Recognizing that online teaching and learning is placed within an environment where neither the teacher nor the student has complete-control is the first step to actioning capabilities towards a humanized environment. The tool that is typically used in higher education, the learning management system (LMS), has a design that constrains learning…

This article discusses the integration of three concepts central to the enterprise of computer-supported collaborative learning: namely, collaboration scripts, self-regulation, and group awareness. It does so through consideration of five reports in this Special Issue that address the integration challenge. Various themes are extracted and…

Internet teaching using electronic teaching software or other multimedia can play a certain role in promoting academic performance, just like traditional teaching. Therefore, the problem is not that schools do not use computers or the Internet, but how to best use them, and should explore what methods are most effective for what kind of students…

In a recent paper, Pierre Tchounikine has suggested to advance the Script Theory of Guidance (SToG) by addressing the question how learners appropriate collaboration scripts presented to them in learning environments. Tchounikine's main criticism addresses SToG's "internal script configuration principle." This principle states that in…

Keynote presentation made to the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Fifth World Conference in Computer Education held in Sydney, Australia in 1990, and printed in "Australian Education Computing," 5(1). Reprinted in memory and deepest respect of Professor Seymour Papert and his seminal contribution to educational…

In our response to Clements and Sarama (2017), we address the 5 issues that they identify as criticisms of our Research Commentary (Kitchen & Berk, 2016). As in our original commentary, we highlight concerns we have regarding the delivery of [computer-assisted instruction] CAI programs and potential misuses of CAI, particularly at Title I…

This commentary offers a brief reflection on the state of CALL in 1997, when "Language Learning & Technology" was launched with my paper entitled "CALL in the year 2000: Still in search of research paradigms?" The point of my 1997 paper was to suggest the potential value of research on second language learning for the study…

This article presents an interview with Rick A. Sheets, who has been working in learning assistance, faculty training, and technology support for over 30 years. He collaborated with Frank Christ as the co-founder and webmaster of the Learning Support Centers in Higher Education (LSCHE) website, a resource established in 1996 for learning center…

In their Research Commentary, Kitchen and Berk (2016) argue that educational technology may focus only on skills for low-income students and students of color, further limiting their opportunities to learn mathematical reasoning, and thus pose a challenge to realizing standards-based reforms. Although we share the concern about equity and about…

The computer-assisted language learning (CALL) field seems to change overnight with new technological affordances. Blake revisits his 2000 "LLT" article on computer-mediation communication (CMC) in order to reflect on how the field has examined this topic over the past decade or so. While the Interaction Hypothesis continues to guide…

In this commentary on Van Leeuwen (2015, this issue), I explore the relation between theory and practice in learning analytics. Specifically, I caution against adhering to one specific theoretical doctrine while ignoring others, suggest deeper applications of cognitive load theory to understanding teaching with analytics tools, and comment on…

Sigmund Tobias came to the United States in 1948, after his family had fled to China from the Holocaust in Europe. His Memoir ("Strange Haven: A Jewish Childhood in Wartime Shanghai") describes that part of his life. He settled in New York, where he completed his B.A. and M.S. in School Psychology from the City College of New York, and a…

Meta-analytic methods are often used to determine the effectiveness of certain treatments across studies. However, we are often unaware of how a meta-analysis can provide value to researchers and practitioners. This paper offers a brief commentary on a meta-analysis conducted by Lin, Huang and Liou (2013) in LLT, providing further statistical…

In an ever-changing world, foreign language instruction remains faithfully devoted to teaching by means of coursebooks, the design of which is based mainly on the skills or the structural syllabus paradigm that arranges language according to complexity of grammatical phenomena. In this paper, I aim to explore the appropriateness of the materials…

Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) is attracting a great deal of attention at present (Stockwell & Sotillo, 2011). However, it is important that teacher and researcher exploitation of technological developments be guided by more than just enthusiasm. "Language Learning & Technology's" commitment to empirical studies is admirable but, for…