Abstract:
The proliferation of Internet-based networks linking small schools in rural
communities in some countries challenges the appropriateness of teaching
exclusively in the closed environments of traditional classrooms. The development
of Internet-based school networks, facilitating the creation of virtual classes, has
implications for the professional education of teachers who will, it is argued in this
article, increasingly teach both face-to-face and on-line, or virtually and actually.
Internet-based networks of schools provide opportunities for teachers to
collaborate with their colleagues in the open learning spaces between sites that are
academically and administratively linked. This paper outlines four ways in which
pre-service Canadian teachers are encouraged to collaborate in preparation for
teaching together across dispersed sites.
