Experiencing Technology Integration In The Collegiate Classroom: From The Perspectives Of Itinerant Adjunct Language Instructors
Abstract
In the last 40 years, the adjunct instructor population has become the largest group in higher education. Despite their numbers, they continue to be largely ignored and, most importantly, untrained. Their itinerancy forces them to constantly adapt to different levels of classroom technology. Through the lens of social constructivism (Creswell, 2009), the purpose of this case study was to describe the experiences and adaptive methods that one foreign language adjunct faculty used to manage technology-related issues on its campus. The study focuses on exploring the variables of reality, knowledge, and learning in ten instructors who work through this challenge on a daily basis. The results revealed the specific challenges they must face and how they adapt. These include: use of time, access issues, PowerPoint software, YouTube, University-sponsored training, informal sharing of ideas, and self-reliance.