Embracing Online Learning Platforms and Educational Technology in the Post-Pandemic Era: A Comprehensive Analysis from the Educators' Perspectives

Abstract

In recent years, the discipline of language pedagogy witnessed transformative changes due to COVID 19 pandemic. The latter stimulated the integration of modern information technologies to create innovative teaching approaches. Many universities and higher education institutes become nowadays oriented towards the digitalisation of pedagogical methodologies for the betterment of teaching and learning outcomes. Nevertheless, there are many issues pertinent to integrating online learning platforms and educational technology. In this context, in-service university teachers must receive adequate training in order to acquire the technical teaching skills and competencies. This paper aims at investigating the major challenges in teachers’ techno-pedagogy continuous training, along with delineating the possible resolving measures to adapt to those problems. Hence, eighteen in-service teachers from the university of El-oued participated in the study. A survey design was adopted using quantitative data collection tools. Foremost, unstructured questionnaire was conducted to elicit in-service teachers’ attitudes towards the implementation and the need of techno-pedagogy training. Moreover, an interview with teachers were used in order to get an in-depth understanding of the major considerations regarding teachers’ training in the use of modern technology in education. Using the statistical analysis, the questionnaire results revealed positive attitudes among teachers toward integrating innovative teaching methods using technological resources and online platforms. On the other hand, qualitative data analysis was performed to generate results from the interview. The findings of the qualitative data revealed resistance on the part of teachers to using modern technologies in instruction and some practical solutions to handle those challenges. The study recommends further research to develop an adequate professional model for technology integration among university teachers, with constant evaluation and monitoring of its effectiveness.