In this chapter, the possibilities to use technology in order to improve the contextual and value-based dimensions in online distance-based teacher training in Sweden are explored. Aristotle’s (1980) concept of phronesis is used as a starting point for raising questions whether the Internet, and the establishing of educational online learning communities, can be used to enhance the teacher trainees´ skills of making moral decisions in unpredictable situations. It is argued that active participation, collaboration, and dialogue are vital in order to foster common moral and societal values among the teacher trainees, but that there is a need for rethinking how technology could be used in order to accommodate such processes. This chapter suggests that the development of a shared teacher identity is possible by expanding the scope of online community, and bridging teacher-training practices to teacher practices, thus including already practicing teachers, teacher trainers, and teacher trainees in a joint educational community.

Today, an increased impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the society at large has lead teachers to engage in professional development activities related to the use of ICT. Even though this development has been prominent for more than two decades, its long term effects seem complex to determine. This paper is based on interviews with twelve Swedish teachers who participated in a national program for promoting school development and use of ICT in 2000-2001. The program was aligned with the pedagogical approaches set out in the national Swedish curriculum, such as a shift from teaching to learning and giving pupils more responsibility, introducing interdisciplinary approaches to teaching in teams, and a problem based pupils-oriented pedagogy. The analysis of the interviews show that teachers still feel a high degree of appreciation for the program, and that they share a relative agreement of the importance of the program for their teaching with ICT in the last decade. The general intentions of the program to be more concerned with school development and pedagogy rather than technology and ICT seem also to be present today as a long term effect.

In this chapter, the possibilities to use technology in order to improve the contextual and value-based dimensions in online distance-based teacher training in Sweden are explored. Aristotle’s (1980) concept of phronesis is used as a starting point for raising questions whether the Internet, and the establishing of educational online learning communities, can be used to enhance the teacher trainees´ skills of making moral decisions in unpredictable situations. It is argued that active participation, collaboration, and dialogue are vital in order to foster common moral and societal values among the teacher trainees, but that there is a need for rethinking how technology could be used in order to accommodate such processes. This chapter suggests that the development of a shared teacher identity is possible by expanding the scope of online community, and bridging teacher-training practices to teacher practices, thus including already practicing teachers, teacher trainers, and teacher trainees in a joint educational community.

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Today, an increased impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the society at large has lead teachers to engage in professional development activities related to the use of ICT. Even though this development has been prominent for more than two decades, its long term effects seem complex to determine. This paper is based on interviews with twelve Swedish teachers who participated in a national program for promoting school development and use of ICT in 2000-2001. The program was aligned with the pedagogical approaches set out in the national Swedish curriculum, such as a shift from teaching to learning and giving pupils more responsibility, introducing interdisciplinary approaches to teaching in teams, and a problem based pupils-oriented pedagogy. The analysis of the interviews show that teachers still feel a high degree of appreciation for the program, and that they share a relative agreement of the importance of the program for their teaching with ICT in the last decade. The general intentions of the program to be more concerned with school development and pedagogy rather than technology and ICT seem also to be present today as a long term effect.