Instructional Videos as ICT for Teacher Professional Development: Transitioning from the Traditional Classroom to YouTube

Introduction

The success and growth of online learning at all levels of education has skyrocketed during the digital age due largely to the success and convenience of information and communication technologies. This increased emphasis on technology to do the “heavy lifting” in delivering content at all levels requires teachers to be more adept in the use of these new technologies. Prensky (2008) described the role of technology as supporting the new teaching paradigm, which creates a two-fold responsibility for educators. First, this paradigm involves teachers supporting students as they teach themselves. Secondly, it places the burden on teachers to both understand and embrace new technologies in their classrooms. Professional development opportunities are necessary for teachers to succeed in this new teaching paradigm, and as the pattern would follow, teachers likely can benefit from the convenience and accessibility of online learning for themselves.

As a result, in 2014, these researchers explored the use of online learning with practicing teachers as a professional development model. For this study, the researchers conducted interviews with six teachers currently teaching in Western Pennsylvania to analyze their perceptions about the YouTube teacher training method. The results of the study indicated that the YouTube training tool is a quality training tool to assist teachers in the implementation of higher-order teaching strategies. Additionally, the results indicated that YouTube training videos could reinforce in-person training (Copper & Semich, 2014). Based on these results, the researchers revisited the topic to determine on a larger scale how the use of information and communication technology for teacher professional development has developed over time. The researchers took an in-depth look at the phenomenon by surveying approximately 90 pre-k to higher-education educators representing 16 states and all subject areas.