Professional development without boundaries

Abstract

This paper will outline the provision of professional development at distance for teachers of mathematics. The Australian Mathematics Trust offers an internet-based Graduate Certificate in Education course for teachers, and conducts weekly tutorials in real time involving teachers from across Australia and presenters from around the world. The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers conducts an annual virtual conference, in which more than 300 participants from several countries engage in many of the activities they would expect at a face-to-face conference. Both activities use WebCT as a medium for the on-line delivery of content and generation of debate. The paper will outline how the course and conference are organized and discuss some of the problems and possibilities raised by the use of technology for teacher education and development.