To my mind, the most useful CALL tools possess the following properties: accessibility, ease of use, a justifiable purpose, and popularity. Accessibility and ease of use as criteria should be self-evident; as instructors, our primary focus should be on language instruction, not promoting technological fluency for its own sake. In the same vein, any technology used as an instructional tool should justify its own use beyond a fascination with gadgetry or virtual settings. Popularity should never be overlooked, in considering that those tools that are already in wide use by students should, by association, already be accessible and easy to use, thereby cutting down on time wasted on acclimating them to the tool of choice.
I will certainly be using CALL in the future (if it’s available where I teach) but I will do so only following the above criteria and caveats. Still, there’s a lot to be said for using technology for what we do, and I can only imagine we will become more reliant on it with time.
Notes for Tuesday, April 13, 2010
14 years ago
You listed all of those properties, but didn't list any CALL tool in particular. Are you saying you haven't found one that matches all your criterion?
ReplyDeleteI think you have made a very good point with regards to the use of CALL tools for the purpose of promoting fluency and not simply for increasing computer literacy. I also agree that CALL tools should be chosen based on their effiency to serve specific teaching goals and student needs.
ReplyDeleteMy concern with CALL tools is that my students may feel overwhelmed and discouraged, especially if they have low literacy and computer skills. Any suggestions are more than welcome.
Agreed. it is probably very scary for the computer illiterate to be entering a world where increasingly everything is relying on technology. Unfortunately for those people, I don't see that slowing down anytime soon. Techniques for aiding those students would have been a helpful topic to explore in class.
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