Trends and Issues in the use of ICT

in Language Teaching
Dr. Stephen D. Sorden
November 11, 2015
About Me

• German Translator for the U.S. Army – Berlin, Germany

Studied Basic & Advanced German at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA
• K-12 Teacher and Administrator
(Including 3 years at TAES in Hermosillo)
• College Teacher and Administrator
• Career focus has been on history, languages
& technology
• M.Ed. in Educational Leadership
& Educational Technology
• Ed.D. in Ed. Leadership with focus in Instructional Technologies
• Currently a school principal on the Navajo Nation in Northeastern
Arizona.
Tsaile, Arizona
The Area
The Area
Life on the Navajo Nation
Tsaile Public School

• PreK–8th Grade
• (Primaria y Secundaria)
• 450 Navajo Students
• Many of the kids and
teachers are bilingual,
speaking both Navajo
and English.
The school
The School
The kids
The kids
The Kids
Cultural Ties

(MP4 | WMV)
Technology in the School

In addition to providing a solid education

for the future leaders of the Navajo
Nation…..
My goal is to have Tsaile Public School
recognized as a leader in Educational
Technology.
Technology in the School
Technology in the school
Technology in the School

Add picture of Apple TVs

Classroom Computers
The Staff
Trends in ICT
Trends in ICT

Educational technology is moving beyond

putting a computer in every classroom or
giving every child a tablet/laptop.

It’s focusing more and more on the science

of learning:

1. How to use data and technology to personalize

learning
2. How to make time spent learning more efficient.
Definition of ICT

ICT (information and communications technology ) includes any

communication device or application: radio, television, cellular
phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite
systems and so on, as well as the various services and
applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and
distance learning.

http://ictforlanguageteachers.blogspot.com

22
Trends in ICT

• Personalized Learning
• Blended Learning in K-12 (primaria-secundaria-prepa)
• Proliferation of Open Educational Resources
• Adaptive Learning Technologies (Differentiated Learning)
• Growing Focus on Measuring Learning
• Badges (Gamification)
• Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality
• BYOD
• MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning)
• Wearable Technology
• Shift from Students as Consumers to Creators
Trends in ICT

• Personalized Learning
• Blended Learning in K-12 (primaria-secundaria-prepa)
• Proliferation of Open Educational Resources
• Adaptive Learning Technologies (Differentiated Learning)
• Growing Focus on Measuring Learning
• Badges (Gamification)
• Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality
• BYOD
• MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning)
• Wearable Technology
• Shift from Students as Consumers to Creators
3 Main Trends today

1. Personalizing learning through data and

technology
2. Making learning available anywhere,
anytime through mobile technology
3. Blending the virtual world and the digital
world into one.
Personalized Learning

This is probably one of the most difficult of the trends in ICT to pin
down. It is essentially about giving the learner the power to chose
their own path to mastery.

But the quest for true personalized learning is the holy grail in
education. It is what is driving almost all learning technology
development today.

“The increasing focus on customizing instruction to meet students’ unique

needs is driving the development of new technologies that provide more
learner choice and allow for differentiated instruction.” Horizon Report 2015
Blended Learning in K-12

Blended learning is common in higher education.

But look for it to become widespread in K-12 education.

Proliferation of Open
Educational Resources

The quality and availability of OER has significantly

increased.
Not simply free, but open licensed and can be
“repurposed”
Adaptive Learning Technologies
(Intelligent Tutoring Systems)

(MP4 | WMV)

Adaptive Learning Technologies refer to software and online

platforms that adjust to individual students' needs as they learn, and
will anticipate what types of content and resources learners need at a
specific point in time to make progress.

Carnegie Rich tradition of research

Mellon
University Cognitive Science
(John Anderson’s ACT-R theory)

Research in Schools
(Open Learning Initiative)

Intelligent Tutors / Cognitive Tutors

Use educational technology to

launch new learning science
Adaptive Technology

One of the key goals in adaptive technology, is to

learn how to use technology and artificial
intelligence to accelerate student learning.

More knowledge retained, over a shorter period

than in a conventional classroom.
Duolingo Effectiveness

(MP4 | WMV) (MP4 | WMV) (MP4 | WMV)

A study by professors at City University of New York and
the University of South Carolina estimated that 34 hours
on Duolingo may yield reading and writing ability of a US
first-year beginners' course college semester, which
takes in the order of 130+ hours. The research did not
measure speaking ability. It found that a majority of
students dropped out after less than 2 hours of study.
The same study found that Rosetta Stone users took
between 55 and 60 hours to learn a similar amount.

- Wikipedia
Growing Focus on Measuring
Learning (Learning Analytics)

The measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data

about learners for the purpose of understanding and optimizing
learning.

Analytics are used for:

1. Prediction purposes, for example to identify
'at risk' students in terms of drop out or course failure
2. Personalization & Adaptation, to provide students
with tailored learning pathways
3. Intervention purposes, providing information to
intervene to support students
4. Information visualization, usually in dashboards which
provide overview of learning data
Badges & Gamification

Digital badges are a way to grant microcredits which assess learned

skills in formal and informal education. They might be viewed as a
component of gamification and can help track, capture and visualize
learning in a way that incentivizes students.
Augmented Reality

Live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or
supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as text, sound, video or graphics.

(MP4 | WMV) (MP4 | WMV) (MP4 | WMV)

Augmented Reality

MP4 | WMV
Microsoft HoloLens is a smart-glasses headset to be released in 2016 that is
a cordless, self-contained Windows 10 computer. Initial price: $3,000
Virtual Reality
BYOD

Users already know how to use their devices and do not have to be trained.
BYOD enables students and educators to leverage the tools and information that make them most
efficient and productive.
MALL – Mobile Assisted
Language Learning

By 2018, over 50% of users will access the internet via

tablet or smartphone. (www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2939217)
Wearable Technology
MP4 | WMV
Computer-based devices that can be worn by users, taking the form
of an accessory such as jewelry, eyewear, or even actual items of
clothing such as shoes or a jacket.
Shift from Students as
Consumers to Creators

There is a growing trend to empower learners as creators

to demonstrate their mastery of topics.

Students teaching other students

through video and screen casting can
be a powerful tool.
Biggest Trends

• Free and low-cost distance courses will continue to improve and

will continue to pose a risk for traditional K-12 schools and higher
education language learning.
• As adaptive technology improves, many of the low-level skills of
language teaching will be taught through CALL and MALL, not by
human teachers.
• BUT humans need human interaction. Languages are about
human interaction. There will always be a need for human
teachers to facilitate and organize language learning experiences.
• Improving translation technology will eventually call into question
the practicality of learning a language. It will shift from a
commercially driven motivation to a purely academic and hobby
pursuit. It will be a labor of love.
Teachers as
Life-Long Learners

• Find an online community.

• Join a MOOC
• Follow Blogs – Aggregate them in NewsBlur (http://newsblur.com)
• Download Podcasts
• Play with Technology!
Trends in ICT

• Personalized Learning
• Blended Learning in K-12 (primaria-secundaria-prepa)
• Proliferation of Open Educational Resources
• Adaptive Learning Technologies (Differentiated Learning)
• Growing Focus on Measuring Learning
• Badges (Gamification)
• Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality
• BYOD
• MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning)
• Wearable Technology
• Shift from Students as Consumers to Creators
Ahéhee’ doo Hágoónee’
Trends in ICT

• Personalized Learning
• Blended Learning in K-12 (primaria-secundaria-prepa)
• Proliferation of Open Educational Resources
• Adaptive Learning Technologies (Differentiated Learning)
• Growing Focus on Measuring Learning
• Badges (Gamification)
• Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality
• BYOD
• MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning)
• Wearable Technology
• Shift from Students as Consumers to Creators
Trends and Issues in the use of ICT
in Language Teaching
Dr. Stephen D. Sorden
November 11, 2015