important or important by only 47% of respondents at the beginning of the program,
however, by the end of the program, this had increased to 74%.
At the end of the program, participants were asked to describe those aspects of
the program that had helped them and had been most beneficial. Aspects of blended
learning featured in these responses. These included learning about technology and
increasing their confidence and competence in this area, using online portfolios,
opportunities to access the learning material at anytime, learning face-to-face and
learning to use online technologies, as indicated in these responses to what was
beneficial in the program:
- Learning to be far more confident and competent using the computer and
developing an e-portfolio - The collaborative online environmentsandlearning new technology
- Discussing my goals and endeavours with colleagues across the globe
- The online discussion forums
Participants also noted the aspects of blended learning that helped to shape their
professional identity: - The increased use of technology including developing my portfolio
- Interprofessional contact with my peers in the forum and face-to-face
- The online portfolio which I will now use for my ongoing professional needs.
17.6 Conclusion
Thefindings of this case study are encouraging in a number of ways. First, it
appears that designing and delivering a teacher professional learning program that is
technology-enabled, interprofessional, and inquiry-based, enables teacher partici-
pants to develop confidence and competence in critical aspects of twenty-first-
century teaching and learning. These include various networking skills including:
collaborating across professional disciplines, connecting professional learning with
authenticfieldwork, and integrating networks of knowledge into ongoing digital
professional portfolios. Second, learning through technology-enabled learning
environments emphasizing inquiry and interprofessional practice can assist teachers
to learnaboutthese concepts. Third, this program not only allowed teachers to learn
the skills required for technology-enabled, interprofessional, and inquiry-based
learning, but it also increased their sense of the importance of these elements thus
increasing the likelihood that they will carry these into their practice. Finally,
qualitative data from this study demonstrated that teacher participants began to
incorporate these elements of the program into their professional identities. Using a
more networked approach to teaching and learning show promise in promoting the
particular skills required for life-wide and life-long learning for teachers in a time of
transition.
266 M. Mentis and A. Kearney