Effective Pedagogy and E-Learning

Abstract

The dramatic increase in use of the Internet and the various applications and platforms that are accessed through it is perhaps the most significant single development for the field of teacher preparation in the last 20 years. For many, it is a ray of hope; a truly powerful strategy to reach populations of new and existing teachers who are cut off from best practice. To others and perhaps, many others, these approaches are perceived as, at best, short cuts to effective personnel preparation. They are often considered inadequate and inappropriate substitutes for on-campus and face-to-face instruction. A number of real issues contribute to this growing conflict, but perhaps the greatest of these has to do with the ability of these tools to promote learning, either locally or at-a-distance, or in real-time or at the convenience of the learner. As such, this issue of Teacher Education and Special Education will include a discussion of effective pedagogy and e-learning, a discussion that most likely will continue for quite a while.