Introduction

Over fifteen years have past since the first personal computer appeared. The 1980's can be thought of as the decade when personal computers grew in popularity. The 1990's have been the decade of multimedia and networking. Further development in computer technology made it possible to integrate text, sound, pictures and photographs, and video into a single environment. The educational possibilities of multimedia, including foreign language education, are undeniable and very appealing. Since 1993, the word "Internet" has begun to appear in our daily life. Subsequently, "e-mail" and "World Wide Web" have also entered into our regular vocabulary.

Although we are right in the middle of this rapid wave of technological advances, which are literally changing our society, technology literacy of foreign language professionals, pre-service and in-service, remains relatively low. There are a large number of language instructors who would say, "Yes, I am using a computer for word processing and e-mail. But that's about it." There are also people who have given up on learning about new technology. Furthermore, some instructors seem to associate applications of computers only to using instructional software. Computer applications, however, should be perceived in a larger context. Using courseware is just one aspect of computer applications, although it is unquestionably an extremely important one. We often overlook the importance of the computer as a tool to support instructors' activities such as material preparation and record keeping. Thus, you will be introduced to different aspects of using technology to enhance your instruction.

Goals of this tutorial

to be able to use different software tools efficiently for material preparation and course administration.
to be able to articulate what hardware and software is necessary to do specific tasks (e.g. purchase decision).
to know how to use Internet resources for professional activities (e.g. locating and retrieving language learning and teaching resources).
to know what types of instructional software is available and be able to evaluate them for better curricular integration.