume 1, Number 4. 07-17. (2015)

ISSN: 2395-0595


15

ideally researchers should attend to ITTE from all three paradigms. It actually

acknowledges that all research is subjective in one way or another and proposes

that it is the responsibility of any scholar to understand not only works in his or

her own personal paradigm but in completing and alternative paradigms as well.

Conclusion

There were four main aspects of this paper: 1] the dawn of ITTE as a discipline.

2] Research paradigms and progressive work in ITTE. 3] Our knowledge about

ITTE. By using a multi paradigmatic approach, the researcher pulled together

some of the main threads that exist. For instance it is observed that most teacher

education students have very positive attitudes about the use of technology in

education but are far less confident about their ability to actually to use

technology. It is reported that teacher education faculty also have positive

attitudes toward technology in education but many do not feel they have a strong

background in actually integrating that into the courses they teach. It was also

observed that most preparation for teachers in the area of technology remains

inadequate.

Main two requirements have been noted so far are 1] case studies of diffusion

efforts and 2] information on innovations that have been developed and are in use

are good fits with the interpretive paradigm. The need for teacher educators and

teachers to become enlightened about the biases in technology use today fits the

critical perspective best. It has been noted that the awareness of the fact that

much of the educational software that is available is more appealing to boys than

to girls. There are also other biases that are based on gender, social class and

racial or ethnic background. Critical research can help make those open to us

especially the problems. Empirical research has also tried to contribute through

control experimental group studies which compare one form of teaching and

learning to another. The main aim is to generally support one theoretical

framework over another. We refuse to believe the studies in this tradition which

are likely to achieve their goals. There seems to be too many variables, too many

differences between the groups and too little commonalities across the

approaches termed behavioural or constructive to allow us to the luxury of broad

generalizations. However it is worthwhile to think of these studies as stories

about the local use of an innovation. Present ITTE work needs to provide a


Volume 1, Number 4. 07-17. (2015)

ISSN: 2395-0595


16

grounded, rich and thick description of the development of cognitive tools for

teacher education. The ITTE emphasized on integrating technology into teacher

education curriculum which has also altered the type of research needed to

inform the field. In the initial years, empirical and survey research describing the

efforts of programming and computer-literacy experiences and courses on

students were common. Today, information about student and faculty experiences

with and attitudes computers are no longer as relevant. Later phases of ITTE have

been influenced by an emerging belief that computers will not be used to deliver

information to students and reinforce traditional methodologies but will be used

as cognitive tools to support critical thinking and model creation. Thus, one of the

major challenges for ITTE researchers is to create and study sues of computer as

a cognitive tool to expand and enhance educational experiences, both in

technological courses for teacher educators and throughout teacher education

programs. To sum up, it appears crystal clear that the prime research paradigms

in education can all contribute to the advancement in the growth of ITTE as a

discipline.

References

1) Bratton - Jeffery, M.F., Hoffman, S.Q., Jeffery, A.B. (2007). Trends and Issues

in Instructional Design and Technology Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (Eds.).

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

2) Dempsey, J.V. & Van Eck, R.N. (2007). Trends and Issues in Instructional

Design and Technology Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (Eds.). Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Pearson.

3) Driscoll, M.P. (2007). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology

Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (Eds.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

4) Kirkpatrick, D. (1996). Great Ideas Revisited. Training and Development.

5) Locatis, C. (2007). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology

Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (Eds.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

6) McKay, J. & Wager, W.W. (2007). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design

and Technology Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (Eds.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson.

7) Ravenscroft, A. (2011). Dialogue and Connectivism: A New Approach to

Understanding and Promoting Dialogue-rich Networked Learning. International

Review of Research in Distance Learning.


Volume 1, Number 4. 07-17. (2015)

ISSN: 2395-0595


17

8) Richey, R.C., Morrison, G.R., Foxon, M. (2007). Trends and Issues in

Instructional Design and Technology Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (Eds.).

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

9) Rosenberg, M.J. (2007). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and

Technology Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (Eds.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson.

Authors Bio-note

Milan Pandya is engaged as a Lecturer in English & Communication at B. K.

Majumdar Institute of Business Administration, Ahmedabad University, with

over 07 years of academic experience. Mr. Milan Pandya is pursuing his Doctoral

Research in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT). He has received his

Master in Philosophy (M.Phil) degree in ELT (English Language Teaching). He

has completed his Master (MA) and Bachelor (BA) of Arts in English Literature.

He is author of two books: Authentic Materials to Enhance Vocabulary in

English” ISBN: 978-81-929873-1-6 and Teaching Vocabulary through Print

Advertisements” ISBN: 978-3-659-74147-0.

Dr. Bharti Rathore is associated with Waymade College of Education as

Assistant Professor, with an experience teaching at school & college level for 25

years. She has written & published 07 books, 26 research papers on the variety of

areas such as Literature, ELT, Education & Content analysis of famous books.

She is associated with Global Association of English Studies, ELT@I & Inet

international e-journal for research in e l t · vibes: international e-journal for research in...

Documents