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The Language Classroom in a Connected World
This wiki accompanies a presentation given at the IATEFL Learning Technologies SIG conference in Chennai in August, 2007. What follows is an abstract of the presentation. The written paper will soon be available online. You are invited to add your comments about this topic and/or the ideas contained in the presentation. //(Select the 'Commentary' option from the margin on the left and add your comments there.)//

- Michael Coghlan (February, 2008)


 * Abstract**

The language classroom, indeed any classroom, used to be a private affair between students and their teacher. Teachers drew on the resources that were immediately available to them locally to assemble learning materials and construct their lessons. Then came the Internet. In a trice students and teachers had access to a plethora of resources that could be effectively exploited in a language classroom. It also provided language educators with the ability to communicate with other language teachers around the globe, and to provide opportunities of collaboration with classes far beyond their local jurisdiction. New communication channels have made it possible for teachers and students to communicate with each other outside of class time. It is now a simple matter for students to create written and spoken texts for a wider audience – their own classmates, other students in other locations, or other teachers.

Not all teachers have journeyed down this road of Internet teaching, but for those who have it has challenged the essentially private and teacher-directed world of the language classroom with a new model of teaching that is more student-centred, collaborative, and potentially public on a global scale.

Communities of educators have evolved where there is daily discourse on matters of classroom practice and the use of technology in education. Further, a proliferation of tools under the banner of social software – tools designed to promote collaboration and sharing - are making it ever easier for both students and teachers to create an online presence and interact and connect with fellow Netizens.

This increased potential for creating an online presence beyond the eyes of the traditional gatekeepers brings a new ethical responsibility for educators. The excitement of communicating with a global audience is tempered by the possibility of real danger for the unwary in cyberspace. Educators of all persuasions must face their responsibility to provide guidance for those creating identity in personal online spaces.

This presentation will feature examples of work from a global community of language educators, and explore the potential impact of Internet technology to revolutionise the language classroom. It will demonstrate some of the tools that enable the creation of online presence, and introduce the notion of eLearning 2.0 and the complementary theory of Connectivism.