Stephanie+Papak+-+Resources

Goodwin-Jones, R. (2005). Emerging technologies: skype and podcasting: disruptive technologies for language learning. Language Learning and Technology, 9(3), 9-12. Retrieved from [].  //Summary and Critique: //  This article describes Skype and Podcasting and what it consists of. The descriptions are largely positive but seem to come from the experience of the author and highlight on the benefits and shortcomings of both technologies as they are related to practical use. The article does not spend a lot of time describing ways in which these technologies can be used in the classroom, but simply states that they can, and that they can be implemented in a variety of ways based on the creativity of the teacher. Some examples are given. The article provides more of a description of the technologies rather than the focus being on the connection to education. It ends with a list of resources we can visit to manage and create Skype conversations and Podcasts, as well as applications for both.  I liked the focus of the article, but I feel the title was a little misleading. It was too short to include what I was really looking for (some evidence, case studies, descriptions and evaluations on how this technology was used in classrooms). However, it does give a good starting point for implementing this technology in the classroom and with the descriptions also gives a beginning understanding of how to use the technology as well as it benefits and limitations.
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Ehsani, F. & Knodt, E. (1998). Speech technology in computer-aided language learning: strengths and limitations of a new CALL paradigm. Language Learning and Technology, 2(1), 45-60. Retrieved from [].
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//Summary and Critique: //  The article begins by describing how computer-aided learning (CALL) has evolved and is viewed by the language teaching society. The limitations of the CALL system are discussed, and also the perceived limitations by educators. It then goes into a description of automatic speech recognition (ASR) and how it functions and should be designed that I felt was a little unnecessary. However, as the goal of the article was to discuss the limitations of CALL and ASR and how to work around them, I realize that the authors were trying to give the reader an understanding of how they work. It then goes to describe how ASR can be used with CALL to create voice interactive language learning and examples of contexts in which it can be applicable (mainly highlighting how to overcome the limitations described in earlier sections). This was helpful and interesting and the uses of ASR in CALL seem something worth exploring, but many of the systems described were experimental and not ready for commercial use in classrooms. Also, a lot of this section was very scientific with technical speech giving the feel that the article was written by scientists promoting their software than by teachers or teacher researchers. The article ends with a description of what a future with CALL could look like, and what is necessary to make it so.  Generally, I would say this article was interesting, and provided some insight into future technologies that could be useful in the language classroom. However, the writing was very scientific and largely based on experimental research not done in a classroom. Instead of focusing on CALL as a whole and describing implementations as I had hoped, it more described ASR and it uses and felt more like a very heavy commercial. However, if and when technology advances to the point of commercializing ASR technology, I would be very interested in reading case studies and experimenting with the technology myself. The article did give me some ideas to think about how to use available ASR technology to apply to my classroom.

Warschauer, M. & Meskill, C. (2000). Technology and second language learning. J. Rosenthal (Ed.), Handbook of undergraduate second language education. 303-318. Retrieved from [].
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//Summary and Critique://  This article starts off with a brief history of how technology has been used in language learning classrooms with a brief description of different approaches to language teaching and technological resources to fit those approaches. It describes many ways to integrate technology in the classroom and gives examples, all connected to a certain approach or theory of teaching second language. The advantages and disadvantages of particular technological tools and approaches are also discussed and a there is also a section in which case studies on particular implementations of technology are described. The case studies also include a section on evaluation in which the teacher reflects on how they evaluated the success of their technology tool.  Overall, I found this article very useful in expanding my view of implementing technology in the language classroom. It provided examples, evaluations, and descriptions of theory surrounding the topic. With regards to the original question for this assignment (how will a specific technology work with our specific needs), it provides an answer, albeit an ambiguous one. The last paragraph does a great job in summing up the author’s position on this.