INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD TECHNOLOGY: PERSPECTIVES AND ATTITUDES OF FSL TEACHERS.

Authors:	LISI, JENNIFER
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Keywords:	FRENCH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE, INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD TECHNOLOGY, SMARTBOARD, LANGUAGE, QUALITATIVE, QUANTITATIVE, MIXED METHODS, INTERVIEWS, QUESTIONNAIRE, ICT, IWT, TAM, TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL
Issue Date:	2010
Abstract:	Advancements in the use of technology in education are changing the way students learn and inevitably change the way teachers teach. This project explores French as a Second Language (FSL) teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards interactive whiteboard technology (IWT) use by quantitative and qualitative methods. This study also reviews the literature on technology for second language learning and teaching, second language teaching methods, information communication technology (ICT) use in second language classrooms, IWT and the TAM. To this end, this project cites the technology acceptance model (TAM) and implements a modified version of this model to support the data collection for this research. The data were collected from FSL teachers of two Eastern Ontario school boards and the study consisted of an analysis and discussion of both questionnaire and interview responses. In the interpretation of the findings, the entire analysis from both quantitative and qualitative data was taken into account. In general, the results of the study support the following conclusions: 1) FSL teachers perceived IWT use as a way to enrich FSL instruction; 2) FSL teachers perceived IWT use as a way to enrich FSL learning; 3) FSL teachers perceived IWT easy to use if the necessary training was given on how to use IWT to its optimal potential; 4) FSL teachers had mixed attitudes towards the push for technology use in the FSL classroom. Additional findings, implications for future research and limitations to the study are also discussed.