Teachers’ Roles in the Global Hypermedia Environment

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the roles teachers are adopting as they engage with the increasingly complex web of digital texts and communications that compose the early twenty-first century economic and educational environment. It identifies and describes three main categories of roles in the literature on CALL and information and communication technologies (ICTs)—the metaphoric, the attitudinal, and the functional. Metaphoric roles are those assigned in order to capture some key aspect of changes in work practices. Attitudinal roles are those adopted by individuals in relation to the changes in their environment associated with ICTs. Functional roles are those imposed by the ICT itself on those who engage with it. The chapter goes on to present four key issues in relation to teachers’ roles in the new ICT environment—the extent to which teachers can influence adoption and use, the change in teachers’ work and status, the changes in teaching contexts and conditions, and the skills needed to engage with ICT effectively.