Technoconstructivism for the Undergraduate Foreign Language Classroom

Abstract: Although we have entered into the 21st century, most institutions of higher learning have not yet realized a routine integration of technology into regular classroom pedagogical practices. This article highlights two of the main concerns of university-level foreign language faculty with respect to incorporating technology into everyday classroom teaching and provides suggestions for facilitating the integration of technology into the undergraduate foreign language classroom as an integral part of the curriculum where the main focus is creating an educational environment that is conducive to student learning. A technoconstructivist approach, a blending of the pedagogical practices advocated by social constructivism with the benefits of educational technology, is recommended and demonstrated. By providing examples of effective classroom uses of technology that respect the five attributes of meaningful learning that are the hallmarks of technoconstructivist pedagogy, this article furnishes a blueprint for faculty to follow that will ensure a successful integration of technology, from the use of the scanner to incorporating material from Web sites designed by top education professionals into daily lessons in the foreign language classroom. Key words: classroom technology integration, educational technology, Millennials, social construction of knowledge, technoconstructivism Language: French Introduction Although university-level classrooms are now becoming increasingly populated by the "Millennials" (i.e., students who have used computers in their classrooms throughout their entire educational experience), the majority of institutions of higher learning have not yet adopted technological applications into their routine classroom pedagogical practices. As Larry Cuban discovered at the K-12 level: "Out of every 10 teachers in this country, fewer than two are serious users of computers and other information technologies in their classrooms (several times a week); three to four are occasional users (about once a month); and the rest-four to five teachers out of every 10-never use the machines at all... Of those same 10 American teachers, about seven have computers at home and use them to prepare lessons, communicate with colleagues and friends, search the Internet, and conduct personal business. In short, more teachers use computers at home more than at school" (1999, p. 68). This startling pattern replicates itself at the university level as well. "In universities where professors have had almost two decades' experience of using personal computers at home and at the office, where there is much professional help to get them to use computers in their classrooms, the same pattern of limited and unimaginative instructional use of computers turns up" (Cuban, 1998, p. 6). Cuban cited a survey done at Stanford University that clearly illustrates this parallel: "The survey went out to 750 professors who taught undergraduates. Fifty-nine percent of the professors said that they never used a computer in the classroom; 19% said they used the machines occasionally; 8% said they used computers often . . ." (1998, p. 6). In almost every institution of higher education there are, of course, entrepreneurial faculty members-educators who adopt technological applications well in advance of others-who recognize the advantages of pedagogical uses of technology and who have taken the needed steps in order to bring these benefits to the students in their classrooms. However, the number of faculty actively integrating technology into their classroom teaching practices remains relatively small. Sax's study of overall faculty attitudes toward technology completed in 2000, where 87% of all faculty surveyed communicated via e-mail at least twice a week and 85% regularly used computers to write memos or letters but only 22% used computers in undergraduate course instruction, supports the conclusion that, although faculty members use computers for a myriad of professional purposes, integration of technology directly into classroom teaching practices does not constitute a high priority item at the university level. …