This study examines the use of virtual forums and blogs as pedagogical tools in teacher education in Colombia. It finds that blogs and forums enhance communication, reflection, and a sense of responsibility among students. The study also notes that while teachers in Colombia are interested in integrating technology, they face difficulties transitioning to new practices and need training to properly and critically use tools like blogs and forums for educational purposes.

1. Virtual Forums: A Pedagogical Tool for
Collaboration And
Learning in Teacher Education
Martha Isabel Espitia & Amparo Clavijo (2011)
Teachers in Colombia are becoming more
interested in using technology in educational
contexts, to find out the benefits of using them
in the classroom. Colombian documents like
Ley General de Educación (1994) and Visión
Colombia Segundo Centenario (2005) state the
importance of using electronic devices in the
classroom even the age, gender or socio-
economical class due to the fact that all the
students have the same opportunities. This
study focuses its attention in the use of blogs,
internet-based tools, learning software, e-mail
and forums to improve EFL learning and
teaching. This case study aims at describing the
way teachers gained insights about the
pedagogical potential of blogs and forums for
language learning, engaged in activities in the
virtual forum and planned and implemented
pedagogical projects using blogs and forums
with their students in their EFL classrooms.
Espitia and Clavijo states “…Computer and
internet based tools are thought to be useful in
language classes due to its potential to enhance
communication, literacy, and other learning
skills…” This study wanted to explore its
advantages in language education and how
with the use of the ICTs the relationships
between teachers and students change.
There are many considerations when
using ICTs the author cited Caballero et al.
(2007) reviewed studies on the difficulties that
teachers face when implementing these new
technologies in Colombia and in other
countries. The authors state that the difficulties
emerged in the process of transition from
traditional practices to the new ones. The use
of ICTs generates new policies that imply
academic challenges for the teachers who
should be trained in order to use these devices
properly. In addition, teachers have to become
more critical in terms of deciding why and
when use them as regular practices. Another
important consideration is the way reading a
writing are changing with the use of
technologies; for instance, Wollman-Bonilla
(2003) gives a specific examples in which
writing is changing when using technology,
people write brief, quick, off the cuff messages.
The current needs are different and messages
should be clear and short.

2. This study focuses its attention in the
use of blogs in the classroom, the authors state
that “…the use of blogs enhances reflection and
sense of belonging and responsibility towards
class activities. The virtual space that served as
the context for this study is a virtual
environment that offers tools such as blogs and
forums to enhance communication among
learners and teachers form different schools in
different countries. …” Forums, e-mails and
blogs provide opportunities to interact,
promotes collaborate work, the audience is real
and communication is meaningful, thus the
teachers’ role is to guide learners to use them
with a pedagogical purpose. The use of
technology is becoming natural activity for the
new generations. Thus, teacher education
programs are expected to train teachers with
pedagogical and technological tools; it is
necessary that teachers feel confident using
them in order to get a pedagogical purpose.
Since teachers need professional development
experiences that help them to use them
properly and critically. This fact provides them
the opportunity to design courses and create
virtual learning environments for the students
in this way teacher as agents of change
minimizing the social-economical differences in
education teachers are one important part of
implementation of new technologies in the
classroom but they need to be aware that
introducing technological devices also implies
changing teacher and students practices.
Martha Isabel Espitia Cruz (English Teacher
Universidad de la Sabana)