A Journey Without Maps: an Exploration of Traditional and Online Professional Development for Teachers of German

Professional Development (PD) is vital to add further skills and knowledge in order to keep up with a constantly changing society. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) make new demands on teachers with the evolving of novel teaching and learning tools, changed curriculum requirements and pedagogical approaches, as well as the challenge to engage students and satisfy parental expectations. Governments, educational policy makers, business and industry leaders have been promoting the view that ICT is a crucial element of schooling. The effective use of technology in the classroom cannot be achieved without the collaboration of teachers, who need PD to familiarize themselves with it. This book therefore examines both traditional and online modes of PD, with a focus on enablers or constrains in the acquisition of new skills. These factors were elicited from data gathered of German language teachers, making the book especially relevant to professionals in the field of education and linguistics.