Designing for disruption: Remodelling a blended course in technology in (language) teacher education

Abstract

This study employs a case study model to documenting the evolution over three semesters of a Masters course in technology and language learning for in-service teachers using a social constructivist pedagogical approach (Felix, 2002) within an ecological framework, from completely face-to-face (f2f) to predominantly online. The focus is on teachers’ acceptance of change in the form of integration of technology into firstly their learning and secondly their teaching, as well as their adaptability to self-managing their learning. The design of the modified course took an experiential modelling approach in which all of the tools and processes that were taught in the course were modelled and experienced by students (teachers) during the semester. These tools include reflective and social computing tools such as chat, blogs, wikis and e-portfolios, as well as lesson and task templating software such as Swarthmore Makers, Hot Potatoes, and WebQuests, and webpage creation software such as Dreamweaver. Based on grounded research methods, techniques such as surveys, problem-based focus groups and short answer responses were used to ascertain the values of the changes. The information collected from these instruments is presented and compared to the reflective pieces produced by students in their blogs, and the projects they created.