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Running head: INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Instructional Technology Trends in


Language Education
Juliana Shajari
California State University Monterey Bay

IST524 Instructional Technology


Dr. Bude Su
Fall 2015

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

Abstract

The focus of this paper is "What is happening in Instructional


Technology, trends, and consequences specifically in second language
learning. A review of the effectiveness of past and current practices in the
application of Instructional Technology in language learning and the
availability, as well as capacities of current instructional technology, shown
that the use of technology in language education is expanding. The
technology supported language learning is as effective as human teachers
and is growing to exceed the traditional teaching in general and to this point
in the fields of accessibility and first responding has contended the individual
teachers.
Keywords:
The effectiveness of Interactional Technology in Language Education,
History of Instructional Technology, Emerging of Technology Trends.

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

Instructional Technology Trends in Language Education

Instructional Technology Trends in Language Education


The focus of this assignment is "What is happening in Instructional
Technology". The field of Instructional Technology is a movement of 20th
century, mainly during and after World War II. Started with the stress on
auditory and illustration and technology-based teaching and learnings.
Before World War II in 1920's, use of film and recording sound helped the
transformation of the visual to audio-visual. Before World War II, Edward
Thorndike probed the Instructional Techniques to the consideration of
instructors. "These methods became of interest to The United States during
World War II and are considered to be the basis of the modern systems
approach to instruction" (Reiser, 1987). During this time, Edgar Dale
enveloped the "Cone of Experience and in 1912, Frederick Burk introduced
the modern Individualized instruction approach. Gradually the focus turned
on to the learners working at their pace on core competencies before
learning the new skill.
During World War II, "Instructional television usage grew, and
computers began to be used in education and training, though, instructional
television used faded by the mid-1960's (Reiser, 1987). Later during 1960's1970's, "Instructional technology emphasized the application of scientific
principles as well as the equipment for presenting instructional materials"

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION


(Lumsdaine, 1964 p.372 cited in Reiser, 1987). In 1979 "Scriven coined the
terms "formative evaluation" and "summative evaluation" (Reiser, 1987)

Mid 1950's automated instruction started. Later in 1950's-1960's, the


system of Operant conditioning developed by Skinner where his stimulus led
changes affected the instruction. Formulating the models of cognition by
Piaget, directed to " the possibility of developing a technology of instruction
that can be based on an individual rate of cognitive rate development"
(Saettler, 1990 p.72). Behavioral objectives in 1962 by Bloom's "Taxonomy of
Behavioral Objectives" in 1956 and "Preparing Objectives for Programmed
Instruction" by Robert Mager in 1962 progressed the popularity of behavioral
objectives. (Reiser, 1987).
In 1960's many other individualized systems of instruction such as
Audio Tutorial approach, Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI), personalized
system of instruction, were developed. "Program for Learning by Needs
(PLAN), Individually Guided Education (IGE) (Reisner, 1987) and Learning for
Mastery (Davis & Sorrelle, 1995)."
Late 1960's "Programmed instruction was approaching to the end"
(Reiser, 1987).
Early 1970's the name change of The Department of Audiovisual
Instructional to the Association for Educational Communication and
Technology (AECT) and the national society for programmed instruction

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION


changed its name to National Society for Performance and Instruction.
""AECT played a critical role in defining the field of educational technology
"(Instructional Technology Global Resources, n.d.a.).
During this time job opportunity in the area of instructional programs
increase and many graduate programs developed. There were many books
about system approach and "the Journal of Instructional Development was
established" (Reiser, 1987). The goal was to increase collective efficacy and
the approach system concept. During this time, three ID systems were
proposed and plunged. Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI), Programs for
Learning by Needs (PLAN), and Individual Guided Education (IGE). During
1970's Apple I computers find their way to the schools but still not entirely a
part of the educational system, gained more attention. "The University of
Illinois PLATO system was an influential source of CAI" (Reiser, 1987, U.S.
Department of Education, 2001).
Later in 1980, computers significantly improved and both in
elementary and secondary schools use of computers quickly matured. This
increase of use naturally required computers to perform new models of
Instructional Design and the movement of performance technology
emphasized on new solutions and the instructional design tasks." Due to
interactive capabilities, the computer can be programmed to adapt
instruction to the needs of the individual learners." (Reiser, 1987)

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION


During 1990's majority of the students in schools had computer
access. Internet access was rapidly expanding, and the fever of distance
learning in higher education elevated and "Enrollments in distance courses in
higher education increased from 1994-1995 (Reiser, 2002). During this time
the use of computers in elementary schools were not for Instruction, rather
the school was using computers for practice and word processing.
"Educational Technology became one of the six top issues in schools
(Roberts, 1996). At that time, the Educational Association started formulating
teacher training to use technology.
Thomas Edison in 1913 said, "books soon be obsolete in schools."
(Reiser, 1987). It seems that this prediction has not become a reality in full
force. Also, it is clear that the new medium in education field had a little
impact on instructional practice. According to Reiser, the new media will
bring more educational practice changes comparing the earlier media
(Reiser, 2002).
Technology Trends
Gradually the educational practice confronted a vast and speedy jump
towards technology and used a variety of sources. Emerging of technology
trends in recent years is changing the concept of education. Social learning
platforms that facilitate online classroom settings in some instances act as
assessment tools, snapshots and monitoring device (i.e. EDMODO).

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION


Virtual Assistants which operates by voice recognition such as SIRI,
GOOGLE NOW, and CORTANA are another development of educational
technology. The role of WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY such as UP2 cellular activity
and sleep tracker, Tailored Ecosystem: person to a computer and Co-evolved
possibilities: person-as-computer.
LEARNING ANALYTICS or decoding patterns from educational big data
that is going to be used by 2016 to progress tailored, backup systems of
education. Mobile learning allows learners to learn, network and create
information through a portable digital device. Mobile learning makes
education accessible to the student at anytime and anywhere. 3D printing by
2016 allows Hands-on learning and create tangible aids and simulate
interaction. It exposes learners to the same technology they will be working
with, in their future careers as engineers, designers, and scientist.
Changing the focus of the learning to students (FLIPPED CLASSROOM)
creates a possibility for the learner to learn through the interaction of online
resources. Learning through games would inspire the problem-solving skills
in a simulation mode. GAME-BASED LEARNING is game designs that apply to
learning process while the learner is a part of the match. CLOUD APPS are
digital storages for teaching and learning process through interactive
multimedia learning environment that can be used for class notes, papers
and projects. "Cloud computing is a model for enabling network access to a
shared pool of configurable computing resources "(Mell & Grance, 2009).

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION


By 2016 AUGMENTED REALITY, which is a real world environment
through which computer generates inputs like video, graphics, sounds,
animations and GPS data developed. Gesture-based is where the human
body interacts with digital resources without using keyboard, mouse, game
controller, or voice-entry mechanism. Telepresence refers to a sophisticated
video technology that gives a sense of being together to remote participants.
E-BOOKS have already replaced the hardcopy books. As Roberts (2012) said,"
the tide of e-ink is rising."
Technology in foreign language learning
"Effective technology tools, strategies, and resources helps foreign
language instruction by fueling the student's natural motivation to speak
another language and another culture" (Paulsen, 2001). The increasing
technical knowledge of students gives them opportunities to have access to
language programs in higher education. Using Internet and web resources
sites has become the primary learning practice of second language learners.
It illustrates the advances made in the development of the language
instructions. Programs such as Copernic Summarizer, which is an electronic
Web page text summarizer for internet information research a quick idea of
the content of sites retrieved by search engines.
This new Web research software sums up Web page content
automatically. This program identifies keywords based on the number of
times they appear and ponders them according to their position in the text.

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION


The "resume de text" technology utilized by Copernic is similar to that of the
Auto Summarize tool that first introduced in Word 97. Recently two new
research tools presented by the University of Montreal Canada, called,
Infosphere; It is an internet research methodology that supports the student
research project from start to the end. The other one is: Checher pour
trouver: is a student-centered target language tutorial.
Authentic Online Target Language Reference Resources; These online
target language references are facilitating immersion and research. Another
source is; La Grammaire Interactive Softissimo; this is a complete online
French language Grammar reference. Atlas French Web Encyclopedia is
another reference tool.
We can classify that as a combination of instructional, learning,
development and managerial technologies some strategies and techniques
might well apply to other technologies. The mixture of technology has to
have purpose and value and in choosing the right method the superiority
should be considered. "Information technology requires one-way
communication by publishing information, the automation of the
transactions, workflow, and even supply chain integration thus replacing
paper by electronic inputs." (Lengnick-Hall and Moritz, 2003).
Role of Technology in Education
The NAEIT describes it as the "body of knowledge resulting from the
application of the science of teaching and learning to the real world of the

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INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION


classroom, together with the tools and methodologies developed to assist in
these applications" (Dieuzeide, 1971).
Educational technology is the techniques adhered in the use of instructional
principals in educational settings with the following four basics;
1-Application of learning principals.
2- Choice of the tools for the material presentation.
3- Assessment methods.
4- Evaluation of the course.
The expansion of technology in instruction is incredibly vast and
selecting the appropriate language-learning database could be an
overwhelming task. Unlike choosing an individual language learner that can
mainly focus on friend's recommendation or an attractive advertisement,
organizations need to conduct researches both in the areas of application
and the cost. In the field of language learning, the following question is
primarily the core of the selection. Which form of the language program,
level, length, and concept is in mind?
First, what sort of language(s) the program is offering. Second, the
program has to be capable of teaching all four core language skills. Has to
include all the main language components and be capable of targeting
proficiency level, length, and depth of learning materials offering with
emphasize on lifelong retention factors. This language learning program

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INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION


must include the right combination of components to produce a competent
speaker and must develop the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills
along with cultural competency of the learner. Other factor is the grammar
learning skill that includes; initiative learning (learning from vocabulary),
Explicit learning (learning from references), Active skills practice (learning
through games and activates), and blended learning (using educational and
cultural interaction).
With the fast growth of technology trends, the classrooms are blending,
and filliping, and virtual classrooms are replacing traditional settings. "BYOD
(bring your own device)," social media and web2.0 tools are growing, and
engagement of students in gamification are increasing. Gamification helps
stimulate the use of knowledge management system to create and use the
content, ensuring to meet the objectives of learning.

Conclusion
The development of technology in instruction is incredibly immense
and selecting the appropriate language-learning database is a colossal task.
Choosing an individual language learning technology could only be based on
friend's recommendation or an interesting commercial. Schools,
organizations, and corporations need to research, assess, and analyze the
application and also the budget and productivity factors of the instructional
technology gears.

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INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION


We can classify that as a combination of instructional, learning,
development and managerial technologies some strategies and techniques
might well apply to other technologies. The mixture of technology has to
have purpose and value and in choosing the right method the superiority
should be considered. The increasing technical knowledge of students gives
them opportunities to have access to language programs in higher
education. Using Internet and web resources sites has become the primary
learning practice of second language learners. It illustrates the advances
made in the development of the language instructions.

References
Reiser, R. A. (1987). Instructional technology: A history. In R.M. Gagne (Ed.)
Instructional technology: Foundations (pp. 11-48). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Reiser, R. A. (2002). A history of instructional design and technology. In R.A.
Reiser & J.V.

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INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION


Davis, D., & Sorrell, J. (1995, December). Mastery learning in public schools.
Lumsdaine, A. A. (1964). Educational technology programmed learning and
instructional science.
Reiser, R. A. (1987). Instructional technology: A history. In R.M. Gagne (Ed.)
Instructional technology: Foundations (pp. 11-48). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Reiser, R. A. (2002). A history of instructional design and technology. In R.A.
Reiser & J.V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and
technology (pp.26-53). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Roberts, L. (1996). A transformation of learning: Use of the national
information infrastructure for education and lifelong learning. In Educational
media and technology yearbook 1995-96. Englewood, CO: Libraries
Unlimited.
Lengnick-Hall, M.L., and Moritz, S. (2003) The Impact of e-HR on the Human
Resource Management Function. Journal of Labor Research, 24, 365-379.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12122-003-1001-6
Mell, P., & Grance, T. (2009). The NIST definition of cloud computing, version
15, NIST. Retrieved from http://csre.nist.gov/groups/SNS/cloud-computing/.
Paulsen, P. (2001). New Era Trends and Technologies

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Lumsdaine, A. A. (1964). Educational technology, programmed learning, and
instructional science. Cited in Reiser, R. A. (1987). Instructional technology: A
history. In R.M. Gagne (Ed.) Instructional technology.
Dieuzeide, H. (1971). Educational technology and the development of
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http://www.transparent.com/white-papers/5-trends-in-educationaltechnology.html
http://atdtk16.mapyourshow.com/6_0/featured.cfm
https://csumb.edu/library/articles-databases#databases-subject
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