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Editorial:
Journey into Cyberspace and Back to the Classroom Again
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The design of cyberspace is another life-world, a parallel universe, offering the
intoxicating prospect of actually fulfilling... the dream of transcending the physical
world, fully alive, at will, to dwell in some Beyond--to be empowered or enlightened
there, alone or with others, and to return.
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Michael Benedikt
Cyberspace: First Steps, 1992
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Cyberspace and the exciting possibilities of
computer mediated communications are enthusiastically described in Tillyer's feature
article, "Modem" Times . As she notes, electronic communications provide
not only an entree to libraries, research institutions, art galleries, and numerous other
data bases; they provide instant access to a universal community of friends. The web of
media connections that Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) wrote about more than 30 years ago is
breaking the barriers of distance and time, creating a "global village."
Geographically isolated communities now have the possibility to thoughtfully focus upon
electronic texts and collaborate with others in distinctly different cultural
environments.
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But if cyberspace technology is to provide
meaningful learning experiences, educators must have a role in its application. As Taylor
notes in his discussion of the hypermedia language laboratory at Sultan Qaboos University
in Oman, foreign language teachers must go beyond the information storage and retrieval
capability of computers and move toward establishing a truly interactive relationship
among learners and electronic texts. Worth pondering is his question: "Before there
were computers and language labs, did people learn language by reading encyclopedias and
dictionaries?" How much of the information available on a typical CD-Rom can be
processed by the novice learner of the foreign language? How much of this intake can be
processed for output?
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Another dimension of CALL is examined in Reis's
article on using a single computer in the classroom as a resource for enhancing
traditional EFL activities. By giving the computer important, specific roles in the
classroom, Reis has enhanced his own role as a facilitator in the language learning
process.
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From virtual reality, we return to the real life
of the foreign language classroom and the teacher's continuing objective to provide
authentic language experiences for the students. The need to customize our classes is the
focus of articles by Johns, Lescano, Syrquin, and Rendon. Of particular interest is how
Johns links ESP with literacy portfolios. She sees portfolios as more than mere
collections of students' work; they should display a variety of work that demonstrates the
student's literacy growth and contains his/her reflections about how specific texts and
tasks were handled. By this means, students can develop their metacognitive awareness and
become better monitors of their own performance. Lescano looks at the needs of the
learning disabled (LDs), a group never before treated in the Forum , discussing an
innovative program at a school in Peru.
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The relevance of Discourse Analysis in
developing language material is emphasized in Nwogu's analysis of scientific texts. By
helping students of science differentiate between derived and new information in the
target language, he empowers them to conceptualize how scientific information is
structured.
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It is for our readers to determine what role
cyberspace is to play in supplementing the goals they have set for their students; but in
doing so, it may be useful to keep in mind the thoughts of Clifford Stoll, one pioneer on
the information superhighway:
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"What are the
best ways for us to connect with one another?Such connections
are rare enough in person; the computer adds a layer of interference
that we can do without. Don't give yourself over completely to
the virtual world. Get a life."
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Clifford Stoll
Silicon Snake Oil:Second Thoughts on the Information Highway, 1995
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