Abstract:Teachers in the 21st century are facing new challenges as a result of the expanding possibilities of ICT integration in every aspect of the school milieu. Studies have shown the potential of teacher professional development (TPD) that is tailored to local conditions as well as global components and takes advantage of mutual support among teachers, as well as modeling of effective practices. The goal of the paper is to consider the issue of TPD with reference to the usage of ICT as a lever for educational change in a systemic manner, based on the application of local as well as international research. This paper will synthesize some key issues and challenges for TPD in the ICT-saturated 21st century, illustrated in four cases presented herein, which synthesize elements of practice and theory. Based on the literature and the four case studies, we suggest a conceptual model for identifying and evaluating TPD practices using ICT as a lever for educational change and innovation, accompanied by research aimed to develop TPD models. We include suggestions for more effectively linking research to practice and will lay out possible research directions, as a means of facilitating evidence-based decisions and policies.

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This article examines the scope for IT‐enabled assessments to serve simultaneously both learners and the enterprise of education. The article proposes ways of combining frameworks that come from two different perspectives: 1) a conceptual approach to assessment design for computerized assessment based on evidence‐centred design (ECD) and 2) a framework for formative assessment based on empirical research in classrooms. The article argues that combining the ECD and formative assessment frameworks and building on the opportunities provided by computerized assessments as well as harnessing teachers' and students' experience and developing their validation processes could enable assessments to address simultaneously assessment FOR learning and assessment OF learning. Strategies would include harnessing the benefits of embedded continuous unobtrusive measuring of performance while learners are engaged in interesting computerized tasks designed to support their learning. Learners need to be involved in discussing and negotiating their learning so we conceptualize these embedded unobtrusive processes as ‘quiet assessment’, whose volume can be turned up by learners whenever they wish, to give them access to meaningful representations of evidence and arguments about their achievements. These strategies could enable a wider range of measures to contribute to judgements of students' achievements, thus supporting their learning in 21st‐century contexts.

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La relación profesor-alumno es crucial para un aprendizaje y una enseñanza exitosos. Actualmente, la comunicación entre alumnos y profesores –factor esencial que facilita estas relaciones– sucede a través de las redes sociales. En la presente investigación examinamos las asociaciones entre la relación alumno-profesor y la comunicación alumno-profesor mediatizada por las redes sociales. La muestra incluyó a alumnos israelíes de educación media y secundaria de 12-19 años de edad (n=667). Se comparó la relación alumno-profesor entre sub-grupos de alumnos de acuerdo al tipo de conexión con sus profesores en Facebook (o la falta de conexión), sus actitudes hacia la prohibición de conexión por Facebook con los profesores, y sus percepciones acerca del uso de Facebook para el aprendizaje. Con respecto a las actitudes de los alumnos en relación a la prohibición de comunicación alumno-profesor vía redes sociales, así como el uso del Facebook para estudiar, encontramos diferencias significativas en tres grupos de alumnos: aquellos que no se interesan por conectarse con sus profesores en Facebook, aquellos que se conectan con sus profesores en Facebook, y aquellos que no están conectados con sus profesores, pero que desean hacerlo. Encontramos asociaciones significativas en la relación alumno-profesor y la comunicación alumno-profesor mediatizada por Facebook. En esta última existe una brecha entre las expectativas del alumno y la experiencia práctica. La clave para cerrar esa brecha se basa en las normas y la implementación efectivaStudent-teacher relationships are vital to successful learning and teaching. Today, communication between students and teachers, a major component through which these relationships are facilitated, is taking place via social networking sites (SNS). In this study, we examined the associations between student-teacher relationship and student-teacher Facebook-mediated communication. The study included Israeli middle- and high-school students, ages 12-19 years old (n=667). Student-teacher relationships were compared between sub-groups of students, based on their type of Facebook connection to their teachers (or the lack of such a connection); their attitudes towards a policy that prohibits Facebook connection with teachers; and their perceptions of using Facebook for learning. Regarding students’ attitudes towards banning student-teacher communication via SNS and towards using Facebook for learning, we found significant differences between three groups of students: those who do not want to connect with their teachers on Facebook, those who are connected with a teacher of theirs on Facebook, and those who are not co4tionship and student-teacher Facebook-mediated communication. We argue that in the case of student-teacher Facebookmediated communication, there is a gap between students’ expectations and in-practice experience. The key to closing this gap lies in both policy and effective implementatio

The outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic has changed education dramatically, with the sudden shift from face‐to‐face to emergency remote teaching. Online learning environments may facilitate data‐driven instructional process; yet, our understanding regarding data‐driven decisions is still limited. This quantitative study examined types of learners' data that higher education instructors have access to, are interested in, and decisions they would consider making upon exposure to, while comparing emergency remote teaching with traditional teaching. Data were collected via an online questionnaire distributed among higher education instructors during the first COVID‐19 outbreak (N = 195, affiliated with 108 different academic institutions in 35 countries). Instructors were requested to refer to a face‐to‐face course that was shifted under these emergency circumstances to online teaching. Findings indicated a broader access to learners' data while teaching the course face‐to‐face and a slightly greater interest in learners' data while teaching the course in an emergency remote teaching mode. These complimentary findings depict a situation in which instructors lack face‐to‐face cues about their students without accessing alternative sources of data. Moreover, when teaching online versus face‐to‐face, instructors showed more interest and higher intention to make decisions based on data about learners' collaborative learning and social and emotional support, which highlights instructors' interest in aspects of learning that are less visible during online teaching. What is already known about this topic Evidence regarding the vital role of the instructor in online courses. Online learning environments collect digital traces of learners. Learners' data may assist in the improvement of teaching by implementing data‐driven decision making. Evidence that the COVID‐19 pandemic revealed a major liability in preparation and training for online teaching. The understanding of instructors' perspectives regarding the process of data‐driven decisions, especially in times of ERT, is still limited. What this paper adds We highlight instructors' perceived access to, interest in, and willingness to make decisions based on learners' data. We take a within‐subject approach for determining instructors' perceptions of learners' data during ERT compared with face‐to‐face teaching. We bring evidence to instructors' lesser access to (despite learners' digital traces), and greater interest in, learners' data during ERT. We bring evidence to instructors' higher inclination towards making data‐driven decisions during ERT, due to lack of F2F evidence. We bring evidence to a strong correlation between instructors' interest in learners' data and willingness to make data‐driven decisions. Implications for practice and/or policy Instructors should be trained for socio‐emotional support for students in times of ERT. Higher education institutions should collect data on learners' socio‐emotional status in times of ERT. Policies of data collect...

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