In this blog post I will try to explain why teachers (for the specific case of my research: EFL teachers) need to develop their skills in using technology in a pedagogically sound way. I will start with providing information on the technological changes that we have experienced in the last few decades and how it has affected education systems. I will then describe the technology pedagogy and content knowledge (TPACK) theory and why teachers – in my opinion – should aim to develop their TPACK knowledge. I will conclude my blog by inviting fellow EFL teachers to participate in the “EFL- TPACK” survey that has been developed for EFL teachers.
About 2400 years ago Democritus stated, “The only thing that doesn’t change is change itself”. This statement emphasises the general principle of life, which is “change”. We live in a world in which everything is changing constantly. For example, although its use was restricted to the British Isles in the sixteenth century, English is now (in the twenty-first century) commonly described as a lingua franca and used all over the world. Similar to the status of English, technology has recently become an indispensable part of our lives. From banking to health, all sectors including education have been affected by technology and the change it has brought. In educational settings, the change started with creating adequate technology infrastructure in learning environments and governments are still working on providing technology (i.e. computers) in every classroom.
Providing classrooms with technology, however, would not be enough in order to create an effective teaching environment. The consumers of technology – in the case of education that would be teachers and students – would need certain skills to be able to make use of these new tools in the teaching/ learning process. In fact, teachers would need to gain not only the basic skills to use the newly introduced technology but also the knowledge about how to use them for teaching more effectively (Harasim, 2012; Hubbard & Levy, 2006). Technology should not be just an add-on to teachers’ current practices because a successful integration requires not only basic skills but also a change in the pedagogy practised by teachers.
