The Effectiveness of Online Professional Development in Promoting Technology Integration in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess teachers\u27 perspectives about the effectiveness of online professional development in promoting technology integration in Saudi Arabia and to identify the perceived factors that contribute to the success of online professional development in Saudi Arabia. The study explored the possible differences in perceived effectiveness of online professional development based on participant\u27s demographic information, technology skills, attending online professional development, number of hours attended, and enrollment in Teaching with Technology (TWT) initiative. Additionally, this study investigated the affordances for autonomous learning in a fully online learning environment for effective online professional development. The ANOVA results indicated significant mean differences in teachers\u27 responses across gender (F (1, 143) = 2.27, p \u3c 0.05) and also across enrollment in TWT initiative (F (2,143) =10.01, p \u3c 0.05). Gender and TWT accounted for 5.5% and 6.5% of variance in Teacher Overall Perspectives about the effectiveness of online professional development respectively. The study major findings and conclusions of the study are also discussed in view of their implications for future research, measurement theory, research design and practice in the manuscript