Technology Enhanced Learning Environments

Abstract

Teachers and learners within a technology‐enhanced learning environment use digital tools and related techniques to achieve their teaching and learning aims. An effective environment takes advantage of the affordances of technology in connecting people to information and to others; anytime, anywhere access; sophisticated practice with ELT and authentic material; and the ability to share and modify information easily. The physical environment will likely have digital tools and allow flexible groupings of learners, and may be face‐to‐face, hybrid, or fully online. Teachers can use Puentadura's Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition (SAMR) model (2006) to classify their use of technology within the environment. All four levels are appropriate for different purposes. An essential component of an effective environment is a skilled teacher who can establish and employ the technology‐enhanced learning space for optimal use.

Motivating Medical Students Using Virtual Reality Based Education

“…In the field of medicine, however, real-life simulations are not always easy to setup. Virtual Reality (VR), in such cases, has proven to be a very effective tool to deliver rich content in an immersive environment [7].…”

Using Mentimeter to Elicit Student Responses in the EAP/ESP Classroom

“…The affordances and pedagogical benefits of technology in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classrooms are widely acknowledged (Healey, 2018). One potential use of technology is in eliciting and managing students’ responses, an area where EAP/ESP teachers often report difficulties.…”

Professional Development and ICT: English Language Teachers’ Voices

“…Recent literature has established an increased need for professional development (Darling-Hammond et al, 2017;Wasserman & Migdal, 2019), and specifically technology-focused continuing professional development (Curwood, 2014), as teachers face new teaching and learning settings, including hybrid, flipped, synchronous and asynchronous environments (Healey, 2018;Kohnke & Moorhouse, 2020). English language teachers engage in continuing professional development for both internal and external reasons.…”

“…In the twenty-first century, most English language teachers and learners use technology (Healey, 2018) and teachers' pedagogical aptitudes for technology are key to the effective integration of technology into classrooms (Hubbard, 2018;Son, 2014). Therefore, teachers must take central roles as stakeholders and practitioners in mediating this development for personal and professional reasons (Son, 2018;Stockwell, 2018).…”

“…As in other parts of the world, technology has become an integral part of learning and teaching in Hong Kong (Hyland & Wong, 2013), and technology use continues to evolve as English language teachers both aspire and struggle to embrace it (Healey, 2018;Knobel & Kalman, 2016;Stockwell, 2018). Therefore, it is problematic that language teachers have not embraced technology more successfully despite the heavy focus on professional development in technology skills and tools.…”