Introduction
'Professional development goes beyond the term 'training' with its implications of learning skills, and encompasses a definition that includes formal and informal means of helping teachers not only to learn new skills but also develop new insights into pedagogy and their own practice, and explore new or advanced understandings of content and resources. [This] definition of professional development includes support for teachers as they encounter the challenges that come with putting into practice their evolving understandings about the use of technology to support inquiry-based learning. Current technologies offer resources to meet these challenges and provide teachers with a cluster of supports that help them continue to grow in their professional skills, understandings, and interests.' (Ref: NCREL)

In Technology Literacy: Module 5: Unit 2: Use of ICT to Support Life Long Learning, you were made aware of formal and informal learning approaches to further professional growth and developed an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. You also learned the importance of verifying the quality of the resource as a vital step in embarking on one’s professional development learning path.

A summary of Technology Literacy: Module 5: Unit 2: Use of ICT to Support Life Long Learning is provided here: