چکیده:
Interactive whiteboards (IWBs) have been used in the educational context of Iran since 2009 and formally introduced to the educational context of Iran by the Iranian Ministry of Education in 2011. This study sets out to investigate how Iranian EFL teachers use IWBs in the classroom and what difficulties and challenges they may encounter when they use this technology. To this end, a total of 71 Iranian EFL teachers who taught EFL at secondary schools participated in the study. A questionnaire and interviews were developed as the instruments. The findings revealed the positive views and perspectives of teachers about the use of IWBs, while several curricular, training, pragmatic, and infrastructural obstacles and challenges were also reported. The results also showed that the teachers used IWBs in a limited way and mostly underused them. The IWBs were mainly utilized as a means to connecting to the Internet or showing videos and pictures occasionally. The teachers believed that the IWBs can be employed to teach different language skills and sub-skills. The teachers deemed some measures such as continuous training, the change of the traditional and rigid curricula, and support from educational directors and planners as important and necessary. The study has implications for the proper use of IWBs and the implementation of IWB-based teacher training in EFL instruction in different parts of the world.
خلاصه ماشینی:
Keywords: Interactive whiteboard, Schools, EFL, Training, Challenges, Language skills Introduction Technology has been playing a constructive role in the field of education and pedagogical practices, and a great number of teachers and practitioners have considered technology as a support for teaching and learning activities (Anto- nietti & Colombo, 2008; Duran, Runvand, & Fossum, 2009; Friedman & Hicks, 2006; Heba & Nouby, 2008; Manfra & Hammond, 2008).
As a result, teachers and students’ expectations and perspectives of technology use and integration have become an important research strand in educational contexts, and a wide range of studies have been implemented to scrutinize attitudes to- wards technology and its specific uses in educational settings (Al-Emran, Elsh- erif, & Shaalan, 2016; Ankiewicz, 2019; Frantom, Green, & Hoffman, 2002; Proc- tor & Marks, 2013; Rohaan, Taconis, & Jochems, 2010; Wright, Washer, Wat- kins, & Scott, 2008).
In English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has facilitated the application of technology for teaching and learning foreign languages and created considerable pedagogical and learning opportunities for both EFL students and teachers (Beatty, 2013; Celik, 2013; Kim & Rissel 2008; Lai, Shum, & Tian, 2016; Solano, Cabrera, Ulehlova, & Espi- noza, 2017; Timucin, 2009).
Similarly, delving into teachers and students’ atti- tudes and beliefs about the use of modern technologies in EFL contexts has at- tracted the attention of a plethora of researchers and language teaching experts (Ayres, 2002; Baz, 2016; Hismanoglu & Hismanoglu, 2011; Stepp-Greany, 2002; Vandewaetere, & Desmet, 2009; Wiebe, & Kabata, 2010).