Exploring the Effects of Professional Development for the Interactive Whiteboard on Teachers’ Technology Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Identifying means of assisting teachers in integrating technology during their instruction is be-coming more important as the rate new technologies enter the classroom accelerates. The primary means of helping in-service teachers employ new technologies in their classrooms is frequently professional development. Unfortunately, professional development offered to many teachers is ineffective. It has been posited that professional development can be made more effective by emphasizing one specific technology for an extended period of time, including opportunities for teachers to learn from each other in localized contexts, and organizing the learning in ways calculated to help teachers build technology self-efficacy (DeSantis, 2012). This paper shares the results of a research project conducted to determine if professional development with these attributes assists teachers with developing the skills required to integrate technology during instruction. This project involved the creation o)