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Mid-Atlantic Regional Technology in Education Consortium
1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave.
Ritter Annex 9th Floor
Temple University - CRHDE
Philadelphia, PA 19122
800-892-5550
215-204-5130 (fax)
General Inquires:
Laurence Peters
Judith Stull
Technical Assistance:
Barry Mansfield
Professional Development:
Joan Pasternak
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Temple University Center for Research
in Human Development and Education |
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Realizing the Potential of Online Professional Development
145
by
Barry Mansfield, Pat Sine, Jeff Fahnoe, and Larysa Nadolny
University of Delaware
In January 2005, the United States Department of Education (USDOE) released the third edition of the National Education Technology Plan , which details seven major action steps and recommendations to further the use of technology in American schools striving to meet the educational expectations of No Child Left Behind. Two of these steps directly address teacher training, professional development, and e-learning: “Improve Teacher Training” and “Support E-Learning and Virtual Schools.” This Techno-Brief will focus on professional development via the Web in an effort to understand the implications of these action steps for districts and state departments of education.
One specific recommendation the USDOE (2005) plan makes under “Improve Teacher Training” is to “e nsure that every teacher has the opportunity to take online learning courses” (p. 43). However, state, district, and school decision makers should understand that this recommendation entails defining what constitutes effective online professional development and taking steps to ensure that their investment in online learning courses is a wise one.
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Quality Professional Development
Any assessment of online professional development must first consider the attributes of “good” professional development apart from technology. According to standards developed by the National Staff Development Council (2001) and further embraced by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act (2002), professional development should have a few basic elements that make it effective and meaningful. Professional development should be relevant to a teacher’s situation, deep and sustained over time, reflective and investigatory in nature, and collaborative. To be effective, the e-learning experience, just like a face-to-face experience, should have these same characteristics. Unfortunately, many online courses—though offering individualized, self-paced, and content-oriented learning opportunities on the Internet—are similar to the face-to-face lecture format and are not particularly engaging or effective.
As a first step, it is important for all the stakeholders in the professional development process to ask questions about the rationale for engaging in e-learning. There are simple questions that decision makers should continually ask themselves when integrating any type of technology into the educational process:
- Is there a particular need that has not been fulfilled through traditional methods of professional development?
- Will e-learning make it easier or more convenient for teachers?
- Will e-learning be a more effective means of delivery?
- Does e-learning provide opportunities to learn in new ways that are simply not possible otherwise?
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