A Professional Development Program Proposal for English Language Teachers

Abstract

As there is a need to enable English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers to use technology in their classes, this study aims to propose an online in-service teacher training program aiming to prepare EFL teachers in Turkey to use Google Classroom and Piktochart. The planned training module is provided on a virtual online platform known as Second Life (SL). Included in the technology training, there would be an introductory session in which the instructor could ‘walk' the participants through the particulars of operating their virtual selves, as in their ‘avatars'. The course itself could commence with a short tour of the virtual sim being used for the training sessions. Immediately following the introduction, attending avatars and the instructor would congregate in the theatre area sim of the VSTE Island conference venue in-world at SL. The instructor, addressing the participants from the virtual stage, would present according to the agenda of showcasing the possible uses of the online software packages followed by step-by-step procedural instructions for the attendees to follow.