CALL FOR CHAPTERS: Online Learning Communities and Teacher Professional Development: Methods for Improved Education Delivery

Prof. Ken Fernstrom of ICICTE asked me to post this call. He is on the EAB for this project. So you *know* it is going to be interesting!

CALL FOR CHAPTERS

Proposals Submission Deadline: 5/31/2008

Full Chapters Due: 9/30/2008

Online Learning Communities and Teacher Professional Development: Methods for Improved Education Delivery

A book edited by J Ola Lindberg, Mid Sweden University, Sweden and Anders D Olofsson, Umeå University, Sweden

Introduction

In today’s society, teachers need professional development due to the constant change in working conditions and the impact that information and communication technologies have in teaching practices. Teachers must be prepared to adapt to the future demands of their workplace, and consequentially, their knowledge and skills are in constant need of improvement. Teacher professional development (TPD), anchored in participation, collaborative activities and dialogue, allows for such professional development by offering a way to bridge theory and practice. Online communities provide productive arenas for TPD for teachers, teacher trainees, and school leaders. In such enterprise, technology as innovation will have a crucial place both as leverage and catalyst of change, and as a pedagogical tool in itself.

TPD is often constricted by a number of barriers, such as the following: top-down decision making, a lack of ownership of the professional development process, an inaccessibility of professional development opportunities, and the lack of support in transferring professional development ideas to the classroom. Other barriers that have been recognised are, for example, that TPD is arranged and carried out in a single session or in short sessions which the teachers attend in person.

In order to interconnect TPD and the online community, TPD will be discussed in terms of change. Change is understood as a consequence of innovation and pedagogy. In this book, TPD in online communities will therefore be examined in terms of innovation and pedagogy. Teachers from all levels of education, from pre-service to in-service education up to university teachers may be included.

The book’s discussion on the innovations of technology will focus on different aspects of the need for teachers to develop the knowledge and skills for integrating technology into their everyday teaching practices. In particular, the book will discuss how technology itself can serve as an important resource in terms of providing arenas for professional development together with colleagues in online communities. The book will also focus on pedagogy and the intertwining of education, teaching, learning, ethics and morals and how these aspects are affected by technological innovations. The main objectives of the manuscript will be to shed light on different aspects of the continuing need for teachers to develop professionally, to discuss and share with colleagues new knowledge and understandings of the recent pedagogical research in order to inform their own teaching practices, and to investigate the possibilities for teachers to share such knowledge, understanding, and practices in online communities. Overall, these objectives could be seen as an attempt to both understand TPD, framed within online communities, and to understand the design of virtual arenas in which teachers have possibilities to develop into professionals who have the capacity to not only respond to changing conditions, but also anticipate future technologies, and, in the process, re-define their practice.

Objectives, Contribution and Potential Impact of the Book

Three key objectives of this book are as follows:
· To present the most recent advances in TPD in online communities
· To examine the possibilities to enhance TPD by a critical discussion about the role and scope of technology
· To participate in an international dialogue about TPD and ICT

This volume will thereby contribute to a wider and deeper understanding of the potentials of using ICT and internet resources such as online communities in TPD, both at the level of pre-service teachers and in-service teachers and also at the policy-making level as the content will show a way of bridging the otherwise separated groups of professionals concerned with learning to teach and actually teaching.

In this book, ideas will be offered concerning how to move away from TPD-barriers, such as top-down decision making and the little to no support which is provided in transferring professional development ideas to the classroom.

Target Audience

This book is intended for professionals who, on a daily basis, work with issues concerning TPD, ICT and the internet. Teachers, principals, educational researchers, curriculum developers, teacher professional associations, teacher training staff, teacher trainees, universities, colleges and potentially also parents will find that the content of the book is firmly anchored in the inner lives of schools and universities. It will also be helpful for those who will design for TPD through the use of different media and technology. Even though the book will have an explicit focus on teachers and their joint efforts for professional development, the basic ideas in the book are grounded in learning theories possible to apply to numerous adult learning situations and vocations where beginning professionals can be helped by being guided by more experienced peers. The content of the book can also be of interest for a broader, local or national audience of policymakers and politicians.

Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
· Theoretical foundations of TPD
· Theoretical foundations of online communities
· The theory and practice divide in relation to TPD
· Learning in Networks in relation to TPD
· Models of online communities in TPD
· Different accounts of online communities
· Innovations in the use of technology and TPD
· Different accounts of technological use
· Web 2.0 and TPD
· Pod Casting, mobile learning and TPD
· Pedagogies afforded by technology in TPD
· Case studies and examples on successes and failures of TPD and online communities
· Different accounts of pedagogical use of technological affordances and constraints
· Pros and Cons of the use of technology in relation to online TPD
· Future Trends

Submission ProcedureResearchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before May 31, 2008, a 2-3 page chapter proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of their proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by June 30, 2008 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by September 30, 2008. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. The book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), http://www.igi-global.com/, publisher of the Information Science Reference (formerly Idea Group Reference) and Medical Information Science Reference imprints.
Inquiries and submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word document) or by mail to:
J. Ola LindbergDept. of EducationMid Sweden University, 871 88 Härnösand, SwedenTel: (+46)61186291, Fax: (+46)061186100ola.lindberg@miun.se