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.

Maria K. Zenios, PhD: Open Learning, UK Open University.Lecturer at CSALT, Lancaster University, UK.