When a new technology appears, our first instinct is always to continue doing things within the technology the way we've always done it.
It appears that students who write on a computer turn in longer and higher-quality assignments than those who compose by hand, even though it's still writing.
But new technology still faces a great deal of resistance.
(clothes, supplies, and even homework) on eBay and the Internet; exchanging music on P2P sites; building games with modding (modifying) tools; setting up meetings and dates online; posting personal information and creations for others to check out; meeting people through cell phones; building libraries of music and movies; working together in self-formed teams in multiplayer online role-playing games; creating and using online reputation systems; peer rating of comments; online gaming; screen saver analysis; photoblogging; programming; exploring; and even transgressing and testing social norms.
the big challenges is just making time for teachers to participate in any type of quality professional development,
It’s another thing if you’re part of a professional development experience that essentially challenges you to rethink your pedagogy, your content, and your assessments, and that expects you to go try some things in your classroom and reflect on how well they went, and then come back and discuss them with a community of other teachers doing similar things.
online teacher professional development that includes an asynchronous component helps with that kind of reflection.