Roles for New Technologies in Language Arts: Inquiry, Communication, Construction, and Expression

Abstract

New information and communications technologies such as computers and electronic networks are now being used in all facets of teaching the English language arts. These applications include word processors, tutoring programs, data bases, and new communications media. The wide-ranging uses of digital tools and media promise to transform language teaching. At the same time, there are concerns about the needs for teacher education, the time involved in learning new technologies, the monetary costs, the effects on students' learning, plagiarism, privacy, and a host of other issues. They all point to a general question: "What role should these technologies play in teaching and learning?" This chapter argues that a productive answer can develop out of Dewey's characterization of the interests of the learner. It discusses examples of applications grouped into four uses: (1) inquiry, (2) communication, (3) construction, and (4) expression.