Teachers' Views of ICT in EL Classrooms in UAE Institutes of Technology

Abstract

Influence of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is very obvious in the modern education system. Schools, universities and institutes are trying to cope up with the modern technological devices, and exploit these tools for EL teaching. However, teachers play a crucial role in implementing the appropriate use of ICT in teaching. Even though the institutes of technology in the UAE provide many ICT tools for teaching purposes, very little investigation has been carried out regarding the attitudes of EL teachers about using them. As such, the focal aim of this study was to understand the attitudes of EL teachers working at the institutes of technology in the UAE concerning the use of ICT in EL teaching. The study investigated the extent to which the EL teachers at IAT and SIT use ICT in their teaching, the pedagogic purpose of using them, the pedagogic change that the use of ICT brings, and the factors which prevent teachers' use of ICT. Data for this study was collected through surveys distributed to EL teachers working at IAT Fujairah and Al-Ain branches, and SIT, and through follow-up interviews. Findings of the study indicated that the EL teachers at IAT and SIT have a positive attitude towards the use of ICT in EL classrooms as it raised the students' motivation level. However, it was found that all institutes did not offer the same support to teachers. While IAT teachers are provided with training on ICT, teachers at SIT are not. As a result, teachers at SIT take up the responsibility of training themselves. Search Terms: ICT, Institutes of Technology, UAE, tools, websites, Web 2.0