How does one practice what is preached in this regard if you are faced in a lecture hall with classes of up to 200 students who are supposed to learn English (second language) business communication skills? Administrators simply do not understand jargon and vogue words such as "learner-centered," "constructivist," "problem-based," "cooperative learning," etc. To them these are merely educationist clap-trap, therefore no concessions are made regarding time allocation, venues, staff provision, technology, and so forth.
We have just received a directive from Those Up There to increase our "throughput" of students, i.e., our pass rates. All of us know that this is done simply to obtain more state funding for the institution. (That's the diabolical system in South Africa: the higher your student numbers and pass rate, the more state subsidy you get) Administrators/managers are not concerned with quality training--they are concerned only with money. That means maximum savings, minimum budgets. Result: Give those 200 students a generic dose of traditional lecturing based on a cheap textbook, set tests and exams to obtain maximum pass rate, and prove "effectiveness," make the Powers happy, and retain your post.
Unfortunately our programs and our jobs depend exactly upon the matters of effectiveness and viability, BUT as seen from the perspective of those who (grudgingly) have to pay us. Engagement may be crucial to us, to them it is a foreign word.
Regarding assessment, the only clear way of illustrating "success" to such administrators, is by means of figures, i.e., marks and percentage pass rates. We all know that the efficiency of a teacher is measured by the number of straight A's that he/she can produce. Quantity, not quality.
Until we can PROVE to the admin/management types that technology reduces costs of training, they are not going to listen to us. I believe at this stage the odds are against such proof. And that kind of person seems to be terribly short-sighted as well. Long-term benefits do not figure highly in their calculations.
So, those of us idealists who believe that wise application of technology could make a difference to the quality of learning are faced with a formidable task.