DEVELOPING DIGITAL LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS - THOM KIDDLE

DEVELOPING DIGITAL LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS • Lack of participation of teachers in decision-making

THOM KIDDLE • Need for professional development

INTRODUCTION: Furthermore, the chapter will focus primarily only on those tools or
materials which can be said to truly exploit a digital mode or media in their
The use of digital technology in language teaching has an extensive and design or delivery. For example, use of language corpora, although
increasingly diverse history, often divided by commentators (Warschauer, dependent on computer technology for its creation and use, has an equal
1996; Bax, 2003; Dudeney and Hockley, 2012) into three phases, or impact on print materials and will not be of particular focus here. Some
approaches - 'restricted', 'open' and 'integrated' in Bax's terms (Bax, 2003, examples of things which embrace and exploit the digital
pp. 20-2). The 'restricted' phase is essentially learner interaction with the delivery mode are:
computer, largely through the keyboard, with predetermined feedback on
right and wrong answers. The 'open' phase involves greater interaction  Materials which are based on the idea of an infinite canvas - for
with peers and using the computer for simulations, game-play and example the Prezi presentation tool (www.prezi.com)
extended writing; and the 'integrated' approach (just beginning as Bax was  Materials which capitalize on the scrolling page - for example the ELT
writing in 2003), involving computer-mediated communication, early comic Grammarman's 'Hole' episode
internet and email use, multimedia developments and frequent (www.grammarmancomic.com/hole)
interaction with other students.  Tools which introduce new forms working with text - for example the
Swype keyboard (www.swype.com)
THE ROLE OF ICT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING (ELT)  Materials and tools which are designed for interaction via a
touchscreen (e.g. an interactive whiteboard, a smartphone, or a
Discussions on Information and Communication Technologies ICT in ELT tablet device)
have the power to divide teachers around the world as much as the  Materials which are based on the ability for hyperlinking across
potential to unite them, with some movements such as Dogme ELT content or application, with the users creating their own pathways
(Thornbury and Meddings, 2009) challenging a perceived increasing (and through the material, and in some cases creating their own material -
unthinking) implementation of ICT in the language classroom, while on the for example interactive textbooks and content curator tools.
other side the web is awash with teachers' technology blogs and websites Materials which exploit the potential for layering of content within a
declaring the daily arrival of the new must-use tool, site or application. page, allowing the user to selectively reveal or hide content - for
example interactive whiteboard software.
DIGITAL COMPETENCIES IN ELT  Materials and tools which allow embedding of multimedia content
within a single area - for example blogs, glogs (www. glogster.com),
According to Jenkins (2006), students need cultural competencies and websites and apps.
social skills to engage in digital participatory culture.  Materials and tools which allow the user to incorporate voice, video,
audio, image and text within the process or product of interaction.
 Materials and tools which harness the potential for instantaneity of
Play - the capacity to experiment with one's surroundings as a form of
feedback - for example automated assessment of productive skills,
problem-solving;
synchronous communication, social networking updates, student -
Performance - the ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of
response devices.
improvisation and discovery:
 Materials and tools which are based on personalized data collection
Simulation - the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-
and use – for example those which remember previous interactions
world processes;
(the dictionary www.lingro.com) or take learner analytics or user-
Appropriation - the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media
profiling as a starting point from which to supply personalized
content;
content.
Multitasking - the ability to scan one's environment and shift focus as
 Materials and tools which allow the user choice over type and time
needed to salient details;
of content – for example the use of QR codes in print material to
Collective Intelligence - the ability to pool knowledge and compare notes
introduce other media, using for example, www.visualead.com.
with others toward a common goal;
Transmedia Navigation - the ability to follow the flow of stories and
THREE KEY PRINCIPLES FOR EFFECTIVE USE OF DIGITAL
information across multiple modalities;
LEARNING MATERIALS (TWINER ET AL., 2010)
Networking - the ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate
information;
1. Multimodality Digital- tools allow for multiple forms of
Negotiation - the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning
representation
and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following
2. Orchestration -The teacher guides and shapes student interactions
alternative norms.
with digital materials.
3. Participation (Three Types) Direct Participation – Physical interaction
There can be little doubt that digital media, through the computer screen,
(touch, typing, gestures).
has become the 'culturally dominant medium' of our age (Twiner et al.,
2010) and if Prensky's (2001) claims are to be acknowledged, then an ever-
Vicarious Participation – Observing peers’ engagement.
increasing number of students and teachers are the born-post- 1980
Conceptual & Verbal Participation – Processing and responding to
digital natives with expectations and awareness of technology in all
the material.
aspects of their lives, the language classroom included.
TEACHER-CREATED DIGITAL MATERIALS
The earliest reported sighting of the adage 'technology will not replace
teachers, but teachers who use technology will replace those who don't’ What Couros (2006)
is over 30 years ago, yet profound misgivings and open resistance to
technology are still commonplace among language teachers, their ‘The Networked Teacher’ is an educational facilitator, or activator, who
students and the institutions which provide learning opportunities. has digital competence and awareness in all areas of their personal and
professional life, from podcasting to microblogging, from IWB ‘flipchart’
A recent national survey in one European country (CARDET, 2009 in design to digital animation, and much more besides.
Vrasidas, 2010) reported the following key reasons (in order of prevalence)
why teachers don't adopt technology: In parallel with this development of the networked teacher have come
experiments with the practice of the ‘flipped classroom’ in mainstream
• Extent of the curriculum that needs to be covered during the year education, championed by initiatives such as the Khan Academy
• Time constraints (www.khanacademy.org) in mathematics teaching and other content
• Time required for preparing ICT-based activities subjects.
• Availability of infrastructure
• Amount of quality content The effectiveness of such an approach for language teaching is open to
• Lack of in-classroom teacher support question, with a doubt as to what the ‘content knowledge’ of
language learning may be, and wishing to avoid the type of ‘bite-sized
DEVELOPING DIGITAL LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS - THOM KIDDLE
grammar chunks’ presentations or decontextualized lexical inputs which
have been so derided in certain ELT circles (e.g. Thornbury and Meddings, Text manipulation tools such as www.lingleonline.com
2009). RECENT EXAMPLES:

Generally accepted terminology defines ‘hybrid’ or ‘blended’ learning Website creators such as www.weebly.com
involving anywhere from 20 percent to 79 percent of course time spent
online (Sloan Consortium, 2012). RECENT EXAMPLES:

The most common vehicle for learner access to this online content is For the more adventurous sites such as http://snappii.com
some form of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), with content
created or curated by the teacher or teaching There are also a huge number of video-sharing websites beyond the
institution. A range of options are available in the VLE market, mainstream YouTube and Vimeo, which provide a multitude of options for
from free web-based environments, to opensource server-based developing materials around video clips.
environments (e.g. Moodle), to serviced, contract-based installations (e.g.
Blackboard). EXAMPLES OF VIDEO-SHARING WEBSITES:

THEY OFFER THE TEACHER THE POSSIBILITY OF:  Truetube (www.truetube.co.uk) which features talking heads
interviews with young people on issues of contemporary importance;
 delivering content in a wide range of formats (e.g. video, audio,  Wingclips (www.wingclips.com) which provides short clips from
presentation, documents, animated content created externally); popular movies organized according to the central theme in each
 of creating interactive activities such as quizzes, tasks and clip; and
projects to be done either individually or collaboratively, with  Public Domain Comedy Video
forms of response including voice recording, uploading of files, (www.pdcomedy.com/AllTheSilents.html) which has a great
text input and option selection; and collection of classic silent comedy clips, all ideal material for
 of engaging with peers and tutors in synchronous and prediction, narration, dialogue and story-reconstruction activities, as
asynchronous communication through video and text chat, well as discussions on how cinematic comedy has changed.
discussion forums, journals and file-sharing.  There are also sites such as www.ESLvideo.com which offer teachers
options for creating exercises connected to videos sourced from the
An alternative to teacher content creation comes in the form web, and the inspiring educational creativity showcased in many TED
of content curation on platforms such as Curatr, which are talks.
designed for teachers and institutions to source their content  Finally on the theme of digital video, there are the possibilities for
from the internet and make the engagement with it creation of screencasts (videos with audio commentary of what is
interactional, social and entertaining. happening on the creator’s screen) offered by products such as
Jing (www.techsmith.com/jing.html).
CURATR
STUDENT-CREATED DIGITAL MATERIALS
Learning Management System (LMS)
Curatr is the social learning platform that gives you the tools to build and
One of the underlying developments in the much-hyped arena of Web
deliver engaging online courses that get people talking.
2.0 is the move from websites with content designed and created by
computer programmers, to websites which encourage or are based
WHICH ONE DO YOU PREFER?
around content designed and created by users.
USE PERSONAL ACCOUNT FOR VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT or SET
Benefits of such an approach to working with digital materials can be
UP A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT FOR VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
found in increased learner autonomy, formation of communities of
practice and defining social frameworks, development of self
The potential for resource creation, exposure to language and content,
expression and transferable skills (Illés, 2012).
interaction, and entertainment is vast in virtual worlds such as Second Life,
and there is some very interesting teacher practice and experimental
Effective Implementation in Language Teaching requires clear
research such as the classes run by Nergiz Kern
parameters (task, content, collaboration, timeframes). Feedback should
(http://slexperiments.edublogs.org/), as well as the commercial activities
respect learner ownership while focusing on language learning goals.
of organizations like Languagelab, who have built their own city in Second
Life for their teachers and students to work in (www.languagelab.com).
TEXT MANIPULATION TOOLS:
Another major area of interest for teachers in creation of digital
newspaper-clipping generator (www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/
materials for language learning, is the rise of the interactive
snippet.asp)
whiteboard in classrooms, or as is unfortunately the case in some
schools, as a ‘show pony’ in a bookable ‘multimedia room’.
word-cloud generators (www. tagul.com, www.wordle.com)
The effective integration of interactive whiteboards in the
sites which invite poetical composition from chosen words relating to
language classroom is a long-term project for any teacher or
emotive pictures (www.piclits-com).
institution, which is said to progress through three stages:
Another area attracting a great deal of contemporary interest in
Infusion – the spread of the use of the technology into existing
student- and teacher-created digital language learning material
pedagogical practice, with learners as passive observers of the
is the area of animation, voice tools and digital storytelling.
tool.
 GoAnimate, Xtranormal, MakeBeliefsComix (for animations)
Integration – the technology embedded in the curriculum and
 Talking Tom & Ben News, Tom Loves Angela (for interactive
attention paid to how it can enhance learning goals. Learners are
storytelling)
more active participants.
 Voicethread (voice tool)
Transformation – the technology adds value to the learning
Other areas of interest for creation of student-generated digital material
process. Learners are centrally involved in an enquiry-based
are:
construction of knowledge. (Burden, 2002)

RECENT EXAMPLES:  brainstorming, mind-mapping and collaborative decision-making

tools, such as www.popplet.com, https://bubbl.us/ and
Teacher-creation of content are such sites as www.thinglink.com www.tricider.com;
RECENT EXAMPLES:  interactive dictionaries which collect words searched from texts
(www.lingro.com),
DEVELOPING DIGITAL LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS - THOM KIDDLE
 real time dictionaries which sample micro-blogging platforms (e.g.  Increased internet access enables greater access to education
Twitter) to provide contemporary examples of the word in actual outside traditional institutions, with
use (www.wordnik.com), and language education being a key area of growth.
 visual dictionaries (http://visual.merriam-webster.com/) and  Portable and handheld digital devices are increasingly used in
thesauruses (www.visualthesaurus.com) which respond to users’ classrooms, either brought by students (BYOD) or provided by
interactions with the digital image on screen; and sampling of schools.
words in use in visual imagery (http://thevisualdictionary.net/) and
real-time photo sampling from around the world (http://now.jit.su). EMERGING DIGITAL TRENDS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

PUBLISHER-/ PROFESSIONALLY CREATED DIGITAL MATERIALS 1. WEB 3.0 FEATURES IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

Large ELT publishers face significant challenges in  Semantic Web: The Semantic Web is an advanced form of the
adapting to the rapidly evolving digital landscape. They internet that allows machines to understand, organize, and process
must continuously invest in new technologies, but by the information based on meaning, not just keywords. It uses artificial
time materials are developed, expectations and platforms intelligence and big data to personalize content for users
have already changed. They also face competition from performance, and learning style.
free Open Educational Resources (OER) and Massive  Geospatial Web: Customizes language learning based on location
Open Online Cources (MOOCs), which provide content and real-world interactions.
without certification but still attract learners.
AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
Publishers must balance creating globally relevant content with addressing
local linguistic and cultural needs. They must innovate while competing  Layering digital content over real world objects, e.g., AR textbooks
with free resources and keeping up with fast-changing technology. that come to life when viewed through digital devices.
Publishers need to cater to various classroom models, from Examples:
traditional printed textbooks to fully digital environments with  Tokyo Shoseki AR textbooks – Japanese textbooks that integrate AR
interactive whiteboards or 1:1 device use. Simply embedding elements.
multimedia is no longer enough—modern learners expect  Mentira game (New Mexico) – Spanish learners use AR in realworld
personalized interaction, adaptive learning paths, and advanced settings to enhance learning.
digital tools for language practice and feedback. However, assessing
productive language skills (e.g., speaking and writing) remains a 3. AUTOMATED SPEECH & TEXT PROCESSING
challenge, as AI-driven assessments struggle with pragmatic and
strategic competence.  Software for automated language assessment is
currently restricted to large testing companies.
FEW KEY TAKEAWAYS:  Future development may make open-source speech and text
processing software available to teachers and smaller publishers.
 Constant Technological Change - Publishers invest in
digital content, but by the time materials are developed, 4. NATURAL USER INTERFACES & GESTURE-BASED LEARNING
expectations and platforms evolve.
 Competition from Free Resources - Open Educational  Devices respond to gestures, body movements, facial expressions,
Resources (OER) and MOOCs offer free content, challenging and voice, replacing traditional keyboards/mice.
traditional publishers.  Example: Xbox Kinect used in South African schools to assess
 Diverse Classroom Models - Materials must work for both language acquisition.
printed textbooks and fully digital classrooms with
interactive whiteboards or personal devices (BYOD). CHALLENGES & CONCERNS
 Advanced Digital Interaction - Learners expect more
than just embedded audio/video; they want interactive,  Pedagogical Lag – Technology is advancing faster
personalized, and adaptive content. than education can adapt.
 Challenges in Assessment - AI-driven assessments  Impact on Learning – Studies highlight negative effects on attention,
struggle with evaluating productive language skills like writing, and communication.
speaking and writing, especially in areas like strategic and  Debates on Mobile Devices – Some argue for their banning in
pragmatic competence. classrooms, while others see potential benefits.
 Global vs. Local Needs - Publishers must balance  Purposeful Technology Use – Digital tools should enhance learning
creating universally relevant materials while also rather than being used without educational value.
addressing local linguistic and cultural contexts.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

The increasing availability of WiFi and digital devices is expanding access to

education, especially in language learning. Web 3.0 features enable
personalized learning through learning analytics and location-based
content. Augmented Reality (AR) is being integrated into textbooks and
real-world applications, while automated speech and text processing may
soon be accessible to teachers.

Innovations in gesture-based learning (e.g., Xbox Kinect) are transforming

student interaction with language materials. However, challenges remain:
technology is evolving faster than educational practices, and concerns
about its impact on attention span, writing, and communication skills
persist. The focus should be on using technology to enhance learning,
rather than adopting it without clear pedagogical benefits.

Key Details:

Growing Digital Connectivity in Education

 By 2012, 73.3% of UK homes had WiFi, with global WiFi penetration

predicted to reach 42% by 2016 (Strategy Analytics, 2012).