Technology-enhance language learning (TELL) continues to grow in use within language classrooms. However, a number of hurdles still remain when it comes to the effective integration of technology for skill-specific language learning, such as a lack of training and an overabundance of tools to choose from. This chapter identifies and describes three major hurdles that still plague effective TELL practices. Authors describe 2 current efforts to overcome these hurdles: a Global Online Course (GOC) on effective educational technology integration, and a year-long comparative case study on the GOC that explores the trainees' perceptions of educational technology. The chapter presents potential avenues for overcoming the above hurdles based on insights gained from four teachers of the GOC, as well as the trainees' perceptions and integration of educational technology in the language classroom.

Participation in online courses has become essential for training language professionals in under-resourced contexts with skills in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) (Godwin-Jones, 2014). Most online CALL courses use asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ACMC) to facilitate meaningful learning for participants. Although participants’ sustained engagement with ACMC is the target, global realities of participants interfere with their participation levels. This article investigates participants’ engagement profiles in asynchronous online discussions in an 8-week CALL-based global online course developed and implemented by a team at Iowa State University. Using a case study approach, nine focal participants’ engagement profiles have been analyzed in terms of identifying patterns of engagement in the discussion posts and their relation to the types of discussion prompts. Then, social network analysis (SNA) and thematic analysis were employed to investigate patterns of interaction among the participants in the replies. The results indicated that engagement patterns observed in discussion posts overall aligned with the primary goals of prompt types. SNA further identified two participants as social mediators to connect participants with each other. These findings are significant in that they suggest the effectiveness of using ACMC to promote co-construction of knowledge for a global audience. This article also provides implications regarding the design of discussion prompts to help maximize participant engagement with course content.

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