From the special issue editors

The effects of information and communication technologies in language education are often mediated by the learner, the content, the teacher, and the learning environment. Up until recently, research has primarily focused on the relationship between technology and the learner, and between technology and content. A large part of the existing CALL research is about how language learners interact with technology as well as how certain technologies can be used to support the teaching of certain types of content (e.g., vocabulary, grammar, listening, or writing). Relatively little is known about how teachers interact with technology. However it has become increasingly clear that teachers are key to the realization of its claimed educational potentials (Cuban, 1986; Zhao, 2001, 2002). They are the gate-keepers of technology, who not only determine whether it enters the classroom, but also affect how it is used in the classroom. If it is not allowed in the classroom or not used properly, it cannot have the opportunity to exercise its educational power. The realization of teachers' critical role in effective uses of technology has led to a surge of interest in the relationship between the two (Zhao, in press; US Congress Office of Technology Assessment, 1995). In some countries, this interest has also led to radical changes in teacher education programs, which now include considerably more courses in educational use of ICTs than a few years ago. This special issue of LLT joins the conversation about teachers and technology by exploring a number of critical issues in this field. There are two broad categories of issues related to teachers and technology. The first includes concerns with preparing teachers to effectively use technology as a pedagogical and professional tool to achieve greater educational outcomes, and the second includes issues about how to use technology in teacher education to prepare more versatile and better skilled teachers by making changes in their educational environment. In this special issue, we invited contributions exploring issues in both categories. How to Prepare Teachers to Use Technology? The ability to teach with technology is quite different from the ability to use it, because technology must be integrated with a sound pedagogical framework. Thus, the first issue we must consider in preparing teachers to use technology as a pedagogical tool and as a new teaching and learning environment is how it interacts with current pedagogical approaches. Research suggests that teachers are more likely to use it when it is found to be compatible with their pedagogical styles (Zhao, 2002). To find that compatibility, we must understand the salient features of various technologies and the attributes of promising pedagogical approaches. Research suggests that teachers are more likely to use technology when it is compatible with their pedagogical styles (Zhao, 2002). To find that compatibility, we must understand the capabilities of various technologies and the attributes of promising pedagogical approaches. Weasenforth, Biesenbach-Lucas, and Meloni's article Realizing Constructivist Objectives Through Collaborative Technologies: Threaded Discussions is an excellent example of research attempting to connect pedagogy to technology. Through an extensive situated study of the implementation of one of the most widely used computer-mediated communication technologies, threaded discussion, this paper examines how technology can be used to meet curricular goals within a constructivist framework. In particular, the authors investigated the extent to which teacher-mediated technology promoted selected cognitive and social skills as well as addressed affective factors and individual differences in students. The examination of the interactions between technology and a constructivist pedagogical framework offers many important insights into the issue of compatibility between technology and pedagogy. …