Abstract
Teachers today should think of novel ways to use innovative educational advancements and create new ways of using digital initiatives such as artificial intelligence, massive open online courses, sophisticated learning management systems, and open educational resources to deliver meaningful learning experiences. On top of the pressures triggered by technological developments, worldwide crises have forced educators to reevaluate the techno-pedagogical skills they must master. Therefore, it is even more important than ever for teachers to receive ongoing and sustained professional development. This chapter, therefore, concentrates on the competencies teachers are required to develop in the digital age in the light of shifting societal and technological paradigms as well as worldwide crises with a specific focus on foreign/second language learning and teaching. The chapter also maps the core elements for effective teacher professional development and explores the role and potential of MOOCs as scalable means for sustainable and continuous teacher professional development.
TopIntroduction
The developments in digital technologies along with the economic, social, and societal changes triggered by them suggest that we are experiencing a new age, the digital age (Burns & Gottschalk, 2020). In this new age, the multifaceted, complex, and intense transformation caused by socio-economic changes set off by digital technologies affect all social and economic structures of the society. Therefore, the social structures are going through change and transformation in the effort to adapt to this new age. While many areas of society and social life are affected by digital transformation, it would not be wrong to expect the field of education to undergo such a similar transformation. In addition, the New Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which profoundly affected all walks of life, disrupted the functioning of education at all levels, including primary, secondary, and higher education. With the transition to the “Emergency Remote Teaching” in many countries around the world during COVID-19 lockdowns, carrying out educational processes solely via digital technologies become a necessity rather than an option (Maican & Cocoradă, 2021). Therefore, developing the techno-pedagogical competencies one of the main actors of educational processes, namely the teachers, to integrate digital technologies into their teaching processes is of paramount importance to build meaningful and effective learning experiences as well as for effective management of crisis periods. For this reason, any teacher professional development attempts at improving techno-pedagogical competencies of teachers to design and deliver effective, meaningful, and deep learning experiences through innovative pedagogy and technologies would benefit society.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs): Online courses with no entry requirements, open to all individuals who want to participate free of charge, and in which participants can access learning activities regardless of time and place.
Open Educational Resources (OER): Learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others.
Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL): Improvement and enrichment of the foreign/second language learning experiences through contemporary and innovative digital technologies.
Teacher Professional Development: Activities and/or training sessions that enable pre- and in-service teachers to acquire new competencies or build on previously acquired competencies for quality and effective teaching.
Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL): The use of information and communication technologies to enrich the learning experience.