PD should be ongoing

PD is about learning and the learning is supposed to be ongoing for every teacher. PD program is intended to facilitate teachers to continue or to encourage the teacher's learning. With ongoing learning, teachers are expected to be competent in leading their students to achieve a succesful learning.

In many countries, most of the model of PD programs has been critisised as failing to achieve the aims to improve of the teacher's quality [ref]. In America ....., in Canada ....., in Indonesia ........ [ref]. Some factors has been identified such as short term and not ongoing. This was because the difficulty to continue the learning. Due to time and distance as well as the lack of exert available in particular area, they who attended the training find it difficult to access the learning. As a result, the aims of the PD to encourgae teacher to learn was not succesful.

In this situation, the Internet has been growing and the online PD has been emergerd. In many text, it is informing about the power of the Internet. By many people, Internet has been promoted via text and orally. They argue that Internet open the opportunity for learning any time, any where. The facility such as email, eanble teachers to communicate with experts from any where. Internet provide another site to create online communities where teachers can support each other. Blog is emerging tool where teachers can share their experiences, and so on. With unlimited resources, enable teachers to find any resources they want to continue their learning.

Chris Dede has edited a book containing 10 examples of online PD in which presented some succeful project and challenges, and many other PD unexplored yet. The question is how this research address this issue of the uses of the Internet for ongoing learning.

This research reveals two contrasting issues. The first is the case of Ann using the Internet effectively to do her ongoing PD.
......
The second, was the case of Jack that reflecting that doing ongoing PD with the Internet offered many challenges. .......

This study reveals that even though the Internet is such powerful tool that enabling many things to happen, but it does not automatically true for every teacher. This could be analog with non online tool. For example, that even though the learning is possibble to happen without online such as learning from the students, finding meaning from reflection that should be done regularly by teachers, having book or exapertice in their areas, but many teachers did not see them as opportunity for them to improve their quality. Eben though teachers are living in a very conducive situation, but the learning cannot happen without realising the essence of their professional tasks.

So what?

Therefore, the most important is how the PD could encourage teachers to continue their learning. And when the Internet is available, how teachers could be supported but this is not the only way, because it really depends on many factors as will be disccused further in the next section using the zone theory.