Is ICT Really Essential for Learning? Perceptions and Uses of ICTs for Language Acquisition in Secondary Level Environme

Information and communications technology (ICT) has become an acknowledged and integral part of everyday life for many people. As research shows, the use of ICT in appropriate contexts in education can add value to teaching and learning by enhancing the effectiveness of learning itself and being a significant motivational factor in the students' acquisition process by supporting student's engagement with collaborative learning, and by promoting deep active lifelong learning (Barak, 2006; Lau & Sim, 2008). Despite all these significant benefits, it seems that ICT is not widely and successfully integrated into the educational system and consequently, its learning potential is not fully exploited. The purpose of this paper is to reflect and understand the current uses and expectations of ICT for learning in general and language learning in particular presenting some of the findings of a major case study. The results of this study are pertinent to future developments in school practice and national policies. [For full proceedings, see ED565087.]