Virtual Communities for Professional Development: Helping Teachers Map the Territory in Landscapes without Bearings (original) (raw)

2003, Alberta Journal of Educational Research

This article illustrates how through participation in virtual communities, teachers can progress in making sense of their practice of working with online technologies. These communities are described as reflective of a creative-interpretive and socio-constructivist approach to teachers' professional development. The article reports on a study in which teachers came together as a community to engage in collaborative, reflective practice through participation in an online discussion. Excerpts from the discussion highlight how teachers make sense of their practices by viewing problems from multiple perspectives and contexts and by adapting and reorganizing existing conceptions of their practices in the light of new experiences. Cet article démontre comment la participation des enseignants aux communautés virtuelles peut les aider à comprendre l'emploi qu'ils font des technologies informatiques. On y décrit les communautés virtuelles comme reflétant une approche créative, interprétative et socioconstructiviste au développement professionnel des enseignants. L'article décrit une étude qui a rassemblé des enseignants pour créer une communauté engagée dans une pratique réfléchie et collaborative par le biais d'une discussion en ligne. Des extraits de la discussion expliquent la façon dont les enseignants en viennent à comprendre leur pratique en envisageant des problèmes à partir d'une multitude de perspectives et de contextes et en adaptant et réorganisant leurs idées à la lumière de nouvelles expériences. The classroom is a place where order prevails. The infusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) creates a zone of uncertainty for both teachers and learners, engaging them in a process of risk and exploration for some time to come. (Bracewell, Breuleux, Laferrière, Benoit, & Abdous, 1998) De Kerckhove (1997) argues that the Internet constitutes the most comprehensive, innovative, and complex communication medium in existence, representing the mega-convergence of hypertext, multimedia, virtual reality, neural networks, digital agents, and even artificial life. The ecology of such a network Elizabeth Murphy is an assistant professor of educational technology and second-language education in the Faculty of Education. Her research interests lie in the use of online discussions in the context of workplace learning and in the design of online learning experiences that reflect a socio-constructivist perspective. Thérèse Laferrière is a professor and teaches classroom organization and management in regular and networked classrooms. Her theoretical perspectives are grounded in group psychology and socio-constructivism.