Why teachers are reluctant to use new technologies: Supporting teachers' action learning within a web environment

Action learning involves a small group (6-8 people) who meet regularly to share reflections and discuss ideas that they try out in practice. Key to the process of action learning is the sharing of personally relevant issues or problems in relation to the action being attempted. In this study a web environment was designed to support the sharing of strategies by teachers which also included a discussion space to provide feedback on the strategies attempted. One web environment was designed for an action learning team in a high school and another for a group in an elementary school. It was anticipated that the web environment would not only became a growing repository of teaching strategies but would also document feedback and reflection. However, both groups of teachers did not use the web site for a combination of reasons providing insights into the professional learning needs of teachers. Interviews with key facilitators in both schools identified multiple factors needed for teachers' professional learning in regard to using technology.