Scholarly Interest in the Role of Technology in Course Materials

Over the past several decades, the dimension of language learning materials has been extended to embrace the involvement of technological and online resources (see, for example, Garton & Graves, 2014; Harwood, 2010; Tomlinson, 2011). The developments in technology that began in the 1980s continue to affect ELT materials and practice today (Dudenhay & Hockly, 2012), and resources need to be constantly upgraded to catch up with new technologies such as videoconferencing, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and mobile phones (Tomlinson, 2011), CD-Rom, 3D games, audios, videos, emails and other types of media. Among the key benefits of the use of computers and the internet are the richness of available resources (such as multimedia activities and web-based readings), the interactive nature of online materials (such as emails and web chats), the international context of language use (Muehleisen, 1997) and many online tools for fostering all kinds of linguistic competence (Liou, 2000).

A number of impact reports from Europe demonstrate learners' positive feelings about the use of ICT in education (Balanskat et al., 2006; Korte & Hüsing, 2006). In particular, second language materials derived from information technology have a number of characteristics that make them distinctive from the traditional printed text and image:

• • Resources available on the internet possess qualities such as fast access, and being current, authentic and abundant (Jonassen et al., 1999).

• • Since internet resources are available at all times, they allow for autonomous and self-regulated learning.

• • Due to easy accessibility and sharing, they also provide conditions for peer collaboration, such as idea exchange and team projects, not only in the classroom but also in learners' own time and at their own pace through emails and web chats.

• • ICT tools such as forums and Adobe Connect allow teachers to provide guidance and make comments on learners' work, either individually or collectively, without having to be present in person (Kumar & Tammelin, 2008).