ICT and Teacher Proffessional Development

UNIT 5 i
ICT and teacher professional development
Unit 5
EED 210/05
Teacher for e-Learning
ICT and Teacher

Professional
Development
ii WAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY
EED 210/05 Teacher for e-Learning
COURSE TEAM
Course Team Coordinator: Ms. Patricia Toh Swet Ting
Content Writer: Associate Professor Dr. Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan
Instructional Designer: Ms. Patricia Toh Swet Ting
Academic Members: Mr. S. Vighnarajah P. K. Selvarajah, Ms. Noor Azliza Zainal Abidin and
Professor Dr. Malachi Edwin Vethamani
COURSE COORDINATOR
Mr. S. Vighnarajah P. K. Selvarajah
EXTERNAL COURSE ASSESSOR

Associate Professor Dr. Wong Su Luan
PRODUCTION
Editor: Ms. Josephine Choo Boon Ha
In-house Editors: Ms. Patricia Toh Swet Ting and Ms. Ch’ng Lay Kee
Graphic Designer: Ms. Audrey Yeong
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First revision 2014
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UNIT 5 iii
Contents
Unit 5 ICT and Teacher Professional
Development
Unit overview 1
Unit objectives 1
Unit introduction 1
5.1 E-forums for creating the teacher’s voice 3
Objectives 3
Introduction 3
Definition 3
Benefits and gains 4
Problems and issues 5
Creating an e-forum 5
Assessing and reflecting practices for e-forum 6
Suggested answers to activity 12
5.2 An e-journal for the reflective teacher 15
Objectives 15
Introduction 15
Definition 15
Creating an e-journal 17
Assessing and reflecting practices for e-journals 17

iv WAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY
5.3 The teacher and the e-portfolio 21
Objectives 21
Introduction 21
Definition 21
Creating an e-portfolio 23
Assessing and reflecting practices for e-portfolios 25
5.4 Online Professional Development (OPD) 29
Objectives 29
Introduction 29
Definition 29
Activities 30
Reading online materials 30
Collaboration and networking among teachers 30
Modes and types 33
Assessing and reflecting practices in OPD 34
5.5 ICT and the teacher as a researcher 39
Objectives 39
Introduction 39
Definition: The teacher as a researcher 39

UNIT 5 v
ICT tools for research 40
Summary of Unit 5 43
Course summary 45
Suggested answers to self-tests 47
References 51
vi WAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY
UNIT 5 1
Unit Overview
I n this unit, we will explore the use of ICT and its technologies for the
enhancement of teacher professional development. This use is also referred
to as online professional development (OPD). We will examine how e-forums,
e-journals, e-portfolios and the World Wide Web (WWW) can be used to
enhance teachers’ professional development and thus assist teachers to grow
and develop as knowledgeable, skilful, creative and professional teachers. An
important element in OPD is the critical reflective practices and these practices
will be investigated in various situations, particularly in situations that involve the
development of teachers.
Unit Objectives
By the end of the unit, you should be able to:
1. Create an e-forum and an e-journal.
2. Reflect on the practices in the created e-forum and e-journal.
3. Profile teacher development using an e-portfolio.
4. Use ICT for conducting research.
5. Use ICT for professional development.
6. Assess and reflect on the effectiveness of teaching-learning practices using

e-learning in the classroom.
Unit Introduction
Online professional development is a growing area of study where teachers have
the freedom and responsibility to chart their own professional development using
the electronic environment, especially the Internet. The electronic environment
allows teachers to critically reflect, examine and evaluate their own practices and
collaborate their work with other teachers from other regions and countries.
This allows the teachers to expand their knowledge and experiences by sharing
and exchanging ideas and knowledge in the field of education. In this unit,
teachers will learn to use the electronic environment to enhance their professional
development.
2 WAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY
UNIT 5 3
5.1 E-forums for Creating the Teacher’s

Voice
Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
1. Define the concept of an “e-forum”.
2. List three benefits of e-forums for educational purposes.
3. Create an e-learning environment platform using an e-forum.
Introduction
E-forums or online forums have been widely used for educational purposes,
including teaching and learning, ever since the Internet was first introduced
to the educational field. They are seen as an outlet for teachers to voice their
concerns that are related to everyday teaching and learning situations. They
are also regarded as a platform for teachers to offer their proactive solutions to
educational concerns, as well as share their successful practices in classrooms
(Milone 2003).
Definition
E-forums in this unit refer to and include online discussion lists, online discussion
groups and online communities that have similar interests and congregate in
an e- environment to share information, ideas, knowledge and skills as well as
to discuss other activities. An online discussion list is a programme that allows
individuals with a common interest to share information via email. When a
subscriber sends an email to the list’s central address, which is a distribution
centre for email messages (Morgan 1994), the programme transmits it to all the
members. Any response to the original message is posted on the list itself, rather
than to the individual and is in turn forwarded to all participants (Eastment 1999).
The most common and widely used programme to run such lists is LISTSERV
(www.listserve.com). It provides a simple but effective way to communicate
rapidly and inexpensively with a large number of people (Fetterman 1998).
The other common form of e-forum encompasses the discussion groups and
communities that are born, grow and operate in the e-environment, especially
in the Internet. Commonly known as online forums or online communities,
anyone or any members can contribute a message. Usually the groups are based
on common interests of the participants, such as research, political issues and
educational issues/associations. Discussion groups would need moderators
(individuals/groups of people/institutions) to monitor and assure the relevancy
of the discussions carried out (Kurland, Sharp and Sharp 1997). Nowadays,
these online groups and communities have turned into Special Interest Groups
(SIGs) that have very specific interests. For example, in the Malaysian English
Language Teaching Association (MELTA), online community (www.melta.org.
my), the e-forums are in the form of SIGs that have specific interests or topics of
discussions. Visitors can select the SIGs that they would like to participate in and
share discussions. Other examples of e-forums for education (especially teachers)
include Teacher Focus (http://www.teacherfocus.com/forum/) and UK Teachers
Forum (www.ukteachersforums.co.uk).
Benefits and gains

Using e-forums has many educational benefits and gains, especially for the
teachers. They perform the function of a springboard to create teachers’ own
knowledge based on their perception of new knowledge learnt and of the world
surrounding them. With their ability to bring together people from different
regions, countries and cultures, the e-forums can be an excellent “virtual melting-
pot” for teachers to discover the views of different and diversified thoughts and
perceptions of the world, share and exchange ideas and support other teachers
with similar interests or challenges in terms of teaching and learning. Such
perceptions and experiences of the world add extra dimensions to the existing
knowledge and practices already cemented within the teacher’s resources and
further stimulate their thinking and their professional interests.
For instance, in a study of pre-service science teachers and their participation

in an e-forum, it is found that the teachers try to extend their understanding to
encompass the realities of the world that beleaguer educational issues. One of the
teachers retrospectively asked,
“Why have females been lagging behind in the field of science? Have our
educators not been sparking their interest? Have they been drawing the females’
attention away from math and science and gearing it more towards liberal arts
areas? Have our teachers been turning to the males for correct responses and
been setting higher expectations for the males? Have educators been accepting
that females are just “not as good in science” or what? These are a few questions
that researchers have been confronted with for years. So how, as a new science
teacher, will I deal with the prejudice of a male dominated field?”
(Bodzin and Park 2002)

UNIT 5 5
This understanding can be used to concretely construct new ones to solve specific
problems:
“And I think it’s really good if you can see how different people deal with a
certain situation. So you can integrate everybody’s little pieces together and
then you can decide, okay, this is how I’m going to do it and then you can sit
back and reflect did that work or not and do something different next time if
need be.”
(Bodzin and Park 2002)
By writing the above two excerpts, the teachers are basically doing critical
reflective practices, which are very important in enhancing their understanding
of the teaching and learning processes, as well as enhancing their professional
development. In e-forums, reflective practices are very important. Reflective practices
in an e-environment can be an effective educational tool that provides an efficient
means of sharing ideas, generating new meanings in educational practices and
communicating among peers from remote geographical placements (Bodzin and
Park, 2002). Such practices can also engage teachers in thoughtful discourse about
teaching and learning practices and eventually improve the teachers’ practices.
Problems and issues

E-forums have several shortcomings. In most research, it was found that only a
minority of the online community, who is active and contribute to meaningful
engagements and discussions, benefit the entire community in terms of knowledge
and ideas. Also in most cases, members use a nickname and other participants
or members may not know who they are addressing or interacting with and the
persons doing the postings. It is also time consuming if a teachers is to read
and respond to the messages of so many other teachers, especially if the forum’s
topics or categories are too broad. It is also a nuisance when non-related issues or
topics are posted including greetings, entertainment notices, contests and other
announcements. Teachers can be overwhelmed with the amount and variety of
messages and information posted and thus may decide to quit from the e-forum.
Sometimes, the same or similar issues are posted by different teachers from
different regions or even the same teacher who is harping on the same topics. In
these cases, the topics or messages may become redundant and bore the members
of the e-forum.
Creating an e-forum
There are many freely available online forums or e-forums that teachers can
create and maintain for educational purposes, for example, Get Forum (http://
www.getforum.org/) and Aceboard (http://www.aceboard.net/). Creating an
e-forum is easy but maintaining and sustaining an e-forum for the benefit of
many is extremely difficult. If a teacher wants to introduce an e-forum as part of
a classroom activity or as an avenue to meet and discuss with other teachers, it is
always sound to understand, observe and have an orientation to online learning

or learning in an e-environment. It is important to understand the netiquette.
According to Ince (2001, 211), a netiquette is,
“The series of informal rules which users of the Internet are often urged to
follow in order not to provoke others...Typical rules include: check with an
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions section) list before asking a question, don’t
betray confidences, use EMOTICONS to indicate subtleties and stick to the
subject that you are writing about.”
Basically, having a good practice of netiquette outlines how we would like to be

treated online. This would include being honest, avoiding bad language, respect
each others’ opinions, using simple language, being tolerant to linguistic errors
and being friendly.
In creating, managing and sustaining an e-forum, it is also important to know

and understand how to manage a discussion forum online. In this respect, it is
always a good practice to:
1. Step in with a question or comment to stimulate a discussion if the

ongoing discussion is heading nowhere and faltering.
2. End the discussion by synthesising and a concluding remark if you find

there are no longer new arguments or ideas that can be derived from the
earlier postings or arguments.
3. Put forward specific and precise questions that immediately focus on a

certain issue and pull the discussion together towards the intended
objective or outcome if the topics are being discussed at a very macro level
(too general).
4. Structure the e-forum by aligning the discussion topics with the objectives
and learning outcomes of the e-forum.
Assessing and reflecting practices for e-forums

In an e-forum, teachers can undertake both formative and summative forms of
assessments. The following are examples of formative and summative assessments
that can gauge teachers’ involvement in professional development activities.
1. Collaboration: Teachers can work together as a group with other teachers

in the e-forum to produce teaching materials and share them with each
other.
2. Lesson summaries and self-evaluation/reflection: Teachers can write a

brief review of the weekly lessons that they have taught. This involves
being reflective and self-evaluative.
UNIT 5 7
3. Critique: Teachers can, individually or in a small group, review an article,

a teaching method or teaching technique and post the review online for
the benefits of other teachers.
4. Case studies/problem-based learning exercises: Conduct a discussion-type

exercise where teachers are given a description of an actual classroom
teaching and learning practices, which they have to analyse, investigate
the problems they identify and decide on the further information they
need to improve their teaching and learning.
All the above online activities require a great deal of critical reflective practices
on the part of the teachers. By doing reflective practices, the teachers will be
able to:
1. Think critically about their experiences when engaged in those online

activities.
2. Identify the problems faced.
3. Reframe the above problems and consider them in a new light so that
possible solutions could be forwarded.
4. Formulate a plan of action to improve the initial practices.
In order to be able to practise critical reflection on teachers need to monitor,

critique and defend their actions in planning, implementing and evaluating
their classroom activities (Nunan and Lamb 1996). Teachers can use this critical
reflective practice as a basis for evaluation and decision making to change and
improve classroom practices (Bartlett 1990; Wallace 1991). To facilitate teachers’
critical reflective practices, they need to be encouraged to reflect on their
classroom practices by sking, among others, the following questions:
Question 1: “What interesting concepts or ideas of teaching, learning or

education in general have you learnt and internalised from your
lesson? Elaborate why.”
Question 2: “If you were to teach the same topic as today, would you have
done it similarly or differently? Why?”
Activity 5.1
Visit http://aceboard.net/ and create an e-forum that will benefit

teachers in your school as well as teachers in other surrounding
schools.
Your instructions are:
1. Go to the webpage http://aceboard.net/
2. Click on “Registration” to create your account. Key in the

required information.
3. Click on “Demo Forum” to get an idea of the structure of

the forum and how it can be run and managed.
After you have done the above, your task is to:
1. Name the forum.
2. Outline the objectives of the e-forum.
3. List out the topics of interests or SIGs that you want you to
introduce and explore in your e-forum.
Figure 5.1 The Aceboard Free Forum interface

UNIT 5 9
Figure 5.2 A Demonstration e-forum in the Aceboard Free Forum
Figure 5.3 Registering and creating an e-forum in the Aceboard

Free Forum
Name of the e-forum, objectives and topics:
____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Summary
In this section, we have learnt what an e-forum is and how

the e-forum can be created as a platform for teachers to share
their voices. What is important when creating teachers’ voices
through e-forums is the assessment and reflecting practices that
teachers can undertake. By doing so, teachers are able to enhance
themselves as professionals, be able to connect with teachers
from various countries and contexts and share views, ideas and
knowledge.
Self-test 5.1
Based on a lesson that you have taught recently in your institutions

(schools, colleges, universities, etc.), write a reflection in the form
of self-evaluation of the way the lesson was conducted and its
success. List out:
1. The title of the lesson.
2. The main objectives.
3. The learning outcomes.
4. Learning activities.
Use the given box to fill in your answers:
Lesson title: ___________________________________________
Objectives:
1. ___________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________
UNIT 5 11
Learning outcomes:
1. ___________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________
Learning activities:
1. ________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________
Reflection:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Suggested answers to activity
Feedback
Activity 5.1
For a sample e-forum, visit the MELTA website (www.melta.

org.my). Relevant screenshots from the MELTA website are
presented here.
Figure 5.4 E-forums in the MELTA website
Figure 5.5 A list of SIGs in the MELTA’s e-forum

UNIT 5 13
Figure 5.6 Objectives and sub-topics in an SIG
Figure 5.7 Postings in MELTA’s SIGs

UNIT 5 15
5.2 An E-journal for the Reflective

Teacher
Objectives
1. Define and characterise the meaning of “journal writing”.
2. Create an e-journal for educational purposes.
Introduction
E-journal writing can function as a reflective professional development tool. It can
be used by incorporating reflective practices into day-to-day classroom teaching
by individual teachers and shared online with other teachers. The e-journal
writing can also be used to enhance one’s strengths in teaching and learning and
thus make his/her class more effective.
Definition
Before identifying what an e-journal is, it is imperative that writing journals or
keeping a journal is explained and defined. Journal keeping or writing involves
making explicit reflections that explains an action taken or an action that will
be taken by the teacher based on an experience (for instance, experience of
conducting a lesson). Keeping a journal can also mean collecting articles, drawings
still pictures and paper clippings that are meaningful to the teacher. By keeping
a reflective journal, a teacher would be able to think about the issues, problems
and challenges that he/she confronts in his/her day-to-day classroom teaching.
As such, this practice helps the teachers to develop reflective and critical thinking
skills and eventually, become better teachers.
Bailey (1990) stressed that it is advisable to make entries on a regular basis. It

may be a useful and effective practice to spend five or ten minutes after teaching
a lesson to make an entry. But what is also important is to review the journal
entries regularly. Schon (1983) suggested that writing professional diaries is
very useful for teachers as it serves two main purposes  (1) to record events
and ideas for the purpose of later reflection and (2) to trigger insights about
teaching based on the process of writing in the journal. In this sense, keeping a
journal may lead to many self-discoveries mainly because of the various classroom
experiences that can be explored and examined through journal writing. Some of
these self-discoveries are:
1. The teacher’s reactions to events in the classroom.

2. Questions or observations about problems, issues and challenges that

occurred while and after teaching.
3. Descriptions of significant aspects of lessons or events which were

meaningful or significant to the course of the lesson, learners’ learning
and teacher’s teaching.
4. Ideas or implications for future lessons and action needed in the future.
An e-journal would refer to all the above descriptions and explanations. However,
an e-journal is kept in an e-environment (or online) as opposed to the conventional
journal, which is usually in the form of notebooks or diaries. This means that
the contents of the journals are accessible to anyone who wishes to read those
journals.
Benefits and gains

Keeping a journal is a form of “recording personal thoughts, daily experiences
and evolving insights” (Lakshmi 2009). By sharing practices and reflections in
e-forums, teachers are actually engaging in the sharing of thoughts, ideas and
practices. Sharing and reflecting are the core elements of critical practices in an
e-environment for professional development. Teachers’ participation in such
activities may generate awareness of their own development and of current
professional knowledge. By writing journal entries, teachers would be able to
identify the changes they need to make in order to become better and effective
teachers. In addition, the teachers would be able to internalise pedagogical
knowledge and practices that are useful to them (Kabilan 2007).
Writing in journals would help teachers to “construct their own knowledge by

allowing them to express connections between new information and knowledge
they already have” (Dyment and O’Connell 2003) and displaying or putting
them online in an electronic journal would allow the sharing of new information
with other teachers. It also gives the chance for others to examine and evaluate
the constructed knowledge and thus reconstruct that knowledge if necessary.
Problems and issues

Despite the benefits associated with journal writing, there are several problems that
should be taken into account. One is time  whether it is conventional journal
or e-journal writing, teachers always lack time when it comes to writing their
reflections or their thoughts on teaching and learning. Research indicates that the
lack of time hinders this aspect of professional development.
It is imperative that teachers know what to write and how to write in the journals
that would benefit them as well as others who read their writings. The writing of
purely descriptive entries, with limited reflection and lack of insight into their
own practices of teaching, would not be beneficial.
UNIT 5 17
In addition, males and females have different perceptions of journal writing.

Generally, the females are more receptive to the journal writing process, whereas
some males may need training in journal writing, especially with the reflective
practice.
Creating an e-journal
An e-journal to capture a teacher’s daily (or periodically) reflections and insights
can be in the form of various Internet platforms such as blogs or weblogs (www.
blogger.com); Facebook (www.facebook.com) and personal websites that can be
created using Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) or Google (www.google.com). Examples
of these journals are:
1. Reality 101 (http://cecblog.typepad.com/cec/)
2. A Journal of One Teacher’s Experience (http://www.cyberlearning-world.

com/journal/index.html)
Assessing and reflecting practices for e-journals

Teachers who want to capitalise on the potential of journal writing for professional
development must be willing to spend the time and effort to write purposefully
and critically reflect on their classroom practices. If the writing of the journal is
to be assessed, a structured time allocation should be considered so that teachers
have the time to make the required writing.
Since males and females have different views of journal writing, it would be only
logical if the ways of assessing and reflecting practices for both sexes are varied
and differentiated. For instance, for the male teachers, perhaps they should
be guided by giving them specific questions to ponder, think and respond to.
Also models of good journal writing could be provided as examples to assist the
teachers in writing good reflective entries.
Teachers should explore different ways of evaluating journal writing  self-

evaluation, peer evaluation and co-evaluation (i.e., student and teacher or teacher
and school administrator) as alternative methods. With these different evaluation
methods, teachers’ real professional learning could be gauged from different
perspectives, including from the students’ point of view in terms of the abilities
and competency of the teachers.
Activity 5.2
Create an online teaching journal using Facebook (www.facebook.

com).
Figure 5.8 The Facebook as a teaching journal
Figure 5.9 Creating a Facebook account as a teaching journal
Summary
An electronic teacher journal can benefit teachers in terms of their

professional development. In this section, we have learnt how to
create an e-journal to assist and enhance ones’ teacher professional
development. Keeping a conventional (or print) journal or the
e-journal is beneficial to teachers. Nevertheless, the electronic
version is “open” and enables others to read and benefit from the
teacher who keeps the journal.
UNIT 5 19
Self-test 5.2
In the above Facebook teaching journal, include the following:
1. Your profile, including your teaching philosophies, the

methods that you prefer and the way you approach your
lessons. You can add in profile pictures.
2. The daily activities in your school, especially the academic

activities in the classroom settings.
3. Students’ behaviour. Write specifically of what the students

do and your responses. Here you may wish to be careful
about disclosing their names.
4. Annotated ideas from observing other teachers. Fellow

colleagues are an excellent source for creative and effective
teaching ideas. Acknowledge the teachers for their ideas.
5. Annotated and documented resources that you have found,

have used or intend to use in future or anticipate that you
may use in future. Such documentation means that you are
sharing resources with others.
6. Examples of your students’ work, test papers or projects.

These can also be shown as examples of an excellent work
(put online) for other students to refer to for motivational
purposes.
Feedback
Activity 5.2
Below is a screen capture of a teacher’s teaching page that you

may refer to in the process of creating and keeping your own
online journal.
Figure 5.10 Elizabeth’s teaching page on the Facebook

Source: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!teaching?ref=ts
UNIT 5 21
5.3 The Teacher and the E-Portfolio

Objectives
By end of this section, you will be able to:
1. Define and characterise “e-portfolios”.
2. List at least five benefits of creating e-portfolios for teacher professional

development.
Introduction
In the new millennium, new technologies are adopted for more effective and
meaningful professional development engagements. With the aid of ICT and
technologies, professional development can become a continuous facilitative process
and teachers require abilities to reflect to change, grow and cope with evolving
tools of ICT, especially the Internet. In this respect, e-portfolios have become one
of the increasingly valued phenomena that have shown promise across disciplines,
institutions and applications to encourage a tangible means of teachers’ reflection
and synchronising their development more professionally. In this section, we will
explore how e-portfolios can be utilised by teachers to enhance their professional
development.
Definition
The origin of the e-portfolio is entrenched in various endeavours such as
businesses and arts. Artists, photographers or architects have used it to exhibit their
best works or achievements. Dietz (1991, 1), one of the early researchers, defines
the portfolio as a tool that “provides teachers with a framework of initiating,
planning and facilitating their personal/professional growth while building
connections between their interest and goals”. Evans (1995, 11) describes it
more comprehensively: “(portfolio is) an evolving collection of carefully selected
or composed professional thoughts, goals and experiences. It is threaded with
reflection and self-assessment and represents who you are, what you do, why you
do it, where you have been, where you are, where you want to go and how you
plans to get there”. Later, with the advent of the Internet, the portfolio emerged
as a refreshed form and was phased into the e-portfolio. With technology as
the enabler, video clips, pictures and other documents of teaching and learning
can be better managed, organised, documented and presented in e-portfolios.
E-portfolios are easy to rearrange, edit and can combine materials. They have
the advantage in the sense that teachers can easily make hyper links with external
sources.
An e-portfolio is an “organised goal-driven documentation...of professional

growth and achieved competence” (Campbell et al. 2004, 4) which is presented
through multimedia technologies (audio recordings; hypermedia programmes and
databases, spreadsheets, videos, word processing software) and stored electronically
(CD ROMs, WWW). E-portfolios can be a thoughtfully organised collection
of artefacts, which illustrate professional status, pedagogical expertise, subject
matter knowledge, knowledge of learning processes together with professional
and personal attributes all contributing towards teaching. Types of materials
and their organisation may vary according to the target audience or underlying
purpose, but four elements are fundamental in e-portfolios (1) must be goal-driven
(2) organised collection of materials (3) materials must demonstrate expansion
of knowledge and skills and (4) should be observed over time.
Benefits and gains

There are many advantages and benefits of creating e-portfolios for teacher
professional development. E-portfolios have been used for different professional
development purposes such as:
1. Flexible use (any time, any place).
2. Inexpensive reproduction.
3. To enhance ICT competency.
4. To promote self-directed learning and in-depth learning.
5. Augment mentoring and collaboration activities to promote the growth

of self-confidence.
6. Development of language skills.
7. To promote the growth of self-confidence.
8. To develop teacher knowledge.
9. To represent accomplishment throughout a teacher’s career.
10. To encourage development, reflection, assessment and showcasing.
Usually, e-portfolios are implemented in conjunction with offered face-to-face

courses or programmes. In line with the course or programme objectives; teachers
are required to collect, select, reflect and present artefacts in a pre-determined
online platform. Asynchronous and synchronous communication encourages
the creation of an online community where teachers can mutually engage
in collaborative practices with peers to share repertoire. Formative feedback
from different stakeholders helps in enhancing learning outcomes. It helps in
enhancing learning, reconstruct personal teaching practices and reflections on
UNIT 5 23
them, document and unfold learning processes to become a teacher. In this way,
e-portfolios become documents of not only learning, but also the process of
learning. Emphasis on the process rather than the product provides opportunity
to assess teachers’ development from an alternative point of view (Kilbane and
Milman 2005). Hence, various professional groups have been championing the
e-portfolio as the most flexible tool currently available in the teacher education
context.
Problems and issues

In spite of the stated advantages, teachers may lack sufficient ICT skills to
integrate digital artefacts in different formats, handling specialised software and
hardware, code HTML and upload files into servers. These complex activities
may lead to disengagement in the e-portfolio journey before it has commenced
or accomplishments are undermined by poor presentations. Time constrain is
another challenge of creating and maintain an e-portfolio. In particular, teachers
without sufficient previous ICT experience may feel that such assignments are
labour intensive. In addition, new technologies never stand still and continuous
learning about those will invariably consume a substantial amount of time and
labour. Besides, essential instruments to create artefacts in e-portfolio are rather
expensive. Other concern can be the authentication, copyright, access, ownership,
identity, security and storage (Campbell et al. 2004).
Teachers may face two types of problems  intellectual and practical. First, to
address the intellectual challenges, teachers are required to re-examine the nature
and purposes of learning and assessment, understand the redefined nature of
continuous learning and assessment and acknowledge the preferable multiple
assessment strategies. Second, practical challenges refer to the reforming learning
process, a shift from knowledge dispenser to facilitator, considering assessment
as an integral part of learning and learning to collaborate with students in the
assessment process.
The e-portfolio informs about competencies in an indirect way which often

elevates questions about its validity and reliability. Scepticism is evident over its
appropriateness as a tool to evaluate the summation of teachers’ course work. The
trends of using the Internet may lead to several dangers and can create further
confusion about e-portfolios. E-portfolios, for example, may turn into a simple
platform for self-advertisement, exhibition or just to show off. Likewise, one’s “best
works” may not present an accurate picture of one’s actual competencies. In these
cases, the pedagogical value of e-portfolios becomes questionable.
Creating an e-portfolio
Creating an e-portfolio is not a simple undertaking but rather a “daunting job”
(Barrett 2007), therefore, it requires sufficient scaffolding. A sloppy creation
process may turn an e-portfolio into a “scrapbook of teaching memorabilia”
(Campbell et al. 2004). That is, attributes of e-portfolios can be pedagogically
valid if they adhere to an appropriate method. More importantly, they should
be cost effective, user friendly and teachers get enough space to outline their
developmental goals. However, literature denotes that the contents of e-portfolios
may vary according to their audiences and purposes but the process of creating
the e-portfolios is almost similar.
Barrett (2000) analysed the precise method of constructing e-portfolios and stressed
multimedia skills + portfolio development = powerful professional development.
She explained the chronological progression of different stages of e-portfolio
creation and suggested essential hardware and software accordingly. For the
multimedia development process five stages have to be followed:
1. Decide/Assess (determining needs, goals and audience).
2. Design/Plan (determining content, sequence).
3. Develop (gathering and organising materials to include).
4. Implement (give the presentation).
5. Evaluate (evaluating the effectiveness of the presentation).
For the e-portfolio development process, on the other hand, teachers are required
to follow the five-step process:
1. Collection (learn to save artefacts that represent success activities).
2. Selection (review the saved artefacts and identify those which demonstrate
the achievement of specific objectives).
3. Reflection (evaluate one’s own achievement and search for the gaps that
needs to be developed).
4. Projection/Direction (compare reflections in line with objectives and set

learning goals for future).
5. Presentation (share with peers).
Portfolio Multimedia
Electronic portfolio development
development development
Purpose and audience 1. Defining the portfolio context and goals Decide assess
Collect, interject 2. The working portfolio Design, plan
Select, reflect, direct 3. The reflective portfolio Develop
Inspect, perfect, connect 4. The connected portfolio Implement,
evaluate
Respect 5. The presentation portfolio Present, publish
Table 5.1 The e-portfolio development stages

UNIT 5 25
Comparatively recent researcher O’Neill (2007) suggested a seven-step process to

create an e-portfolio.
Step 1: Teachers need to describe their individual teaching philosophy  based

on their views and beliefs about teaching learning.
Step 2: Obtain face-to-face feedback from professionals on that philosophy.
Step 3: Teachers need to explore reflective thinking and writing on a past critical
incident. Such activities should be in line with the objectives of e-portfolios.
Step 4: Teachers need to engage in critical peer reflections and sharing of ideas.
Step 5: Teachers need to submit reflective entries focusing on how their learning
is influenced.
Step 6: Teachers need to develop documentary evidence of change or planned

changes. These documents should be supported by references to the
relevant literature.
Step 7: Teachers need to submit a final online reflection based on what they have
learned. This will include what they have learned from the feedback on
their reflections from peers. The task brings some cohesion to the
e-portfolio activity and is useful for both professional and promotional
purposes.
Assessing and reflecting practices for e-portfolios

Reflection is the core component of any e-portfolio and determines its success.
Some evidence reveals that e-portfolios can assist to develop the integral skill
of reflective thinking. With every reflection, teachers achieve further learning
experiences and each experience provides impetus, potentially leading teachers
towards change and moving forward for further learning. Most importantly,
as e-portfolio development is synchronous with learning and the process of
constructing, reflections demonstrate not only learning but also the learning
experience.
E-portfolios encourage teachers to reflect on their personal work and rationale

behind selecting certain pieces to be incorporated. Campbell et al. (2004) suggest
a process to ask three questions in this regard: “what”, “so what” and “now
what”. The question “What” summarises learning experiences, while to answer
the question of “so what”, students reflect on what they have learned and how
this learning leads to address the objectives. Such activities help to clarify the
implications of previous learning, determine future learning needs and set forth
refinements or adaptations, in order to answer “now what”. Moreover, portable
accessibility and ability to store data in a variety of electronic formats permit the
students to reflect on a topic by using the most appropriate media and thus allow
teachers to reflect.
The e-portfolio is considered as the most effective approach which can guide
independent learning, self-evaluation, reflective practice, organisation, meta-
cognition and the role of the teacher-learners’ partnership. It creates “a learning
environment that incorporates opportunities for an analysis of learning; teacher-
facilitated learning; group and pair work; student-teacher dialogue about
the student’s learning; and consistently available support and collaboration”
(Klenowski 2002, 126). It transfers assessment responsibility to the learner and
provides appropriate criteria to evaluate learning. These features of learning
generate a unique atmosphere as opposed to the traditional teaching-learning
system where educators concentrated their attention to specific individual
strengths and weaknesses without comparison to others.
During such a process, teachers feel a “non-threatening environment” that

encourages them to evaluate personal skills and attributes. It provides clear and
appropriate criteria of evaluating actual learning outcomes and, later, facilitates
reaching into a satisfactory level with own work. It can foster dual attributes,
namely, formative and summative assessment. Teachers’ understanding on their
active roles, subsequently, facilitates them to clarify their personal perceptive as well
as to exchange ideas and examples (Klenowski 2000). As such, the development
of the e-portfolio is synchronous with the process as well as the product of
learning because it demonstrates “past and present accomplishments as well as
what they still wish to accomplish” (Kilbane and Millman 2003, 26).
Activity 5.3
Using O’Neill’s (2007) seven-step process, create your own

e-portfolio using a blog (or any other online environment or
platform).
Summary
In this section, we have learnt to how develop e-portfolios for the

purpose of enhancing one’s teaching professional development.
Documenting one’s profession and views of learning allows
teachers to grow and become betters. In the next section, we will
examine further how the online tools that we have learnt so far 
e-forums, e-journals and e-portfolios  can contribute to teachers’
online professional development.
UNIT 5 27
Self-test 5.3
After creating the e-portfolio, what potential do you see in your

e-portfolio as a tool to enhance your professional development?
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Feedback
Activity 5.3
A sample of an e-portfolio is Kathleen Fischer’s Portfolio (available

online), which you can refer to.
Figure 5.11 The front page of Kathleen Fischer’s Portfolio

Source: http://durak.org/kathy/portfolio/
UNIT 5 29
5.4 Online Professional Development

(OPD)
Objectives
1. Define and explain the concept of online professional development.
2. List and characterise the types of professional development activities that

can be undertaken online.
3. Identify online communities that are engaged in professional development.
Introduction
The aspects that we have discussed so far are related to a field of study that is
very commonly known as online professional development (OPD). In OPD,
various tools of the Internet and networks are used as the means or platforms
where teachers can engage in professional development activities to enhance their
knowledge and skills in terms of teaching and learning. These activities include
networking with fellow teachers, searching for teaching materials, sharing ideas
and knowledge and researching, among others. In this section, we will explore
the activities that can be undertaken in OPD.
Definition
OPD refers to any activities, programmes, opportunities, practices or experiences
undertaken via the Internet by in-service teachers that would lead to the
enhancement of knowledge, skills, motivation and understanding of individuals
or groups in a learning context that may be identified by themselves or their
institutions. Examples of the OPD activities or experiences include networking
and collaborating with fellow teachers, subscribing to discussion lists, attending
online conferences and seminars, reading professional online journals and books,
writing articles to be published in the Internet (online journals), conducting
action research via/with the aid of the Internet and posting messages in the online
bulletin boards (Kabilan 2004).
Activities
OPD gives the teachers complete control and direction of their professional
development, which is mainly selecting and prescribing the professional
development activities that will be beneficial to them. In addition, teachers are
able to plan and chart the progress of their professional development at a pace
that helps them gain the most out of their participation in an OPD activity.
Eventually, this leads to the professional and personal empowerment of the
teacher in having a new perspective in teaching.
With the ubiquity, explosion and expansion of the Internet world wide, almost
all of the usual and conventional professional development activities can be
carried out via/in the Internet. In this section, the OPD activities are discussed,
especially in terms of the content and process. There are two major OPD activities
 reading online materials and collaboration and networking. In these two
activities, there are other activities, which could be categorised.
Reading online materials

WWW offers both teachers and learners an enormous opportunity for learning,
including accessing information on formal educational courses and collecting
data and information. Teachers can read materials found in the Internet in five
main forms: online magazines, online newsletters, online journals, webpages (or/
and websites) and resource centres. With the aid of the Internet, searching and
accessing for reading materials by teachers and learners are much easier and faster
compared to reading materials that are only available in the library.
Collaboration and networking among teachers

OPD advocates the use of computers, including the WWW, Internet,
computer-mediated communication (CMC) and IT to facilitate collaboration
and cooperative learning amongst groups of people in formal learning and
organisational situations, which have immense advantages and potential to
the training of teachers. Online collaboration is done in many ways and may
present many objectives and aims, depending on the types of institutions and
their missions in education. Online collaboration allows teachers from different
regions to get to know each other, exchange and share ideas and to create new
knowledge. Online collaboration can also lead to the creation of a one-stop
virtual resource centre for teachers to enhance their professional development.
Online collaboration is also, quite frequently, a direct result of the establishment
of online communities of professional teachers. A good example of this is the
community that grew from the virtual MELTA group (www.melta.org.my).
An essential component of collaborative models of OPD is the concept of Learning

Networks (LNs). LN propagates rich experiences in collaborative learning.
Collaborative learning refers to the building of knowledge that is attained through
the interaction between group members. In this process, teachers who participate
in OPD activities construct knowledge by creating and constructing ideas. These
UNIT 5 31
ideas are created by discussions and responses to each other via the tools of CMC.
Hence, LNs are also known as groups of people who use CMC tools to learn together.
In setting up a LN for teachers, Harasim et al. (1997) pointed out that there are
considerations that need detailed and thorough examination:
1. Identifying the needs of teachers in terms of educational activities that

can be benefited from OPD activities.
2. Ensuring convenient and regular access to the requisite computer resources

and systems (including the Internet), ongoing technical assistance and
support to address technical problems and assisting new users of the
network.
3. Obtaining administrative recognition and support in implementing and

maintaining the LN of teachers for the teachers.
4. Designing the curriculum with the educational goals in terms of the

content area, knowledge and skills that are to be gained; the related topics,
readings and activities and the assignments that can be used to build and
demonstrate the teachers’ mastery of the knowledge in mind.
5. Developing appropriate curricular and educational materials.
6. Designing the online environment, which should be based on the

application of the LN, whether the environment is based on seminars,
debate or role playing.
7. Preparing and organising resources  subject expert, course materials

and text books/ paper based materials in advance.
8. Providing adequate and ongoing training, which is parallel to the level of

the users’ experiences.
9. Attending to the planning of the physical environment, which comprises

school laboratory, the work setting and the home.
10. Organisational adoption of LNs must be made available to both the

teachers and the students.
11. Upholding policies that encourage the introduction and usage of the
technology.
12. Involving as many participants as possible at the planning stages to

ensure that at a later stage, more individuals will use the technology for
their professional development.
13. Arranging demonstrations by individuals from other organisations is

useful at the planning stages.
14. Ensuring the existence of easy-to-use, customised software and online

moderation; user friendliness of LNs, which should be customised to
each individual and the role of moderators, which should facilitate
familiarity with the system and to respond promptly to enquiries (new
users or potential users).
15. Selecting a core group of users:
a. The implementation process should focus on including as many

individuals as possible to initiate use of learning networks in the
institution.
b. There will be a core group who will use the LNs and serve as a role
model to others. Therefore, support for this initial group is vital in
determining the success of the initiative.
16. Providing in-service training and ongoing help to resolve specific

problems that arise.
17. Ensuring provision of full time access to LNs anytime and anywhere.
By using the CMC and LNs as the tools and the way of achieving the concept
of sharing, effective LNs can used for meaningful discussions and sharing of
ideas, especially for those teachers who are teaching in rural and isolated areas
or districts. By using CMC and LNs for networking, teachers can gain valuable
information on educational events, courses and professional development
opportunities, besides keeping in mind the time-and-money saving factor.
The LN is also deployed as a mechanism to reduce teachers’ feelings of isolation

and to promote their sense of belonging to a larger group of community. By
this, a LN is actually a connector – connecting the teachers to the outside
world  easing the way for them to connect their experiences to the real world.
In addition, an LN acts as a remedy to access information and resources from
UNIT 5 33
outside the school. It furnishes teachers with openings to widen their self-
beliefs and perspectives of themselves as teachers, due to the inclination of being
exposed to diverse educational ideas that are discussed in the LN communities.
The LN can act as a professional development supplement to increase and cement

teachers’ awareness of new technologies, especially CMC and LNs. It would
then, indirectly, assist teachers in improving classroom learning. Moreover, the
introduction of LN has changed teachers’ roles as educators. “They become
more of a facilitator or resource person, keep in better touch with current
information, resources and ideas and expand their teaching roles beyond school
wall” (Harasim et al. 1997, 70). Harasim et al. (1997) also asserted the uses of
computer conferencing, which are widely used in LNs, for teachers’ enhancement
of professional development. This tenet of professional development is very
practical, i.e., relevant to the teachers’ everyday experiences in the classrooms. It
also enriches teachers’ experiences via the sharing of information and knowledge
online.
Modes and types

Various tools of the Internet can be purposeful in empowering teachers’
collaborative and networking efforts. Some of them are emails, discussion lists,
discussion groups and listservs. For most cases, these tools are used to facilitate
various OPD opportunities which encompass computer conferencing, online
discussions, online conferences, online workshops, online action research, online
research, online reflective and sharing, online support-group and expertise, online
peer coaching and mentoring, as well as other collaborative and networking
efforts. Internet tools such as email and IRC also make it possible for the teachers
to develop their thoughts and perceptions, which in turn could assist the teachers
in refining their teaching abilities and skills in many ways, as deep thoughts are
put into, and considered before, executing any plans related to teaching and the
teaching profession. Their thoughts are stimulated when they are involved in
online discussions or through exchanging of ideas via emails or online forums.
As for reading online materials, the WWW is an important tool. As explained

earlier, with the aid of WWW, retrieving and accessing reading materials are
so much easier and faster than before. Also, the materials read can be stored
and retrieved until they are needed again and thus making the management
of data efficient and purposeful. Materials found in the WWW can be copied,
transformed into MS Word documents (or other forms) and edited.
Teachers could also develop their own webpages or websites, according to their
areas of interest. These webpages or sites can contain materials, lesson plans and
notes, exercises and best practices of teaching that have been carried out by the
teachers. By posting such information in WWW, the teachers are actually sharing
their experiences with other teachers from all over the world. The teachers, who
read those sites or pages, can reinforce their own experiences with the ones posted
in the WWW by reflecting and re-enacting in their mind their own best practices,
for instance, as compared to the experiences found in the WWW. Hence, the
teachers’ knowledge and command of the subject are aligned and strengthened,
enriching the resources within themselves. Building webpages as a group has even
more favourable circumstances, especially in the sense of working together for the
cause of the group.
Assessing and reflecting practices in OPD

Teachers attempt to obtain new skills and knowledge that they need to know, to
solve specific problems of teaching and learning in schools, which their learning is
based upon. The new skills and knowledge gained will eventually increase teacher’s
self esteem and increase their job satisfaction. In this respect, the Internet can
function as a potent motivator to improve a teacher’s job satisfaction because of
the activities that it hosts and encourages and also because it has effective tools to
bring people together and closer. Communication among its users is enhanced;
with the Internet’s help, the users can find solace, seek and give advice and
benefit from reassurances from others, especially experts. This has been shown for
instance, in a study of pre-service teachers who logged into TAPPED IN (www.
tappedin.org)  an online community in the form of OPD centres  and had
online discussions with experienced teachers. The soon-to-be teachers found the
discussions to be motivating and the experience of online discussions had made
them aware of the current situations in school and of teachers. They are then
ready to anticipate the future by making preparations now (Schlager, Fusco, and
Schank 1998). The following two quotes represented the pre-service teachers’
comments:
I learned the most from conversing with [Teacher 3] and my classmates...

her discussion of the stages a first year teacher goes through (e.g., anticipation,
disillusionment, survival) has made me more prepared...I now feel like I know a
little bit of what to expect and am prepared for what it will be like.
With TAPPED IN, I saw how there are teachers who are dedicated to the
professions. We often hear of teachers who are sick and tired, who get burnt out
and those who quit. It is often hard to hear stories of the teachers who spend extra
hours at places like TAPPED IN to increase their classroom knowledge. That was
definitely a reaffirmation to study the field of education.
(Schlager, Fusco and Schank 1998, 6)
The above two excerpts demonstrate the importance of reflecting in OPD. By

reflecting, the teachers in the above study were able to observe and internalise
aspects of teaching, learning and professional development that they could learn
from other teachers. Learning from others’ experiences also means that one’s
professional development is enhanced through the new knowledge and attitudes
towards the teaching profession that are developed.
UNIT 5 35
Activity 5.4
Search online for online communities that are actively engaged

in professional development. Describe briefly their objectives and
the main activities that they have organised (if any). Please use the
table given.
Name of Professional
the online URL Objectives development
community activities
Self-test 5.4
How can online professional development (OPD) benefit you as a

practising teacher?
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UNIT 5 37
Feedback
Activity 5.4
1. iEARN http://iearn.org/ Offers both face-to-face Workshops, online
professional/ and online professional professional
index.html development workshops development
and courses for educators programmes and
seeking to integrate online online resources
global project work into
their classrooms.
UNIT 5 39
5.5 ICT and the Teacher as a Researcher

Objectives
1. Define the “teacher as a researcher”.
2. Identify the Internet tools that can be used to do research.
Introduction
Teachers are accountable to all stakeholders for the educational policies,
programmes and practices they implement at the school level and even perhaps
at the higher levels of the state education department and ministry. Thus, it is
insufficient for teachers only to make decisions; they are also required to make
informed decisions, decisions which are data driven  in other words, research.
This implies that their responsibilities are not only confined to teaching and
learning, but they can also contribute to the body of knowledge in the field
of teaching and learning. By doing so, the teachers would be able to create
knowledge that will be beneficial to other teachers and students in general.
Definition: The teacher as a researcher

When a teacher embarks on the role of a researcher, he/she will:
1. Build the reflective practices that are based on proven data and techniques.
2. He/she will experiment with new ideas and assess and evaluate the
effectiveness of those new ideas empirically and reliably.
3. Build his/her confidence in making decisions that are related to classroom

practices due to the fact that the decisions are based on concrete data.
4. Contribute to and develop the professional culture of teaching in his/her

school.
5. Network and collaborate with fellow teachers in sharing, disseminating

data and knowledge.
6. Create a meaningful and effective change in his/her practices (as well as

other teachers’ practices), the students’ learning and the school’s overall
improvement.
ICT tools for research

Reading online materials facilitates and encourages self-directed leaning.
Furthermore, finding and researching for online reading materials is relatively easy
and systematic. Teachers can, without great difficulties, obtain information and
data from various online magazines, newsletters and journals and online resource
centres. Teachers could maximise the volume and abundance of information
and materials available in the WWW to conduct a research solely in the WWW
and then publish the outcome of the research in various avenues in the Internet,
especially in online journals, magazines, newsletters, websites and webpages.
Apart from academic research, teachers can also search for materials and ideas
to be used in classrooms for lesson plans that can be replicated and emulated, or
online exercises, quizzes and tests that can be administered for evaluation purposes.
These services and activities are extended by various websites, webpages and online
centres. Online action research presents great potential as it creates a sense of
community among teachers. At the same time, it exposes the teachers to a wealth
of information in their field and gives them a systematic way to examine practices.
The sense of community among teachers, or the sense of belonging  feeling
needed and to be needed  which the Internet promotes, brings teachers together
as a community with similar causes and purposes. This includes the sharing of
research findings through publication in the Internet. Examples of these online
communities are:
1. Dave’s ESL Café (www.eslcafe.com)
2. Isabel ESL site (www.isabelperez.com/)
Activity 5.5
Search online for online communities, resource centres or websites

that give information, tools or assist you in terms of conducting
research online. Describe briefly their objectives and the main
activities that they have organised (if any). Please use the table
given.
UNIT 5 41
Self-test 5.5
Do an Internet research and learn more about “online learning”.

What is your opinion of doing research on the Internet? How
does it assist or benefit you?
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Feedback
Activity 5.5
Name of
the online
Research
community,
URL Objectives activities
resource
online
centre or
website
1. ERIC http://www.eric. ERIC provides unlimited Journal list,
(Education ed.gov/ access to more than 1.3 reading
Resource million bibliographic materials,
Information records of journal articles training and
Centre) and other education- indexing of
related materials, with educational
hundreds of new records materials.
added multiple times per
week. If available, links to
full text are included.
2. The Internet Research
TESL Journal articles.
Reading
materials.
Expertise
in fields of
studies.
UNIT 5 43
Summary of Unit 5
Summary
OPD can benefit teachers, fulfilling the teachers’ professional

development and learning needs. The role of OPD programme
is not to completely push aside or disregard the conventional
method/approach to teachers’ professional development and
learning, but rather to supplement, complement and support
where there are inadequacies in the conventional mode and also
where the OPD have overwhelming advantages. Merging these
two distinct methods  face-to-face and online  can only serve
well for a more purposeful and efficient progress of a teacher’s
professional development, adding the repertoire of professional
development engagements of teachers along the way. In the long
run, their professional learning and development can only be
deepened. Apart from the above, professional support extended
should encompass a wider range of support and certainly serve a
wider range of community of teachers.
UNIT 5 45
Course Summary
Summary
EED 210/05 Teacher for e-Learning is an exploration of online

learning and how it can be used to enhance both teaching and
learning in the classroom and individual professional development.
In Unit 1, the aspects of education in the age of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) were examined. You need to
understand the fundamental issues that are pertinent to aspects of
ICT, which are further explained in Unit 2. In Unit 2, we explored
the educational uses of the Internet and multi-media tools, as
well as their benefits, problems and functions. This was followed
by some of the related teaching and learning theories that were
pertinent to the use of ICT in education in Unit 3. In addition,
the meaning, objective and process of learning were explained in
the context of cognitivism, constructivism and the engagement
model. Based on these theories, Unit 4 outlined how ICT
applications were used for educational purposes. Finally, in Unit 5
we examined the use of ICT for teacher professional development
with the aid of various ICT tools. Also discussed was how ICT
tools can be utilised for other professional development activities
such as researching and reading online materials.
In these five units, many aspects were explained, such as how

ICT and computer mediated applications can be integrated into
classroom practice. Those units also looked at the identification
and teaching of skills needed for information literacy such as
Internet applications, emails, e-forums, web-blogs, authoring
tools and autonomous learning.
The activities and self-tests that are found in the five units are
designed to help participants of this course to further enhance
their knowledge and the skills that were obtained from the
respective units. These are basically hands-on activities that require
participants’ active engagement to create, to develop, to solve or
to analyse something or complete a task. For further reading to
understand and attempt the activities and self-tests in this course,
refer and read the book, “E-learning skills” by Clarke (2004), which
is listed as a supplementary reading text for this course.
Finally, by going through all the units in this course, you will be
able to and are expected to:
1. Use e-learning to enhance teaching-learning in the classroom.

2. Integrate ICT and computer mediated applications into

classroom practices.
3. Use Internet applications and other computer mediated

applications for professional development.
4. Incorporate computer, Internet applications and computer

games in the teaching-learning contexts.
5. Develop e-learning materials for teaching-learning.
6. Evaluate the developed e-learning materials.
7. Use the e-learning environment for reflective purposes.
8. Collaborate and work together to accomplish online tasks.
9. Be ethical when using online or e-learning materials for

teaching-learning.
UNIT 5 47
Suggested Answers to Self-tests
Feedback
Self-test 5.1
For a sample lesson and examples of objectives, learning outcomes

etc. please visit Lewisham’s website (http://ecs.lewisham.gov.uk/
intict/).
In order to write good and critical reflections, the following

criteria or questions must be followed and answered:
1. What did you learn about yourself after conducting the

lesson? (or the general classroom practice)
2. Did you discover unsuspected advantages or benefits of the

lessons conducted?
3. Did you meet unexpected challenges while conducting the

lessons?
4. How did you deal with those challenges?
5. In what aspect of your classroom practices do you need to

improve in? Which personal improvement should remain?
Which should be changed accordingly?
6. Did the lesson conducted broaden your view on classroom

teaching and learning? How?
7. Did you carry out the self-reflection on yourself and your

practices or on others and their practices?
Self-test 5.2
The following is an example of writing in a teaching journal or

diary taken from:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/transform/teachers/teacher-
development-tools/teacher-diaries
Tuesday 3 June
Did another discussion activity  disaster! Changing the way I usually

group students didn’t work. As usual, Paolo took over and imposed his
ideas on the rest of his group. Prin sulked and refused to contribute.
Petra and her group mostly stuck to the discussion but kept breaking
into mother tongue. Anka and Lotty as usual said very little. What
can I do? I feel I am not helping them to use English. I am getting
demotivated with this.
Thursday 5 June
Reflecting on the problem of discussion work  maybe it isn’t a

problem of group formations, since trying new groupings didn’t work
either. Maybe instead it is that students don’t know how to discuss
topics in groups, as there is a lack of co-operation and not all of them
participate. I need to explore this.
Friday 6 June
Had a very useful chat in the staffroom. Joan advised me to look at

group roles such as facilitating, encouraging, co-operating, attention
seeking, harmonizing etc. Jo suggested a couple of books. I feel more
motivated now.
Tuesday 17 June
Tried some activities on group roles. I think they worked. I told class
we would try out some new ideas for the way we do group work and
they seemed receptive to this. Next lesson I will select an observer for
each group and give them something to fill in about the actions that
take place, e.g., helping, contributing, arguing etc. Then we’ll use
this to establish some rules for making discussions more effective and
getting everyone to participate.
Self-test 5.3
Read the article, ‘e-Portfolios: Their Use and Benefits’ available at

http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/media/ferl_and_aclearn/
ferl/resources/organisations/fd%20learning/e-portfoliopaper.pdf
UNIT 5 49
Self-test 5.4
Each teacher might have different experiences and therefore,

different benefits/advantages. The advantages or benefits may
include:
• Individualised professional development where teachers can

work independently at their own time and pace and according
to their needs
• Teachers can work in smaller groups as well as in a big group

(collaboratively)
• Instant access to resources (via the Internet)
• Locate information or required materials quickly.
• Develop technological skills that are transferable to other

teaching and learning situations.
Self-test 5.5
For ways of conducting research online, please visit the

e-Learners.com website (http://www.elearners.com/guide/how-
to-do-research-online.asp). This page also informs, indirectly, how
teachers can benefit from conducting research online.
UNIT 5 51
References
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Bailey, K M (1990) ‘The use of diary studies in teacher education programmes’

in Richards, J and Nunan, D (eds) Second language teacher education, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 215 – 226.
Banks, B (2004) e-Portfolios: Their Use and Benefits, http://www.excellencegateway.

org.uk/media/ferl_and_aclearn/ferl/resources/organisations/fd%20learning/
e-portfoliopaper.pdf (Accessed 3 March 2010)
Barrett, H (2000) ‘Electronic Teaching Portfolios: Multimedia Skills + Portfolio

Development = Powerful Professional Development’, association for the
Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), http://electronicportfolios.
org/portfolios/site2000.html (Accessed 11 March 2010)
Barrett, H (2007) ‘Researching Electronic Portfolios and Learner Engagement:

The Reflect Initiative’, Journal of adolescent and adult literacy, vol. 50(6),
436 – 449.
Bartlett, L (1990) ‘Teacher development through reflective teaching’, in Richards,

J and Nunan, D (Eds.) Second language teacher education, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 202 – 214.
Bodzin, A and Park, J (2002) ‘Using a nonrestrictive web-based forum to promote

reflective discourse with pre service science teachers’, Contemporary Issues in
Technology and Teacher Education, 2(3), http://www.citejournal.org/vol2/iss3/
science/article1.cfm (Accessed 3 March 2010)
Bristish Council, Teaching English, http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/transform/

teachers/teacher-development-tools/teacher-diaries (Accessed 3 March 2010)
Campbell, D, Cignetti, P, Melenyzer, B, Nettles, D and Wyman, R (2004) How

to develop a professional portfolio: A manual for teachers, New York: Pearson.
Cassutto, G, A Journal of One Teacher’s Experience, http://www.cyberlearning-

world.com/journal/index.html (Accessed 3 March 2010)
Clarke, A (2004) E-learning skills, New York: MacMillan Palgrave.
Dave’s ESL Cafe (2010) http://www.eslcafe.com/ (Accessed 3 March 2010)
Dietz, M E (1991) Professional development portfolio: Facilitator’s guide and journal,

San Ramon, CA: Frameworks.
Doyle, E (2010) Elizabeth’s Teaching Page, http://www.facebook.com/teaching

(Accessed 3 March 2010)
Dyment, J and O’Connell, T (2003) ‘Journal Writing in Experiential Education:

Possibilities, Problems and Recommendations’, ERIC Digest, ED479358.
Eastment, D (1999) The Internet and ELT, Oxford: Summertown Publishing.
eLearners, How To Conduct Research Online (Without Ever Stepping Foot in

the Library!) http://www.elearners.com/guide/how-to-do-research-online.asp
ERIC, Education Resources Information Centre, http://www.eric.ed.gov/ (Accessed

3 March 2010)
Evans, S M (1995) Professional portfolios: Documenting and presenting performance

excellence, Virginia Beach, VA: Teachers’ Little Secret.
Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/ (Accessed 3 March 2010)
Fetterman, D (1998) ‘Empowerment evaluation and the Internet: a synergistic

relationship’, Current Issues in Education 1(4), http://cie.asu.edu/volume1/
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Get Forum, http://www.getforum.org/ (Accessed 3 March 2010)
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The MIT Press.
iLearn, Professional Development, http://iearn.org/professional/index.html

Ince, D (2001) Dictionary of the Internet, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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isabelperez.com/ (Accessed 3 March 2010)
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of Online Professional Development, unpublished PhD Thesis, Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor.
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professional uses of email’, Teacher Development, 10(1), 87 – 103.
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how-to-guide for educators, Boston: Ally and Bacon.
UNIT 5 53
Kilbane, C and Milman, N (2005) The digital teaching portfolio handbook:

Understanding the digital teaching portfolio process, Boston: Ally and Bacon.
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and principles, London: Routledge Flamer.
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UNIT 5 i

ICT and teacher professional development

ICT and Teacher

EXTERNAL COURSE ASSESSOR

© 2010 Wawasan Open University

First revision 2014

Wawasan Open University

5.1 E-forums for creating the teacher’s voice 3

Benefits and gains 4

Problems and issues 5

Assessing and reflecting practices for e-forum 6

Suggested answers to activity 12

5.2 An e-journal for the reflective teacher 15

Benefits and gains 16

Problems and issues 16

Assessing and reflecting practices for e-journals 17

Suggested answers to activity 19

5.3 The teacher and the e-portfolio 21

Benefits and gains 22

Problems and issues 23

Assessing and reflecting practices for e-portfolios 25

Suggested answers to activity 27

5.4 Online Professional Development (OPD) 29

Reading online materials 30

Collaboration and networking among teachers 30

Modes and types 33

Assessing and reflecting practices in OPD 34

Suggested answers to activity 37

5.5 ICT and the teacher as a researcher 39

Definition: The teacher as a researcher 39

ICT tools for research 40

Suggested answers to activity 42

Suggested answers to self-tests 47

1. Create an e-forum and an e-journal.

2. Reflect on the practices in the created e-forum and e-journal.

3. Profile teacher development using an e-portfolio.

4. Use ICT for conducting research.

5. Use ICT for professional development.

6. Assess and reflect on the effectiveness of teaching-learning practices using

5.1 E-forums for Creating the Teacher’s

1. Define the concept of an “e-forum”.

2. List three benefits of e-forums for educational purposes.

3. Create an e-learning environment platform using an e-forum.

Benefits and gains

For instance, in a study of pre-service science teachers and their participation

(Bodzin and Park 2002)

(Bodzin and Park 2002)

Problems and issues

always sound to understand, observe and have an orientation to online learning

Basically, having a good practice of netiquette outlines how we would like to be

In creating, managing and sustaining an e-forum, it is also important to know

1. Step in with a question or comment to stimulate a discussion if the

2. End the discussion by synthesising and a concluding remark if you find

3. Put forward specific and precise questions that immediately focus on a

Assessing and reflecting practices for e-forums

1. Collaboration: Teachers can work together as a group with other teachers

2. Lesson summaries and self-evaluation/reflection: Teachers can write a

3. Critique: Teachers can, individually or in a small group, review an article,

4. Case studies/problem-based learning exercises: Conduct a discussion-type

1. Think critically about their experiences when engaged in those online

2. Identify the problems faced.

4. Formulate a plan of action to improve the initial practices.

In order to be able to practise critical reflection on teachers need to monitor,