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This study utilized a tool-oriented perspective on the uptake and use of digital technology in three exemplary upper secondary schools, to determine how the school leaders viewed leadership in the development of information and communication technology (ICT)-enriched environments for teaching and learning, and how they utilized technology in their daily leadership practices. The data were obtained from interviews with the school leaders and analyses of school documents and websites. In all three schools, leadership was extended and distributed beyond the work of the principal, taking into account the shared and professional expertise in the leader group and across the staff, and relying on reliable technologies and systemic activities developed over time. The findings confirm previous research underlining the importance of supportive school leadership for the successful implementation of ICT in education. In addition, the study shows that in schools oriented towards Web 2.0 or open collaborative technology practices, the leadership functions as a team-based and distributed activity, relying on educational and technological expertise at multiple levels. The findings across the three schools suggest that tool-mediated activities may become routinized over time, transforming into unspoken institutional infrastructures.

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This study demonstrates the possibilities of videopaper to support teacher professional development in a workplace setting. A team of five mathematics teachers in a secondary school was followed over a period of six months as they worked jointly to improve their teaching and team practice. In a stepwise strategy for deliberate and object-oriented practice transformation based on principles of Developmental Work Research (DWR) methodology, videopaper is used as a tool for mirroring and analysing the teachers' practices. Research data encompassed field observations, video-films of teaching and teamwork discussions in a series of teacher-researcher workshops and videopaper documents. The findings point to changes in teachers' conceptual approaches to learning and teaching, and to the significance of technology-enhanced support for professional development. The study contributes to an understanding of the complexities in bridging practices between social and technological design for teacher development and the development of learning communities.

This study demonstrates the possibilities of new media and affordable technological tools that support teacher professional development in a workplace setting. A team of 5 mathematics teachers in a secondary school is followed over a period of six months as they work jointly to improve their teaching and team practice using a multimedia Web developer system (VideoPaper). VideoPaper is an easy-to-use tool for developing and sharing of Web documents that integrates video resources, images, and texts reflecting local practices. The framework of Developmental Work Research methods aligned to historical-cultural activity theory (Engeström, 2001, 2008) was adapted to the local needs and workplace conditions. The findings point to changes in teachers’ conceptual approaches to learning and teaching, and to the significance of technology-enhanced support for professional development. The study contributes to an understanding of the complexities in bridging practices between social and technological design for teacher development and the development of learning communities.