A Virtual Network

Technology puts a variety of easy-access electronic tools right at the fingertips of teachers looking to tap into a support system for professional development.

The greatest barrier to professional development too often is the classroom wall. Unlike professionals in other fields, teachers' hectic schedules and working conditions seldom allow for thoughtful discussions with their peers in the next room, let alone colleagues within their own states or across the nation.

But as more schools become wired for access to the Internet and state telecommunications networks, and as the number of personal computers in schools and homes continues to grow, some promising new professional-development programs are tapping into technology to provide teachers with a variety of electronic forums to discuss their classroom practices.

Electronic mail allows teachers to share their daily frustrations and successes with their peers without regard to distance or time. And videotaped lessons store the best classroom practices and allow teachers to...