LIT2T Leadership Guide

47 TO: TABLE OF CONTENTS Other theorists have moved beyond Warschauer to assert that ‘integrated CALL’ represents a new phase of information technology integration. In this phase, learning technology becomes normalized in the learning process; integrated to the extent that it becomes an assumption and an expectation of learners (WALKER & WHITE, 2013, P. 2) . When first introduced, technology such as the iPad is “…seen as having the power to transform life as we know it…” (P. 2) , whereas the Integrated CALL phase is realized when, “…CALL is no longer a meaningful construct because technology is an everyday part of life and learning” (P. 2) . The acronym TELL, Technology-enhanced language learning, reflects a further degree of normalization of technology into language training, representing as it does technology not just assisting language learning, but “…as part of the environment in which language exists and is used” (P. 9) TELL encompasses not only personal computers but other ‘smart’ devices such as tablets, game consoles and smartphones, and even devices not yet invented or uses. Also, TELL encompasses social communication that goes way beyond CALL’s original focus on discrete skills, and in fact goes beyond language learning itself to make possible communities of practice among newcomers. A language classroom by itself, cannot be a true Community of Practice “… because there is no body of expert members at the heart of the learner community in the classroom” (P. 5) . Digital networks make possible online environments where newcomers can participate with ‘experts’ and ‘apprentice’ and “…learn through lurking…” (P. 5) . These technology innovations, “compel us to re-define what it means to teach, to learn, and to know” (BOUCHARD, 2013, P. 305) in an age with nearly ubiquitous access to the Internet. Learners can now create, “their own personal learning network” (P. 307) . The work of Siemens and Downes in articulating a theory of connectivism is evidence of a genuine paradigm shift. This is a worldview where knowledge resides at least partly in machines. A related concept of ‘rhizomatic knowledge’ has emerged “which argues that knowledge is something which exists in its own right, independent of people (platonic knowledge) but is rather located in the minds of many individuals…” (P. 6) . In this environment, social constructivist theories of learning and knowing are actualized, “… as new ideas are constructed through shared thinking and conversations” (P. 6) . Whether or not learning technology will increase accessibility and program uptake, learning technology needs to be incorporated in settlement language training because the implicit skills enable broader and more effective participation in Canadian society. In an era when technology can do so much, do language classes still have value? Can non-formal independent learning replace formalized government programs? The value of autonomous or semi-autonomous settlement language training to newcomers is an open question. Without face-to-face opportunities, can learners be expected to engage with technology and rehearse authentic language? A LINC or other language training classroom provides face- to-face social interaction with immigrant peers and a language training professional. The classroom represents a protected social environment where the potential for embarrassment or communication failure is minimized, and a low risk ‘rehearsal’ environment for language and cultural exploration and experimentation. Yet distance settlement language training has strong surface appeal. A modality that foregoes face-to-face in favour of distance learning also foregoes the inconvenience or impossibility of attending classes regularly on the part of busy adults with families, many struggling hard to establish themselves anew and regularly dealing with a thousand complexities of employment, accommodation, healthcare, transportation, childcare and education. Blended learning offers a potential compromise between purely face-to-face and autonomous distance learning, a compromise that incorporates some of the benefits of distance delivery