Review by: Hasanbegovic, Jasmina (2004-07-22)

Teachers’ readiness to integrate information technology into their teaching depends largely on professional development they receive. Research and practice account for a transformation in teaching practice in that many teachers have developed basic information technology skills. This article points out that teachers are not extending these skills in ways to change their educational practice and that therefore education systems have to provide professioanl training activities related to the school curriculum and examination requirements. Referring to the re-forming outcome for the enormous IT investment educational agencies are making, the author claims to rethink the professional development intentions.

This paper reports on cross- national (Australia, Canada, United States) interviews with exemplary IT users possessing professional development roles which are conducted to identify ideas for transformative and effective professional development opportunities.One main idea of the IT teaching experts was the change of the teacher role in the way that they have to be able to tolerate negative experience and to quite the sage on the stage role in using IT in the classroom. The author argues that teachers have to change their way of thinking about teaching. Of great importance are the individually different attitudes to change for the implentation of professional development programs.

Another idea is that of the “home-grown expert” who is aware of the situation of the teachers possessing technology competence as well as teaching expertise. The “comfortable shoes” approach represents the situation of an IT trainer who call on the teacher at their own computers and support them at their workplace. The “Let them struggle” idea emphasizes learning by doing on your own giving some basic rules and principles. This approach emphasizes the side role of teachers.Finally the author claims for a broader scope of IT professional training in applying the described ideas in accordance of the current stages of individual differences and attitudes to change. Of special interest is hereby the role of academics as change agents teaching teachers to be change agents.

This article points out the importance of different prerequisites of teachers concerning technology enhanced teaching and presents different ideas for teachers IT professional development. Further attention has to be drawn to analyse in what way the different teacher typologies have to be treated.