Teachers Making Connections

British Journal of Educational Technology
doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00953.x
Vol 41 No 2 2010
324340
Teachers making connections: Online communities as a

source of professional learning
Jennifer Duncan-Howell
Address: School of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, Faculty of Education, Queensland
University of Technology, Victoria Park Rd, Kelvin Grove, Qld, 4059, Australia. Email: j.
duncanhowell@qut.edu.au
Its always helpful to

read the abstract
first to get a general
overview of the
paper.
Abstract
The impact of the Internet on our lives has been pervasive. People are increasingly turning to the social interaction available on the Internet to satisfy their
needs, whether these are professional or personal. The Internet offers users
fast access to social contacts such as online chat groups and discussion lists,
helping us to make connections with others. Online communities are being
increasingly used by teachers for professional support, guidance and inspiration. These are often organised around subject areas and offer teachers opportunities to develop both personally and professionally. Online communities
may present as a source of continuous professional development for teachers
as they are able to deliver authentic and personalised opportunities for learning. This paper will present the findings of a study that was conducted on three
online communities for teachers. It will explore the nature of online community membership and offer some conclusions regarding their potential as a
source of professional learning for teachers.
Introduction
The teaching profession is constantly adjusting to accommodate change. Teachers are
under constant pressure to learn new skills, update their knowledge and change classroom practices (Richardson, 1990), and as new knowledge or skills are learnt, they need
to be absorbed and included in classroom practices. Many researchers perceive teaching
to be in a constant state of change as new ideas or developments are disseminated (Borko,
Mayfield, Marion, Flexer & Cumbro, 1997; Gallimore, Dalton & Tharp, 1986; Richardson, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997). Schools have traditionally offered teachers workshops
conducted after school by an outside expert or by attending conferences during school
holidays, and it would appear that this has not been as effective as first hoped. Literature
claims that these short workshops do not encourage the development of new skills nor do
they have any long-lasting effect on pedagogy (Boyle, While & Boyle, 2004; Goldenberg
& Gallimore, 1991; Guskey, 2002; Huberman, 2001).
2009 The Author. Journal compilation 2009 Becta. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ,
UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
Teachers making connections
325
Adding to this frustration, current professional development (PD) programmes are

failing to achieve successful change in teachers practice (Guskey, 2002). New skills
delivered via PD programmes are not being adopted by teachers nor are they being used
in the classroom (Guskey, 2002; Richardson, 1990). This has been explained as the
result of teachers seeking practical skills that would result in positive change in student
learning (Guskey, 2002) and not, as more commonly delivered by those PD programmes, impractical theory-saturated sessions. The ability for programmes to deliver
practical personalised learning is difficult to achieve; trying to develop a programme
that is everything for everyone would be impossible. However, the lack of relevancy
and practical applicability of existing programmes has been an often voiced criticism
(Guskey, 2002).
This paper will be presented in five sections. The first is concerned with examining
current professional learning options for teachers and will present online communities
as a new source of professional learning. The second will provide an overview of the
participants in the study and the third section will examine the methodological
approach. The fourth section of this paper will present findings from the online survey,
which will be presented and discussed according to the four sections of the survey: (1)
background, (2) PD, (3) online communities, and (4) information and communication
technology (ICT) use. The final section of the paper will present how the results from
this study have shown that membership to an online community provides teachers
with a rich source of professional learning.
Professional learning for teacherssome considerations
For professional learning opportunities to be effective, several aspects need to be considered. To ensure that participants successfully engage in the learning process, the
content must address the needs of the teachers, not as more commonly observed, the
needs as discerned by school management or other stakeholders (Sorge & Russell,
2000). However, it should not be one without the other. Content should address
the needs of all stakeholders involved in teaching and learning. Content needs to be
authentic and directly related to teachers concerns. For professional learning to be
sustained and not limited to short programmes, the mode of delivery needs to suit
teacher conditions and be sympathetic to their specific needs as learners.
The form of the learning experience also needs consideration. Opinion is divided on
how PD programmes for teachers should be delivered, that is, either individually or
collaboratively. It has, for example, been reported that teacher individualism, isolation
and feelings of self-sufficiency are prevalent within the teacher culture (Hargreaves,
1993), and that, in order to ameliorate these characteristics, learning for teachers
should be conducted collaboratively (Boyle et al, 2004; Goldenberg & Gallimore, 1991;
Hargreaves, 1993; Huberman, 2001; Kemmis, 1989; Strehle, Whatley, Kurz &
Hausfather, 2001). Collaboration is thus widely identified as an important activity
in encouraging teacher learning.
2009 The Author. Journal compilation 2009 Becta.
326
This could be a
useful reference
for further
information on
collaborative
networks.
The Hunter
(2002) reference
could be useful
to read
I need to ask
myself whether I
agree with this
definition. Is there
something else
that I think should
be included?
Positive feature of
online
communities - this
could be placed
under that
thematic heading.
Vol 41 No 2 2010
Professional learning needs to facilitate opportunities for teachers to engage in learning over a longer time frame. Boyle et al (2004) proposed that collaborative networks
are effective as they are often conducted over a longer period of time, allowing teachers to learn and reflect on their teaching practices. Networking offers teachers the
opportunity to be exposed to new ideas and practices (Huberman, 2001; Strehle et al,
2001), and by establishing critical communities of teachers, pedagogy may be
improved via a process of critical reflection (Kemmis, 1989). Thus, online communities may offer teachers personalised content and access to continuous and collaborative learning.
Online communitiesa new source of professional learning
The Internet provides teachers with opportunities to collaborate and reflect with other
teachers and experts outside their schools (Hunter, 2002) and makes it possible for
individuals to interact, learn and access knowledge and resources within a social space.
For the purposes of clarity, the following understanding of an online community
informs this paper:
Online communities (for professional development) may be using any form of electronic communication which provides for the opportunity for on-line synchronous/asynchronous two-way
communication between an individual and their peers, and to which the individual has some
commitment and professional involvement over a period of time. (Leask & Younie, 2001, p. 225)
An interesting feature of an online community is the sense of place it creates in the user
as feelings of disconnectedness, isolation and aloneness are reduced. Members do not
feel that being in one place cuts them off from other places (Goldberger, 2003). Online
communities offer teachers a collaborative forum to discuss change and gather evidence, mainly anecdotal, of how successful a change was in a classroom. Participants
can then decide, based on discussions in chat rooms (Galland, 2002) and through other
online media, whether to try the suggested strategies or approaches themselves.
Online communities are not constrained by time thereby allowing members to move
through periods of high to low activity over longer periods of time. To a teacher who
must juggle work and personal commitments, this is an attractive feature. The dynamic
nature of online membership maintains a freshness and variety that traditional
methods of learning may not be able to achieve. Contact is maintained between
members via group email lists and newsletters, allowing members periods of inactivity
yet still maintaining their membership.
It would appear that online communities present as a source of professional learning for
teachers. They are an active learning environment in which learners participate in
conversations and inquiry, via chat rooms, email lists and postings (Leask & Younie,
2001), that authentically establish relevance and meaning (Moore & Barab, 2002).
They also offer opportunities for peer support and guidance (Bond, 2004; Cornu, 2004;
Matei, 2005). This paper will explore this potential via a study conducted on three such
communities for teachers.
This
potentially
could be a
theme
327
Participants
Positive feature of
The participants in this study were all members of online communities for teachers.
online
They presented as a mixed cohort, from a variety of teaching backgrounds, amount communities - this
of teaching experience and geographical locations. Three online communities were could be placed
under that
selected, one local Australian state-based community, one national Australian commuthematic
heading.
nity and one international community. It was felt that this combination would provide
rich data and a wider perspective on issues. A comparison of the online communities is
presented in Table 1.
Method
The purpose of the online survey was to gather demographic data and provide insight
For a survey
into the PD experiences, attitudes and skills of the members of online teacher profes- study, this is not
sional communities. An open invitation to participate was sent to all members of the a huge number
three online communities via email to the respective lists which included a URL link to of participants.
the survey. The survey was available for 3 weeks and 98 members (n = 98) responded to Need to think
about the
the invitation by completing the survey. All responses were anonymous and no personal
reliability of
details such as email or IP addresses were collected thereby ensuring privacy.
findings
The survey comprised of a combination of 25 open and closed questions organised
around four topics. These were: (1) background, (2) PD, (3) online communities, and
(4) ICT use. For purposes of clarity, the discussion and results will be presented organised around these four topics with the results.
Throughout this section it is important to think about how the breakdown of
participants might influence the results. The participants tend to be older and
more experienced female teachers.
Results and discussion

Background
The background topic contained five closed questions designed to collect broad demographical information about the members of the online community. This topic was
specifically designed to build a profile of the members of these professional online
communities based on age, gender, area/level of teaching, number of years experience
and level of confidence with ICTs. Table 2 presents a summary of the gender and age
characteristics of the survey respondents which shows, as with the general population
of teachers, a preponderance of females (81.63%) over males (18.37%).
As can be discerned from Table 2, the majority of respondents to the online survey were
female (81.63%) and were predominantly aged between 4059 years (with 22.45%
aged from 4049 years and 36.73% aged between 5059 years). The youngest age
group responding to the survey was the 2029-year-old cohort and this proved to be a
small group (n = 7, representing 7.14% of all survey respondents) but, again, predominantly female. The lowest response rate was from the 60+ group (n = 5, representing
5.1% of all survey respondents) where all respondents were female. It was important to
collect data about the age and gender breakdown to determine if there was a proportional spread among the respondents. As can be seen in Table 2, the gender breakdown
of approximately 4:1 would be expected among teachers. These factors were not used to
analyse or interpret the results.
BECTA
OTN
SSABSA
BECTA top teachers
Oz-TeacherNet
SSABSA English teachers
Implementing and using

ICTs in the classroom
General community
listpedagogical and
professional issues
affecting teachers
Teachers of English
Specialisation
112
608
568
Membership
(as at January 2006)
Adelaide
QUT, Brisbane, Australia
UK
Physical location
2003
1995
2002
Year founded
BECTA, British Educational Communications and Technology Agency; ICT, information and communication technology; QUT, Queensland
University of Technology; SSABSA, Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia.
Acronym
Community name
Table 1: Online communities involved in the study
328
Vol 41 No 2 2010
Its always a good idea to

look through the tables to
see what the data looks
like.
329
Table 2: Gender of survey respondents sorted by age

Age
2029
3039
4049
5059
60+
Total
9 (9.18)
36 (36.73)
45 (45.92)
0 (0)
5 (5.1)
5 (5.1)
18 (18.37)
80 (81.63)
98 (100)
n (%)
Male
Female
Total
1 (1.02)
6 (6.12)
7 (7.14)
3 (3.06)
11 (11.22)
14 (14.29)
5 (5.1)
22 (22.45)
27 (27.55)
Table 3: Breakdown of gender and teaching area

Teaching area
Male
Female
Total
n (%)
Early childhood
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Adult/vocational
Teacher librarian
Other
Total
1
4
9
0
0
3
1
18
(1.02)
(4.08)
(9.18)
(0)
(0)
(3.06)
(1.02)
(18.37)
2
28
18
1
1
25
5
80
(2.04)
(28.57)
(18.37)
(1.02)
(1.02)
(25.51)
(5.1)
(61.63)
3
32
27
1
1
28
6
98
(3.06)
(32.65)
(27.55)
(1.02)
(1.02)
(28.57)
(6.12)
(100.00)
The majority of respondents to the online survey (n = 98) came from a primary school
teaching background (n = 32, 32.65%) with teacher librarians (n = 28, 28.57%) and
secondary teachers (n = 27, 27.55%), well and quite equally represented. The groups
which were not well represented in the survey were: (1) early childhood (n = 3, 3.06%),
(2) tertiary (n = 1, 1.02%), and (3) adult/vocational educators (n = 1, 1.02%).
A gender breakdown according to teaching area can be seen in Table 3. This shows
that the largest group to respond to the survey were female primary teachers
(28.57%), followed by female teacher librarians (25.51%) and female secondary
teachers (18.37%).
The respondents represented a group of highly experienced teachers, with the majority
having over 20 years experience (n = 59, representing 60.2% of all survey respondents), which is consistent in relation to the largest age cohort being 5059 years of age
(45.92%). The number of years of teaching experience ranked after 20+ years and from
largest grouping to the least were 1115 years (12.24%), 15 years (10.2%), 1620
years (9.18%) and 610 years (8.16%).
Respondents to the survey were asked to rate their own level of confidence in using ICTs
from a pre-defined and hierarchical list of descriptors. These were: (1) very poor (no
response), (2) poor (n = 1, 1.02%), (3) competent (n = 26, 26.53%), (4) highly
330
Vol 41 No 2 2010
competent (n = 34, 34.69%), and (5) professionally competent (n = 37, 37.76%). The
responses therefore ranged from competent to professionally competent (98.08%),
with only one respondent (1.02%) indicating a poor level of confidence in using ICT.
Seventy-one respondents (72.45%) indicated a confidence level which was either
highly or professionally competent.
PD
The PD section of the online survey contained seven questions (two open, one ranking,
four closed). This section of the survey was designed to explore the PD experiences of
the members and elicit personal opinions and suggestions regarding this topic.
Respondents PD experiences
The respondents were asked to describe their PD experiences both online and offline
over the previous 12 months. The majority of responses could be categorised as being
conferences, workshops and courses. Some of these were compulsory such as first aid
certification, mandatory government policy or initiative training sessions and syllabus
sessions. Conferences were a highly valued form of PD and their benefits were identified
as networking and meeting peers from around the country.
Respondents were also asked to describe any particular programme that left a favourable impression and to offer an explanation. These were specifically named courses and
were selected for a variety of reasons. Most of these could be characterised as programmes that:
1.
2.
3.
4.
presented different strategies that can be implemented in the classroom;

exposed them to new ideas and techniques by a specialist from a particular area;
allowed them to participate and be creative; and
allowed them to present as well as observe.
Employers PD requirements
The second open question asked respondents to comment on their employers PD
requirements per year. This question was divided into two sections. Firstly, respondents
were asked to comment on attendance, that is, if it was compulsory or voluntary, and if
they were required to meet a PD quota per year. Secondly, they were asked for their
impression of the PD requirements mandated by their current employer.
This is a very
large range,
could be an
interesting
finding to keep in
mind.
The majority of the respondents reported that they were required to fulfil or, at least,
demonstrate that they had achieved a certain number of PD hours per year. There was
a broad range of answers which ranged from 6 to 40 hours per year. Amidst this were
some reports of no mandated quota or specified programmes of PD. This indicates that
employer demands range dramatically within the profession and between systems and
geographic locations, and supports a conclusion that there is no overarching system of
measurement.
An interesting finding. Try to think about how a

particular finding relates to other studies/data/
ideas etc. Does it relate to one of your themes?
Does it contradict previous ideas/data?
331
Generally, those respondents who were working within a PD quota seemed positive
about this requirement. The presence of a quota did not appear to constrain the amount
of time the respondents spent per year on PD as many reported that they sought further
courses outside of (additional to) the quota per year.
Relates to
theme of
barriers to
PD.
Financial constraints were a commonly cited factor that affected the amount of time
and the type of PD the respondents selected. It would appear that teachers had
restricted access to funding for PD, and the availability of funds has not been standardised across systems and sectors. Some respondents reported that their schools were
very happy to provide funding for courses while others were limited to fixed amounts
from $100 to $200 per year. The largest group were those who had to pay for PD
courses out of their own money. This may explain the attraction of online communities
as a source of PD as teachers are making use of existing and freely available networks
to meet quotas or needs.
Decision making
The respondents were asked who, in their opinion, would be the most appropriate
person(s) to decide on the content of the PD programmes they undertook and they were
permitted to select more than one answer from a given list. The consensus was that
teaching staff (87.75%) themselves were the most suitable. This finding appears to be
supported by Richardsons (1990) findings which concluded that, for PD to successfully
result in changes to teaching practices and to be more positively received, teachers
should be included in the planning and design stages.
Preferred learning methods
The respondents were asked to select their preferred learning method and the results
can be seen in Table 4. The respondents to the survey indicated a clear preference for
face-to-face courses, with these being ranked in the top two positions and representing
over half (53.05%) of all responses.
From the responses to this item, it would appear that the most popular method of
learning is face-to-face contact with a group of colleagues who were not from their
Table 4: Preferred learning method (in descending order)
%
(n = 98)
Method of learning
Learning with your colleagues face-to-face not from your workplace
Learning with your colleagues face-to-face from your workplace
Learning individually and electronically
Learning with an anonymous group of colleagues electronically
Learning individually, in a course conducted away from your workplace
Other
Learning with your colleagues from your workplace electronically
This is an interesting
table. Might be
interesting to see how
the findings here relate
to data on online
learning.
28.57
24.48
21.42
10.20
9.18
6.12
2.04
332
Vol 41 No 2 2010
Table 5: Preferred location for professional development (in descending order)

%
(n = 98)
Location
In a neutral environment (eg, convention room)
At school/workplace
Other
At home via the Internet
At a higher education provider (eg, university, technical college)
40.82
29.59
11.22
10.20
8.16
workplace (28.57%). This may indicate that teachers need the opportunity to communicate with a group of professional peers and that they need broader social interaction
that can be provided from within their workplace. It is interesting too that while the
respondents to the survey were members of an online community, they did not select
online as their preferred mode of learning. This might be explained by the use of the
term electronic in the survey or because of them not experiencing this approach to
learning when undertaking professional learning.
The responses which included the term colleagues drew 65.29% of all responses
irrespective of whether this was face to face or electronic. This would indicate that
teachers respond best to socially constructed knowledge. It might also reflect the desire
for a community-based approach to learning (Watts & Castle, 1992) or the desire for
professional support.
PD locations
The respondents were asked to indicate their preference for a location for PD. There was
a clear preference for locations away from the workplace, with only 29.59% preferring
to have PD based in their school. The findings for this item are presented in Table 5.
There were 21 contributions made to the other option for this question though only 11
respondents (n = 98) selected this choice. The majority of the comments were clarifying
why a particular choice was made, for example, I chose school because of time constraints, indicating a low attraction for programmes that require the teacher to be away
from school.
Duration of PD
The respondents were asked what duration PD should be if it were to achieve real
change to teaching practices (see Table 6). The short programme (23 months) option
received the highest score (40.82%) followed by short single sessions (12 hours)
(22.44%) and longer programmes (6 months+) (20.41%).
This result supports research that has suggested that short single sessions are not
popular with teachers (Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman & Yoon, 2001), nor that they
achieve any real change to teaching practices (Sorge & Russell, 2000). However, short
However nearly a quarter of teachers in this study

suggested this was their preferred duration.
333
Table 6: Duration of professional development to affect change (in

descending order)
%
(n = 98)
Location
Short programmes (eg, 23 months)
Short single sessions (12 hours)
Longer programmes (eg, 6 months+)
Other
40.82
22.44
20.41
16.33
Table 7: The aims of PD supported by references from literature

Statements regarding the aims of PD
(ranked in perceived importance by respondents)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Positive change to teaching practice

An improvement in student learning
Obtaining new skills or knowledge
Creating a supportive learning environment within the
workplace
Solving problems encountered in the classroom
Updating theoretical knowledge
Forging closer bonds with colleagues
Increasing teacher motivation and enthusiasm
PD, professional development.
single sessions still ranked quite highly (second); perhaps, the respondents perceive this
type of session effective for a particular role such as acquiring a new skill or information
about a new policy.
Aims of PD
The final question in this section asked respondents to rank eight statements regarding
the aims of PD. The statements were collected from the conclusions suggested by
research conducted on PD and teachers. The statements (in rank order) are presented in
Table 7, which clearly indicates the research associated with each statement.
The statement ranked first, Positive change to teaching practice achieved 34.69% of
the responses followed closely by the second-ranked statement, An improvement in
student learning which achieved 33.67% of all responses (n = 98). These two aims
would appear to be highly valued by the respondents to this survey and also more
broadly to teachers who are looking for evidence of positive change to student learning
(Guskey, 2002) before new skills or knowledge learnt are adopted and result in change
to teaching practice (Guskey, 2002; Richardson, 1990).
334
Vol 41 No 2 2010
Table 8: Number of subscriptions to online communities (in

descending order)
Number of community
subscriptions
13
46
710
Just this one
10+
n (%)
(n = 98)
55
22
10
9
2
(56.12)
(22.45)
(10.2)
(9.18)
(2.04)
Online communities
The online community section contained 12 open and closed questions designed to
clarify the nature of the respondents membership to the online community and their
motivation for joining.
This is
important to
note because it
changes how
the findings
should/could
be interpreted.
Community membership
To develop a better understanding of the circumstances of the respondents membership behaviour, they were asked to indicate how many online communities they were a
member of. These were not distinguished between professional or personal interest
communities and it was hoped that the actions of the respondents would be understood
more clearly. The results can be seen in Table 8.
The largest response indicated that the majority of respondents were members of one to
three online communities (56.12%). Although outside of the scope of the survey, it
would be interesting to examine if these communities were all professional communities and if they were highly organised or casual groups.
Its interesting that this wasnt included in the survey.
It would help to strengthen the findings.
Duration of membership
The respondents were asked how long they had been a member of the community
through which they had accepted the invitation to participate in the survey. The intention here was to determine a level of commitment through length of membership. The
results are summarised in Table 9.
The predominant responses were 13 years and 46 years (each returning 34.69% of
all responses). The outlying findings were from those who belonged to the online community for longer than 6 years (14.28%) and those who had been a member for less
than 1 year (15.31%).
Selecting community membership
In an attempt to understand how the online communities attract members, respondents were asked how they found their particular online community. Because of the
nature of professional online communities, it would be expected that the respondents
would have heard about these communities via professional means. This expectation is
335
Table 9: Length of community membership (in descending order)

Length of community
subscriptions
13 years
46 years
Less than 1 year
710 years
10+ years
n (%)
(n = 98)
34
34
15
10
4
(34.69)
(34.69)
(15.31)
(10.2)
(4.08)
grounded here through the discovery that 32.65% found the community via a recommendation from a friend or colleague and 40.82% found it via a link from a professional
website. Thus, the majority (73.47%) joined the community via professional introductions, which is indicative of a high sense of professional responsibility.
Time allocated to participation
The respondents were asked to estimate the number of hours they spent per week
participating in the online community. The majority spent between 0 and 6 hours
per week (85.71%) and this can be broken down to: (1) less than an hour per week
(22.45%), (2) 13 hours (37.76%), and (3) 46 hours (25.51%). The majority of
respondents reported spending between 1 and 3 hours per week, which does not represent a large commitment of their time. If this, however, was averaged to 1.5 hours per
week, it would represent a potential of 60 hours of PD per calendar year. Considering
that the teachers involved in these online communities join voluntarily, it would indicate that they place a high value and worth on this participation.
However, we
do not know if
all of this time
was dedicated
to professional
development
activities.
Some of it
could have
been
personally
oriented.
Reasons for membership

The respondents were asked why they maintained their membership to the online
community. The answers collected for this question were grouped into two broad
descriptors according to subject matter. These were answers that pertained to professional requirements (61.90%) and those associated with emotional support (38.10%).
Interesting
finding.
Potentially
The answers grouped in the professional requirements category were further divided
connect
to a
into classroom/student needs and PD needs. Respondents whose answers fit in the
theme of
classroom/students needs grouping commonly cited reasons such as access to subjectbenefits of
specific resources, handy hints for the classroom, new relevant content, access to
online
expertise to solve classroom problems, sharing lesson ideas and support for classroom professional
problems. It can be confidently contended that individuals saw the online community development.
fulfilling a PD role, as this was a popularly cited reason why they maintained their Important to
note that this is
membership. This was further clarified as the opportunity to learn from other teachers/
all teacher
peers, and access to like-minded professionals and professional discussions; and as perception.
opportunities to develop own teaching practices, share professional knowledge and
keep up with current professional trends, and a desire to be professional in my role.
Link
thisThe
back
to earlier
which
suggest
2009
Author.
Journal data,
compilation
2009
Becta.that
teachers preferred mode of learning is through
collaboration with others.
336
Vol 41 No 2 2010
Table 10: Perception of participation (in descending order)

n (%)
(n = 98)
Participation
My participation depends on the topic being discussed by the list, I participate
more if I am interested in the topic.
My participation fluctuates; I go through periods of high participation to low
participation according to outside pressures.
My participation depends on my needs. If I need help or advice then I am active,
otherwise I do not participate.
My participation is not limited to my own needs; I try to participate in most
discussions.
53 (54.08)
23 (23.47)
12 (12.24)
8 (8.16)
The second grouping of answers to this item were associated with the emotional
support of the teachers. These included such affective outcomes as enjoying input from
other teachers, passing on information, the ability to ask for help, the collegial support,
the warm environment, the professional stimulation, the safety-netthere if needed,
a sense of belonging and camaraderie.
Expectations of membership
The respondents were asked if membership had met their expectations. This was overwhelmingly answered in the positive, with 92.85% agreeing that their expectations had
been met.
Participation
The respondents were asked to select a statement from a given list that best described
their participation in the online community. The findings from this item are summarised in Table 10.
This finding would indicate that participation is largely directed by the topic the community is discussing. Member activity fluctuates and this is generally dependent on
outside pressure. It might also indicate that members are seeking personally relevant
topics to participate in to motivate them to participate.
Online membership as PD
The next question in the survey asked directly if participation in an online community
could be regarded as a meaningful form of PD. The majority of respondents (86.73%)
agreed that participation in an online community represent meaningful PD. This is in
direct contrast to their preferred method of learning (see Table 4). This might be
explained by the terms used, preferred method of learning versus PD. Perhaps the
context of this question influenced the answer, as the questions in this section of the
survey concerned the online community itself, making the link to PD may have influenced the outcome.
Author is reflecting on reliability of the survey

measure.
337
Change to teaching practice

The respondents were asked if they had changed any of their teaching practices as a
result of participating in the online community. While some respondents did not feel
they had changed their teaching practices, others felt they had been exposed to new
ideas and resources which they had used in their classrooms. Seventy-seven per cent of
respondents answered positively to this question, with many able to provide examples.
A shame some of these arent included.
Relate to
theme of
benefits
of online
learning.
Advantages of participation in online communities

The respondents were asked if they could identify any advantages of participating in
online communities as a form of PD. An overwhelming number of responses identified
time as one of the key advantages. The ability to log on and participate according to
their own schedule was a clear advantage and the asynchronous nature of the communities gave them time to think, reflect and compose answers.
Another advantage commented on by several respondents was the relevancy of the

subject matter that it was linked closely to real life, was targeted to their needs and was
authentic. A further advantage was the immediacy of the learning in an environment
where responses are fast, solutions are created quickly and topics can be discussed
rapidly. Finally, the professional dialogue facilitated with peers outside of their workplace, which ensured wider experience and helped create a sense of community, was
also cited as an advantage of participation.
Disadvantages of participation in online communities
In order to develop a complete picture of membership, the respondents were then asked
if they could identify any disadvantages of participating in online communities as a
form of PD. It was interesting to note that one of the most popular advantages (time)
was also listed as a disadvantage, though it would appear that it was more of a time
management issue in this context. A large number of the respondents commented that
careful management of time is needed to sort through all the email from the lists.
Several mentioned the negative impact of dominators, discussions getting sidetracked,
misunderstandings and members pushing personal agendas.
Memorable discussion threads
The final question in this section asked the respondents if any of the discussion threads
they had read or participated in had been particularly memorable. Those who answered
in the negative (14.28%) offered no clarification. The 85.72% who responded in the
affirmative mentioned the following topics: selecting novels for particular grades, discussing behavioural management strategies for particular problems, how to embed
sound files in PowerPoints, how to build a wiki and the relative merits of different testing
tools. These provide an insight into the issues that currently concern the teaching
profession in general.
ICT
The final section of the survey concerned the use of ICT and contained only one open
question. The respondents were asked how they had acquired their ICT skills and the
Relate to
theme of
benefits of
online
learning.
Link to theme
of
disadvantages
of online
learning.
338
Vol 41 No 2 2010
answers could be grouped into four categories. The first and most popular category
(64.32% of respondents) declared that their ICT skills were either self-taught, obtained
by doing or by trial and error. The second most popular method was via a universitybased course (22.42%), with most being postgraduate, particularly masters courses.
Given the higher numbers of older respondents and the length of teaching experience,
it is unlikely that their skills were gained in initial or pre-service training. The remaining
respondents (13.26%) learnt their skills either through workplace-based learning or
mentoring or from their students.
Conclusion
This paper has presented the findings of a study that was conducted on three
online communities for teachers. It has explored the nature of online community
membership and offers some conclusions regarding their potential as a source of professional learning for teachers. The results showed that the typical professional learning activities that teachers engaged in were conferences, workshops and courses.
However, it also showed that the teachers who were members of the online communities involved in the study, were committing 13 hours per week in time. This
represents an additional 6080 hours per year on professional learning. This time
appears to be worthwhile and necessary to the professional lives of its members, or
else membership would not have been maintained for 13 years. But what potential
impact does this have on professional learning? A number of conclusions can be
drawn.
The survey showed that teachers were seeking participatory learning that focused on
practical classroom strategies that were relevant to them. This was evident in a number
of aspects of the survey, but most clearly when the aims for PD were identified as
positive changes to teaching practices and an improvement in student learning.
Professional learning needs to be practical and authentic. In order to achieve this, the
survey showed that teachers wanted to be in control of selecting the content of their PD
programmes. The importance of content was further borne out by the participation of
members in communities. Participation was topical; members were motivated to participate according to the topic under discussion. This did not diminish the worth of
membership, but instead transforms their potential for professional learning just-intime. Members joined their community for professional requirements and emotional
support, further illustrating the just-in-time advantage.
The results from this study has shown that membership to online communities provides
teachers with a rich source of professional learning. It would appear to satisfy all the
suggestions raised by research in this field and, more importantly, would appear to
satisfy the members of those communities themselves. Perhaps the most significant
result collected from the survey was the result that 86.7% of members considered it to
be a meaningful form of PD. Hence, we can conclude that online communities present
as a worthwhile form of professional learning for teachers.
Always go through the reference list to see if there

are any references you should follow up.
339
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