By Mary Burns

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THE FUTURE OF
PROFESSIONAL
LEARNING
What will technology-based teacher
professional development look like in
the next few years? Teacher training
curriculum designer Mary Burns
presents her top picks from the
professional learning technologies
now emerging around the world.
14 Learning & Leading with Technology | June/July 2013
\
5 EMERGING PD TECHNOLOGIES
Like every other industry, professional development (PD)
is going through a lot of changes as technology continues
to advance. Based on two years of research on teacher PD,
Education Development Center (EDC, www.edc.org) has iden-
tifed technologies that are poised for more widespread adoption
for teacher learning around the world. Here are the top fve, pre-
sented in reverse order of likelihood of widespread adoption.
Copyright 2013, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Intl), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved.
June/July 2013 | Learning & Leading with Technology 15
Television as we know it is rapidly
changing. Te experience of watching
television is fast becoming less time
and place based and more personal-
ized and platform varied. It is also
becoming a shared social experience
through the convergence of smart-
phones, tablets, digital television,
and apps. (See Four Trends Lead-
ing the Way, page 16.)
In many countries, the rate of tele-
vision ownership is dropping as the
television experience shifs online
via on-demand internet streaming.
Tough this change in how we watch
television is occurring everywhere,
it is most pronounced in East Asia,
where extensive broadband access and
low prices have spawned the develop-
ment of internet protocol TV (IPTV).
In contrast to internet-enhanced
and web TV, such as Apple TV, or
immersive environments informally
as gamers. We see the potential of im-
mersive environments to help teachers
build, enhance, and refne a particular
skill or set of behaviors.
One example of this is the Univer-
sity of Central Floridas TeachLivE
program (bit.ly/Oc1ct4), which helps
preservice teachers develop classroom
management skills by teaching a vir-
tual classroom full of student avatars.
Te teacher stands in front of a screen
and engages the avatars, which are
voiced by real actors who respond as
students would over an audio-video
connection. Tis approacha digital
hybrid TV, which uses HTTP proto-
cols to deliver programming on top
of existing networks via a TV set-top
box, IPTV is delivered over an IP
network. It combines standard- and
high-defnition (HD) digital content,
broadcasting (via cable and high-reso-
lution television), telecommunications
(ultra-high-speed internet, digital
television, and two-way communi-
cation), mobile devices (tablets and
smartphones), and social media to
provide on-demand and personalized
PD programming to teachers at home
or at school.
In South Korea, a global leader in
the use of IPTV, teachers can order the
delivery of PD programming in HD
video, instructional television, or mul-
timedia to their TVs, gaming consoles,
tablets, or smartphones. Tey can even
create personalized playlists of pro-
fessional development to view
at their convenience.
In addition to expanding the
amount of PD content and allowing
it to be stored and viewed in diferent
ways, IPTV allows teachers to view
programming and engage in discus-
sions about it via teacher social net-
working sites.
version of face-to-face simulations that
some school districts use to prepare
new teachers in classroom manage-
mentallows novice teachers to make
mistakes in a fail-safe environment,
receive feedback from their education
instructors, and prepare virtually for
live interactions with real students.
Tough research on its impact is
limited, this kind of immersive en-
vironment ofers several benefts for
teacher learning, including addressing
problems that new teachers common-
ly face and providing instant feedback
that teachers can use to improve their
knowledge and skills.
IPTV
5
4
Immersive Environments
Immersive environments allow
users to have experiences while
immersed in a self-contained
artifcial or simulated environment.
Because the interface is so visual,
the activities so complex, and the
experience so engaging, users can
hone their technical, creative, and
problem-solving skills in a safe en-
vironment where they dont have
to worry about inevitable mistakes.
Many professions use immersive
environments that simulate real-life
worldsairplane pilots with fight
simulation programs, for instance
and many teachers interact with
\
Copyright 2013 , ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Intl), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved.
16 Learning & Leading with Technology | June/July 2013
Many factors could impede
widespread adoption of many
of these technologies, not the
least of which are cost, techni-
cal issues (especially around
bandwidth), the lack of a common
platform among mobile devices,
and content and design issues.
However, a number of technical,
demographic, and educational
trends cumulatively suggest that
these ve technologies stand
a good chance for widespread
adoption as teacher PD tools.
One of videos greatest (and ofen underused) benefts is as
an in-class personalized teacher support tool. Here are two
ways this can work:
Video for co-teaching. In Indonesia, as part of a program to
help teachers use technology, EDC used two-way video to
connect teachers who were new to technology to a master
teacher so the two could co-teach a technology-based les-
son that the novice technology user found particularly dif-
fcult. Using TeamViewer, the master and novice teachers
co-planned, co-taught, and co-refected on the lesson.
Video for coaching. Te University of Alabamas Project
TEACH (projectteach.ua.edu) developed a virtual bug in
the eara Bluetooth-enabled earphone that teachers wear
to receive real-time coaching from an of-site coach who
observes the classroom via Skype over an HD webcam.
EDC used this approach for live in-class coaching in Indo-
nesian classrooms with good internet bandwidth. Because
most female teachers wear jilbabs, or traditional Indone-
sian Muslim head coverings, that covered the earpieces, the
devices were invisible to the students.
In both of these examples, teachers receive just-in-time
and just-as-needed support. Tese uses of video are pow-
erful because they bring models of good practice and sup-
port directly into the teachers classroom, particularly in
areas where teachers may lack access to face-to-face
expertise, support, and teacher exemplars.
Greater Understanding
of Teacher-Centered PD
There is a growing consensus
that optimal PD is school
based, just in time, individual-
ized, and collaborative, and
that it models intended prac-
tices and comes with ongoing
in-class support. There is also
an increasing understanding
that technology can play an
important role in PD because
it is easy to use and multi-
modal, has multiple entry
points, and facilitates net-
working and collaboration.
The technologies in this
article reflect optimal uses
of technology for teacher
learning, as cited in the
MacArthur Foundation study
Building the Field of Digital
Media and Learning (bit.
ly/12SI6mL): They are par-
ticipatory, offer multiple entry
points to users, have low
barriers to expression and
engagement, and offer in-
formal mentorship and con-
nections to other people.
Continual Developments
in Technology Design
Major developments in technol-
ogy have already changed the
PD game, including the:
Diversifcation of the web as
a platform
Proliferation of digital content
and the devices that support
diversied web applications
and content
Increases in bandwidth and
the processing and graphics
power of computing devices
Miniaturization and personal-
ization of computing devices
Video
Four Trends Leading the Way
Using video conferencing, an offsite master teacher co-teaches
with a novice teacher and students in a remote Indonesian school.
In the classroom, the in-school, novice teacher (front) prepares
students to ask a question of the video-based co-teacher.
3
Copyright 2013, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Intl), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved.
June/July 2013 | Learning & Leading with Technology 17
Tough social media are popular teacher collaboration
tools, they are still ofen used primarily for informal
learning or as adjuncts to online courses. However,
EDCs research has found that social media ofer greater
diferentiated and individualized learning than the stan-
dard, one-size-fts-all online courses delivered through a
learning management system. Tey are simple to use,
ofer highly personalized content and instruction, and
allow teachers to share ideas and collaborate with a more
intimate group of colleagues within micro-networks or
social nicheworks. And their ofen bite-sized oferings
allow teachers to drop in and out of learning experiences
as desired.
Te promise of social media as a mainstream teacher
learning tool continues to improve as a result of ongoing
improvement in both app development and enhancements
in the utility and functionality of social media sites. For ex-
ample, professional social networking sites, such as Edmo-
do, mimic many of the social features of Facebook but have
additional professional functionality that allows teachers
to join groups, attend lectures, co-develop activities, par-
ticipate in blogs, and more.
While research on social media is limited, their real
powerproviding access to personal learning networks
(PLNs)is well documented. PLNs allow teachers across
distances to establish and nurture strong professional re-
lationships as they share ideas, content, and strategies and
collaborate on lessons and activities. Tis kind of sharing
has the immediate beneft of bringing resources and ex-
pertise to teachers who may lack both. Tis is particularly
valuable for young teachers wrestling with the frst year
of teaching. Developing networked relationships can also
infuence the efective functioning of groups engaged in
knowledge-intensive work, lay the foundation for profes-
sional learning communities, and provide learning oppor-
tunities to teachers isolated by geographic distance.
Convergence of technology
applications and platforms
For example, despite the
startup difficulties of Google
TV and Apple TV and propri-
etary restrictions by TV manu-
facturers, the trend toward
IPTV and all versions of web-
enabled TV is expanding glob-
ally. By 2016, its estimated
that 400 million households
will have some type of web-
enabled television, while 1.5
billion people will own some
device that will connect tele-
visions to the internet. Many
HD televisions and companies
offer backup video services,
mobile services (such as pod-
casting and programming via
cell phones), easier connec-
tions to laptops, and
libraries of web apps that
allow users to immediately
stream high-resolution video
content to cell phones. Many
consider programming such
as The Teaching Channel
(www.teachingchannel.org)
to be an optimal teacher-
learning vehicle because
it offers personalized and
differentiated learning.
Rapid Global Growth
in Affordable Access
Since 2000, Asian growth rates
in broadband internet, cellular,
and mobile coverage have far
outpaced those in other parts
of the globe. According to a
2010 U.S. Department of Com-
merce survey, households in
Hong Kong, South Korea, and
Singapore have nearly universal
access to broadband internet
service (99%, 97%, and 96%,
respectively), compared to 69%
access in the United States.
Their access is also cheaper:
One megabit per second is
less than $0.001 in Japan and
$0.21 in South Korea, versus
$1.10 in the United States, ac-
cording to a 2012 Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and
Development survey.
This means that the type
of rich, streaming, full-motion
video and digital media that are
the crux of IPTV or immersive
environments are available and
affordable to many Asian teach-
ers and will be more prevalent
as incomes rise and costs drop.
Even in Asian countries without
universal access to broadband
Social Media
2
3
Copyright 2013 , ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Intl), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved.
18 Learning & Leading with Technology | June/July 2013
Mobile Technologies
Te convergence of the inter-
net, video, and mobile plat-
forms has redefned reading,
writing, literacyand indeed,
all learning. All of the tech-
nologies mentioned in this
article are available on mobile
devices (cell phones, MP3 players,
and tablets), the technology that ap-
pears most promising for personal-
ized teacher PD.
In Asia and Africa, where most of
the worlds teachers reside, mobile de-
vices are an alternative way to engage
teachers in the learning and teaching
process. For example, in Nigerwhere
teachers must instruct in, but do not
speak, Frenchteachers receive lan-
guage and literacy PD via their cell
phones. In Zambia and Malawi, they
use MP3 players to study examples
of good instruction and hone their
content skills. And in South Korea,
the Korean National Open University
(KNOU) has transferred all of its online
courses, including lectures, multimedia
applications, and IPTV programming,
to mobile devices. For approximately $2
per month, all KNOU students, includ-
ing preservice teachers, get a smart-
phone to access their online courses.
internet, such as Indonesia,
China, and India, cellular cover-
age is prevalent (and cheap,
in the case of India).
UNESCO reports that while
most Asians dont own lap-
tops, they do own and use
mobile phones at rates that
far outstrip the rest of the
world. The two areas of the
globe with the most acute
teacher education needs are
sub-Saharan Africa and South
Asia, particularly India. Sub-
Saharan Africa, despite having
an internet penetration rate
of only 12%, has the fastest
cell phone subscriber growth
rate in the world. South Africa
is a global leader in mobile-
based learning initiatives.
India, meanwhile, adds more
cell phone subscribers per
month than any country in the
world. Since the debut of the
$50 Aakash tablet, India has
also become an incubator of
rival low-cost, multifunctional
tablets, which should inevita-
bly benet teachers and other
consumers.
Sociotechnical Practices
in Key Demographics
Todays teens will be the teach-
ers of tomorrow. And how
do they learn? How do they
interact with technology? They
watch internet TV on mobile
devices, engage in immer-
sive environments and virtual
worlds, participate in social
networks, and communicate
via two-way video. They own
smartphones, which they see
as extensions of themselves
and use for a variety of pur-
posesrecreational, personal,
educational, and economic.
They spend one of every seven
minutes on Facebook. They
create and share content and
are active participants in an ar-
ray of online micronetworks.
If we drill down further into
the teachers of the future
demographic, we see that in
most countries, the majority
of the teaching forceat least
at the primary school level
is female. Women are greater
consumers of visual content
than men, and they use tech-
nology more for collaboration
and problem solving. And,
while gaming remains a male-
dominated enterprise, women
are increasingly becoming seri-
ous gamers. In some countries,
including the United States,
almost half of gamers are
women. Finally, in most regions
of the globe, women are more
enthusiastic users of social
media than men.
Given these age- and
gender-inuenced uses of
technology, it is not a stretch
to suggest that future teach-
ers across the globe will want
to participate in the kinds of
technology-based learning that
they already nd familiar while
using the technology tools they
already own.
Mary Burns
(mburns@edc.
org) designs
technology-based
teacher training
programs across
the globe for
Education Development Center.
She authored EDCs guide,
Distance Education for Teacher
Training: Modes, Models, and
Methods (go.edc.org/07xd).
Much of the excitement surround-
ing smartphones and tablets as PD
tools focuses on the increasing avail-
ability and variety of low-cost or free
apps, which serve as distribution
channels to provide educational con-
tent to teachers. Tough still largely
geared toward student and teacher
productivity, apps can ofer teach-
ers increasingly robust professional
learning opportunities as well. Many
students and teachers are even creat-
ing their own apps with do-it-yourself
app creating tools, such as AppMakr
(www.appmakr.com).
Together, smartphones and apps
allow teachers to capitalize on what
many see as the future of the web:
the fully mobile web, a platform that
is mobile and diferentiated, resides on
a teachers learning device, and ofers
access to a customized menu of PD
opportunities via changeable and cus-
tomizable apps at the time and place
of the teachers choosing.
1
Copyright 2013, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Intl), [email protected], www.iste.org. All rights reserved.