Integrating Emerging Technologies

Ritu Jayakar

Penn State University

The sudden shift to online teaching during the pandemic has brought the integration of technology to the forefront. Instructors moved face-to-face modules into digital formats in an emergency effort to continue the learning process. However, while the pandemic did force the pace of integration, educational technologies have been on an ascendant curve for a decade or more. What is needed now, instead of a stopgap reactive approach, is a more thoughtful and systematic integration of technologies such as online interactive videos, games, smartphone apps and educational software. These technologies, while powerful, will remain underutilized unless accompanied by innovation in classroom practices of material development, collaborative work, and learner assessments. This presentation discusses how instructors can go beyond the technology add-ons and integrate emerging technologies to make language learning more appealing and efficient for learners and educators.

Bio: Ritu Jayakar is an adjunct lecturer at Pennsylvania State University. She has taught elementary and advanced level Hindi, guided independent study for graduate students doing research in India. In summer, she offers an Intensive Hindi language Institute in a blended format. She completed her master’s degree in Hindi-Urdu Pedagogy in 2018. Her areas of interest include project-based learning, language pedagogy and use of technology for second language acquisition.