Professional development departments in most universities and colleges are staffed by faculty (who themselves may have had no formal training in teaching) who are nevertheless outstanding classroom teachers. While they may provide inspiration for classroom teachers, they are often at best indifferent and at worst hostile to online learning. Indeed professional development units are often separately organized from learning technology support units, and it is the latter who are often called upon to provide professional development workshops for online learning, but with a heavy focus on using technology to support classroom teaching rather than on the re-design of teaching to develop the potential of new technologies.
Nigel Robertson on 08 Apr 10ARticle on the challenges that ICT brings to teacher PD and argues for a community of practice model of PD. Notes that PD shouldn't be 're-tooling' but should open pedagogical opportunities.
