Cloud Computing Applications and Services fostering Teachers’ Self-efficacy

Abstract

According to recent surveys on pedagogical innovation and teachers’ professional development, Italy lags behind most OECD countries when it comes to equipment and usage of information and communication technology (ICT) in school. Schools need to support professional development and new training models, so that teachers who are less proficient in the use of technology can acquire proper skills and strategies. This study aims at investigating: lower secondary teachers’ familiarity with ICT pedagogical usage and active learning strategies; teachers’ difficulties in introducing ICT in school, which might be associated with their professional profile; teachers’ self-efficacy perception, which might be associated with computer technologies training. In order to achieve this goal, an informal blended training course supported by Cloud Computing Applications and Services has been organized and monitored. Data collection tools and evaluation questionnaires were arranged and partly submitted. According to the provisional results, teacher's ICT perceptions have positively evolved after professional training; conclusive findings analysis should also indicate whether the reinforcement of self-perception enhances teachers’ intention to adopt new technologies in their practice. This study might finally provide education programs with a practical peer-training model, which affects teachers’ self-efficacy perception and leads – in turn – to a larger diffusion of innovating strategies.