Professional Learning on the Cyber Sea: What Is the Point of Contact?

Abstract

In this article I argue that generating and sharing scholarship should be the outcome, the point of contact, for professionals on the cyber sea. To support this argument, I first describe the theoretical underpinnings of effective online professional learning environments through two unique lenses: relevant theory operating in effective practice and online learning environments as environments that learn. Through these lenses I advance the view that professional learning environments on the web can be generative and organic and, as such, have the potential to help educators create the future while reinventing the here and now. I characterize my thinking process during the creation and development of an online professional learning environment known as Teaching as Intentional Learning (TIL), a learning program of the Center for Advancing the Study of Teaching and Learning at Duquesne University. I describe ways in which the communication, information, and human resources in TIL support the goal of generative scholarship among a community of teacher scholars. Finally, I reflect upon my preliminary understandings from the TIL online learning environment and the implications they present for the future of professional learning on the cyber sea.