Chapter 1 and 2

I'm going to be a total dork right now and say that I really like this textbook.

Chapter 1 outlined the organization of the rest of the book and went into some details about what the main ideas of each of the sections was.

Chapter 2 gave the goals and rationale for integrating technology into the classroom. Chapter 2 used the key principles of second language acquisition and explained how technology can be used to boost language acquisition.

I was so glad to see so many positive remarks about the use of technology in the classroom. Over the last two years I have made many strides to include technology in the classroom and to expose my students to as many technologies as possible. I feel strongly that with all the new technologies available that educators need to become more knowledgeable about how to use them in their classes. I often hear from other teachers that they don't want their students to use computers because the teachers don't feel confident in how to use computers themselves and they are scared to just turn the kids loose. However, what I have found is that many of my students come in with so much knowledge about how to use technology and I have given them opportunities to be my teacher and to teach me a thing or two.

I also feel strongly that schools need to reassess some of the rules they have in place for electronic devices in the classroom. I often bring in my iPod and will play it during class or download podcasts to share with my class and yet, my students cannot bring their own iPod in. I often see iPod cords hanging out from their desks and they use it in secret. I've actually stopped asking them to put their iPods away. Instead, I try to direct them to podcasts that they may enjoy, I show them how to put pictures on and we often will spend time after school playing with the iPods and iTunes. I figure that the time I am spending interacting with my students and talking about iPods and iTunes is much more effective than yelling at them to put the iPods away.

Erben, T. (2008). Introduction: Calling all foreign language teachers. In T. Erben & I. Sarieva (Eds)., Calling all foreign language teachers: Computer assisted language learning in the classroom. (pp. 1-4). Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education

Sarieva, I & Zoran, A. (2008). Guiding principles: Second language acquisition, instructional technology, and the constructionvist framework. In T. Erben & I. Sarieva (Eds)., Calling all foreign language teachers: Computer assisted language learning in the classroom. (pp. 1-4). Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education