E-Learning for Teacher Development: Global Perspectives of Policy and Planning Issues Paul Resta Learning Technology Center The University of Texas at Austin United States
[email protected] Mary Lamon Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology University of Toronto Canada
[email protected] Alain Breuleux Faculty of Education McGill University Canada
[email protected] Evgueni Khvilon Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics and Informatics Russian Federation
[email protected]
Abstract: The panel session will focus on key topics and issues related to the use of e-Learning for teacher development. The international group of panelists are chapter authors of a new book commissioned by UNESCO entitled e-Learning for Teacher Development: A Policy and Planning Guide. Four basic categories of e-learning for teacher development will be presented including: accessing online resources; online courses and degree programs; blended learning environments; and communities of practice. Each category is framed within two axes of e-learning: content and communication. Panelists will share their diverse views of the global context of e-learning for teacher development, the global challenge of preparing 15-35 million teachers needed in the next 15 years to meet UNESCO's Education for All goals and the major organizational, financial, policy and planning issues related to effective use of elearning for teacher development in both developed and developing countries.
Introduction The panel will discuss key trends, issues, and challenges in the use of e-learning in both developed and developing countries. One trend that has great significance for e-learning in teacher development is the critical need for teachers. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has estimated that 15-35 million new teachers will be required to meet the goals of Education for All (UNESCO, 2002). The World Education Forum, convened in Dakar, Senegal, in April 2000, reaffirmed the teachers’ essential role in achieving the Education for All (EFA) goals and the need for them to have access to initial training and ongoing professional development and support, including through distance education and information and communication technologies. These technologies must be harnessed to support the EFA goals at an affordable cost, as they have great potential for knowledge dissemination, effective learning and the development of more efficient educational services. This potential will not be realized unless the new technologies serve rather than drive the implementation of education strategies. As these technologies are perceived to increase disparities, weaken social bonds and threaten cultural cohesion, governments will need to establish clearer policies and undertake critical assessments of ICT experiences and options. Clearly defined and flexible strategies to identify, attract, train and retain good teachers should be put into place. These strategies should address the new role of teachers in preparing current and future generations of students for an emerging knowledge-based and technology driven society. Teachers must be able to
understand the diversity in learning styles and in the physical and intellectual development of students, and to create stimulating, participatory learning environments. In addition to the critical need for teachers across the globe, there are also concerns of teacher quality. Teacher preparation and professional development in skill and content areas represent a major challenge for education systems around the world. Resources are often lacking to meet the career-long professional needs of teachers and, even when such resources are available, teachers have limited time for professional training because of their classroom responsibilities. Expectations of what teachers should know and be able to do are increasing each year. Teachers are expected to learn new content, new pedagogies for teaching, and new technology tools for learning. There is growing recognition that educational systems must teach the new skills required for universal digital literacy and provide a system of lifelong learning so that new skills can be flexibly developed to meet emerging needs. This will require the development of new pedagogical models, innovative teaching methods, and an effort to inspire and engage a critical mass of teachers and trainers (European e-learning Summit Task Force, 2001). A second trend is the exponential growth of e-learning in higher education and industry. In a very short time, e-learning has become one of the fastest growing areas of the high technology sector (Shoniregun and Gray, 2003). Higher education has been significantly impacted and most schools in developed nations currently provide classroom access to the Web. Based on these trends it is important for policy makers to consider the potential value of e-learning to prepare and update the skills of teachers so that they may, in turn, help prepare students with the skills needed to be successful in the 21st century economy. Although not a panacea, e-learning offers the potential for teachers to access learning opportunities anytime, anywhere and provides unprecedented remote access to rich instructional and knowledge resources through digital libraries. lt provides enhanced learning opportunities in preparing new teachers and upgrading the skills of the existing teaching force. It offers new opportunities to collaborate with other educators (Kante, 2002) and to develop and support online communities of practice among teachers. Using new online tools they are able to share their problems and solutions, seek advice from content experts, and to mentor novice teachers. A major recommendation made by the European eLearning Summit (2001) was for member nations to increase investment in continuous professional development of educators to help them develop an understanding of the applications and pedagogy for e-learning. The use of e-learning for teacher development, however, raises important issues for governments and academic institutions related to policies, funding, instructional practices, research needs, technical infrastructure, and support. In response to many requests for a balanced discussion of the possibilities and issues related to e-learning and teacher development, UNESCO has commissioned a new book Teacher Development in an E-Learning Age: A Policy and Planning Guide to assist decision-makers in ministries of education, faculties of education, and schools in understanding key issues, strategies, and new approaches in the use of e-learning for teacher development. Eleven experts, representing differing national and professional perspectives on e-learning for teacher development, were invited to prepare chapters for the book (Resta, 2004). The panelists include four members of this international group of authors. Four-Strand Model of E-Learning for Teacher Development E-learning in the panel session will be defined as the use of the Web or electronic networks that are capable of instant updating, storage/retrieval, and distribution to: • share instructional and information resources and expertise to enrich the learning environment, • provide courses, learning applications, and solutions that go beyond the traditional paradigm of teaching and learning, • be used in combination with traditional or other teaching methods and styles in what is referred to as blended or hybrid learning, and • provide informal learning opportunities and support for communities of practice. The above definition involves two basic dimensions: content and communication. The content dimension is a continuum with three points of reference: • Content not organized for instruction: This refers to all the sorts of resources that teachers and learners find when they use a search engine on the Web. • Pre-structured content, within a course: Unlike just searching the Web, content may also be available organized within a course or sessions of lessons.
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Co-constructed content and meaning: These are the results of teachers and learners working together to create or construct new resources and make these available for others via the Web. The second dimension relates to communication and also has three points of reference: Little or no human communication: Learners or teachers do not make use of the Internet or the Web to communicate with other people. Enriched communication, within a course or program: Within a course, learners use the Web to communicate with the teacher and with each other, as well as with others outside of the course. It may be that using the Internet is the only way that the members of the course can communicate with each other, if there are no face-to-face components of a course. But even a course where teacher and learners are regularly in direct contact with each other, they can make good use of the Internet and Web to extend their communication. Professional communication, via communities of practice: This occurs when members of the teacher community use the Internet and Web technologies to ask each other questions, share their experiences, and provide information and ideas to each other.
As shown in Figure 1, four categories of e-learning emerge within the dimensions of content and communication including: (1) Accessing information repositories for learning, (2) Participating in courses via the Web while remaining at a distance from others in the course, (3) Blending uses of the Web with regular classroombased learning, and (4) Informal learning via communities of practice (Collis and Moonen, 2004). Communication
General categories of e-learning
Professional (CoP): Knowledge building, reflective
Communities of Practice
Enriched: Within a course or program
Blended (extended) course
Online (distance) course
Little or no human communication
Information repository Content Content not organized for instruction
Pre-structured content, within a course
Co-constructed content and meaning
Figure 1. Four Basic Categories of E-Learning
Panel Interaction with Participants Using the above four-strand model of e-learning to frame the discussion, panel members will present their views on the issues and challenges related to the effective use of e-learning in teacher education in developing and
developed countries. Topics that may be addressed include: national, state, or institutional policy issues, organizational and financial implications in the use of e-learning for teacher development, pedagogical and system change issues, and issues of quality. The interactive session will provide opportunities to interact and engage in discussion with the audience in addressing these issues.
References Collis, B., & Moonen, J. (2004). E-learning for teacher development. In Resta, P. (Ed,) Teacher Development in an E-Learning Age. (In press) Paris, France: UNESCO eLearning Summit Task Force (2001). Report on the European elearning summit 2001. La Hulpe, Belgium 10-11 May, 2001. Kante, C. (2002). E-training. TechnKnowLogia. October-December, 2002. p 4. Resta, P. (2004). Introduction. In Resta, P. (Ed,) Teacher Development in an E-Learning Age. (In press) Paris, France: UNESCO Shoniregun, C. and Gray, S. (2003). Is e-Learning the future or a risk? (accessed April 14, 2004 at: www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/ c_shoniregun_3.pdf). UNESCO (2002). Education for all: Is the world on track? Paris, France: UNESCO.
