Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments
Reviewed by Maggie Sokolik, Ph.D.
UC Berkeley, College Writing Programs
sokolik@socrates.berkeley.edu

Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments is an edited volume that is part of the Case Studies in TESOL Practice Series (Jill Burton, Series Editor). It comprises twelve chapters, divided into four subsections:

• Building a Computer Learning Center
• Organizing the Curriculum
• Engaging Students
• Training Teachers

Most of the individual articles are descriptions of technology used in specific contexts: for example, one article addresses building a multimedia ESL lab at Cochise College in Arizona. The article about CD-ROM video details the Real English and Marzio School programs in France. This is not a criticism of the book; in fact, these case studies are extremely helpful in understanding the ins and outs of technology use, perhaps more than a general description or theoretical approach might be.

In fact, the strength of this book lies in its practical approach to complex tasks. Each of the case studies lays out the steps of a process, whether it's having students write for and produce web sites ("Teaching Writing with Web Projects: Famous Personages in Japan" by Thomas N. Robb) or showing the floor plans of computing centers as part of a larger curricular plan ("A Self-Access Center for Business English Learners: Meeting Individual Learning Needs" by Julio C. Gimenez, "Investing in People, Not Just Flashy Gadgets" by Jane Averill, Eve Chambers, and Maria Dantas-Whitney, and "Immersed in Writing: Networked Composition at Kendall Elementary School" by Joy Kreeft Peyton).

My only criticism is minor. Teacher training occupies the last section of the book; this seems symbolic of the place teacher training usually occupies when it comes to computer technology. In addition, this section comprises only two articles, compared to Parts 2 and 3 of the book, which each contain four. (To be fair, Part 1, "Building a Computer Learning Center" also has only two chapters.) However, these two articles are good starting places for teacher-training programs. One outlines a TESOL Academy workshop that the author (editor Hanson-Smith) taught, which "prepared teachers to teach their students how to use computer presentation software" (p. 137, "Hands-On Teacher Training: Presentation Software"). The other is a more comprehensive curriculum for teacher training in CALL ("A Teacher Preparation Course for Computer Assisted Language Learning" by Sarah Rilling) that was followed at Northern Arizona University.

Overall, the reader will find a lot of useful information in this volume: checklists, samples of computer laboratory rules, floor plans, workstation layout, curricula and syllabi. The variety of experiences, teacher and researcher voices, and approaches to this subject make for both interesting and useful reading.

Title:
Technology-Enhanced Learning Environment
vi + 196 pp., index

Editor:
Elizabeth Hanson-Smith

ISBN:
0-9939791-83-8

Price Info:
$29.95 (TESOL members: $25.95)

Quick Summary:
This is a collection of case studies presented by teachers and researchers in CALL. It provides a variety of experiences, both from instructional and geographical perspectives. The articles' approaches are practical in nature, and provide a lot of good "how-to" information. This volume also contains many examples, diagrams, checklists, and other useful tools for those wanting to design and build laboratories, teacher training programs, or school curricula.

Book Cover:

(Click image above for a larger view)

Written May 9, 2001
By Maggie Sokolik

Last updated May 17, 2001
By Jim Duber

Copyright © 2001 Maggie Sokolik
and Jim Duber.
All rights reserved.