Implementing the internet into the ongoing teaching practice of secondary school teachers : a model of professional development

The purpose of this study was to develop an effective professional development model for teachers implementing the Internet into their high school classroom teaching and to uncover some of the barriers to implementation and the conditions that supported implementation. A case study was used to follow 14 teachers through their technology professional development. It was found that teacher time and access to the Internet were major barriers to implementation. Personal relevance, valid and useful information, and the teacher-librarians were instrumental conditions in the success of the professional development. A model for local, on-site professional development was created by taking pieces of existing models and combining them for success in this high school environment. Support was provided in-house and training occurred on-site with no release time for the teachers. Success came with teachers learning at their own pace with just-in-time suport in a familiar environment.Education, Faculty ofCurriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department ofGraduat