Assalamualaikum and Hello again Dr  Burn!

The three theories on technology and language education that we have discussed in the previous class which are The Sociocultural Approach, The New Literacies Studies and Multimodality, are an eye opener for us as educators. All the three concepts are indeed important in order for teachers to maximize the usage of technology in their lessons yet still give a huge impact for learners as well as the educators. Personally I am not really sure if I would integrate all the three theories into my lessons as it is quite hard to apply and implement it into the classroom .However, I would try my very best to enhance the way I’m handling my classes after listened and learned about this three important theories.  

The sociocultural Approach emphasizes more on interaction as part of social terms and the importance of virtual environment. As for examples, it will provides many opportunities for learners to interact, to study in collaboration and to understand the target language with the help of technological devices and special designed tools such as virtual meeting programs, notice boards and even all types of social media to interact such as email, Skype, twitter, as well as Facebook. In fact, Lamy and Hampel (2007) emphasize the importance of computer conferencing which allows to connect learners and teachers by offering them new possibilities to practice the target language in a more authentic/ less anxiety environment. It is an ideal atmosphere foe learners to learn the target language, however as mentioned above it is quite hard to implement it in my classroom, which is the sub-urban school.

Multimodality challenges readers to consider a relatively new educational concept and focus on the variety types of information transmission such as via visual, digital, audio, gestural, as well as linguistic design. For instance, information can be transmitted visually through a still photo or video and accompanied by aural linguistic input in the target language. In this situation, it will greatly enhance learners understanding about the lesson.

In the nutshell, it is crucial for educators to construct lessons that meet their students need and interest. Therefore, in tasks and activities that were designed earlier, it should have enough opportunities for learners to become more autonomous and more on students cantered instead of teachers have absolute power in the classroom. This will help them to feel self relevant, successful and self motivated in learning. It also should provide learners to take their own learning responsibilities. On the other note, learning environment should be designed to provide any guidance when they need. Educators need to be the facilitators still.  

Thank you for your time.