The current special issue is dedicated to studies exploring social interaction in second language educational environments that feature technology. In this introduction article, we contextualize the empirical studies included here with respect to the changing role of technology in education and situate them in the research tradition of multimodal…

Every student has a powerful wireless signal transmitter, his or her cell phone, that can be used to replace the "clicker" as a personal response device. Our mobile phone-based response system (iQlickers) collects and analyzes the answers or opinions sent in by the students as SMS (short message service) messages. The statistic of the…

Audience response systems, also known as clickers, hold much promise for use in the communication classroom. Yet potential benefits notwithstanding, implementing new technology in the classroom also offers challenges for faculty who must master it themselves while managing students' learning. Successful clicker implementation, like the…

The use of manipulatives is an essential key to teaching mathematics to young children. Throughout history, different types of manipulatives have been used to aid in comprehension of mathematical concepts including quipu, abaci and pattern blocks. Today, concrete and virtual manipulatives are the tools that early childhood teachers are using in…

It isn't a stretch to say that the definitions of "teaching online" and "teaching with technology" vary, even from instructor to instructor. Whatever the level of technology, and regardless of teachers' comfort level with it, one has to remember that for all that educational technology can offer through new communication methods and the ability to…

This paper describes an initial study of using tablet PCs and interactive course software in integrated circuit (IC) design courses. A rapidly growing community is demonstrating how this technology can improve learning and retention of material by facilitating interaction between faculty and students via cognitive exercises during lectures. While…

This discussion paper highlights a number of themes emerging from contemporary research into teaching with whole-class interactive technologies. Focusing particularly on the contributions to this special issue, the paper considers the significance of whole-class interactive technologies (primarily interactive whiteboards) with respect to the use…

This article outlines how I, as a primary teacher engaging with a self-study action research process, have come to a deeper understanding of my practice. It explains how I have also come to an understanding of why I work in the way I do; of how this understanding influences my work, and the significance of this new understanding. My work as a…

Knowledge Building as a theoretical, pedagogical, and technological innovation focuses on the 21st century need to work creatively with knowledge. The team now advancing Knowledge Building spans multiple disciplines, sectors, and cultural contexts. Several teacher-researcher-government partnerships have formed to bring about the systemic changes…

This article presents an argument for the use of networked interactive whiteboards (NIWBs) in regional Australian higher education and identifies new pedagogies for this context. Most Australian universities operate multiple campuses, and many use video conference facilities to deliver courses across these sites. For students at remote video…

This paper will offer a discussion of the literature concerning multimodality, orchestration and participation related to classroom use of the interactive whiteboard (IWB). Specifically, it will explore the place, or potential use, of the IWB to resource a multimodal approach to teaching and learning, emphasising the complex connections that need…

Talk-radio podcasts, such as "Absolutely Intercultural," which are not overtly pedagogical, can be much more than passive, extended listening practice. This paper describes two examples in which teachers have used the "Absolutely Intercultural" podcast and discusses the different levels of involvement possible with podcasts from listening to…

In this article, the authors question the assumption that interactive whiteboards (IWBs) automatically lead to interactive teaching. The authors contend that although IWBs have features that offer great potential for the development of highly interactive teaching approaches, it may be the case that teachers must have made the transition from…

This paper proposes that Interactive Technology can help professors enhance communication in the classroom so there is increased attention, interest, preparation, and retention of class materials by the students. Interactive Technology (also called audience response systems) involves students using individual response pads (clickers) to respond to…

Learning is a changing phenomenon, depending on the advances in theory and research. This book presents a relatively new approach to learning, based on meaningful human activities in cultural practices and in collaboration with others. It draws extensively from the ideas of Lev Vygotsky and his recent followers. The book presents ideas that…