Shona Whyte and Julie Alexander
Interactive whiteboard (IWB) research shows variation in classroom interactivity (Beauchamp & Kennewell, 2010) and a need for sustained teacher support (Cutrim Schmid & Whyte, 2012). iTILT (interactive Technologies in Language Teaching), a 2-year European project on the IWB for communicative language teaching, was conceived partly in response to these findings and as an opportunity for further research. The project has produced a website for language teachers featuring over 250 short video clips of IWB-supported classroom practice, supplemented by relevant teacher and learner comments, created by filming 44 teachers in 81 classes involving different languages, ages, and levels of proficiency in primary, secondary, university and vocational contexts in 7 European countries.
The present study focuses on data from 9 French EFL teachers in three educational sectors who participated in a dedicated online support space set up for the duration of the project. The data are participants' contributions to the limited stream of a Google+ circle including teachers and researchers.
Results show variation in contributions across the 9 teachers, and reveal a number of areas of general concern, but also allow the isolation of specific interactions which affected classroom practice, with implications for teacher education in languages with technology.
Beauchamp, G., & Kennewell, S. (2010). Interactivity in the classroom and its impact on learning. Computers & Education, 54(3), 759-766.
Cutrim Schmid, E., & Whyte, S. (2012). Interactive Whiteboards in State School Settings: Teacher Responses to Socio-Constructivist Hegemonies. Language Learning & Technology, 16(2), 65-86.
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Our paper on iTILT teachers in France has been accepted for the SAES conference in Dijon in May 2013.