OPD Report: Section 8

Designing and Implementing Online Professional Development Workshops
EDC Center for Online Professional Education

8. Conclusion

While the field of online professional development (OPD) is still very new, our work to date has found that online workshops can provide a valuable means of professional development, one that can complement and extend, but not completely replace, other elements of complete programs of professional development. The pacing and schedule of an online workshop are convenient for many educators, provide opportunities to tap into the expertise of colleagues and researchers who would not be available for local activities, and enable workshop activities to inform and reflect participants’ ongoing practice. The nature of online asynchronous communications, which are at the heart of online workshops designed with a learning community approach, allows participants ample time and space to fully contribute their ideas and to thoughtfully respond to each other. However, asynchronous communication may not be appropriate for all types of activities or for all individuals. We have found that online workshops can be most effective when they are combined with face-to-face meetings, either of all the participants or of local "study groups", that help to create and maintain a vibrant and supportive learning community.

While online professional development can be described as "anytime, anyplace learning", it should not be assumed that OPD is any easier to design or implement, or that it takes any less time on the part of facilitators or participants, than equivalent face-to-face activities. Just as with any form of professional development, successful OPD depends upon carefully planned learning activities and resources, skilled facilitators, supportive leadership, timely technical support, and committed participants.

As we look to the future, it is clear that the underlying technologies will improve rapidly, as will online course development and online discussion software. In addition, as high-bandwidth Internet access becomes readily available, new forms of "anytime, anyplace" communication and collaboration will become possible, making more use of audio and video exchanges, for example. At the same time, educators will become more comfortable with using these technologies, designers will become more knowledgeable about developing engaging online activities, facilitators will become more skilled at effectively guiding an online learning community, and researchers will provide more information about how principles of effective professional development can be applied in the online medium. In the next few years, we expect to see online workshops and online discussions become a standard, integral part of most professional development programs. We hope that our work will contribute to others making effective use of this new and powerful approach to professional development for educators.