Technology Enhanced Learning for Teacher Development: a Case Study of Professional Learning and Initialteacher Education

The emergence of networked technology has profoundimplications for the way in which people communicateand work at all levels of society. Learning as a keyaspect of life is at the core of such developments. Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) is a new term thatencompasses the innovative ways in which technologycan support and augment learning including within itsscope collaborative and pedagogic approaches. Assuch, TEL presents a range of opportunities forteacher professional development; an area ofincreasing importance in an ever-changing world. Thisbook explores TEL in the context of teacher educationfocusing on the uses of asynchronous conferencing aspart of an open and distance learning course. Conceived within sociocultural theory this studydevelops a framework for stimulating importantaspects of professional learning within reflectivecommunities of developing teachers. This booktherefore provides a penetrating account forprofessional learning and it should be especiallyuseful to researchers, course developers, teachers, or anyone interested in the education ofprofessionals and TEL.