Technology is changing and shaping society at a rapid pace. As such, it is imperative that teachers use technology in meaningfully ways to both build skills but also to promote digital citizenship. The challenge lies, however, in the fact that not all teachers feel comfortable using technology and indeed, there is so much choice in terms of what to integrate and how to integrate into the classroom.

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Mishra and Koehler (2006) outline a framework of technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK). Within this framework, Mishra and Koehler (2006) highlight the need for teachers to consider all three domains of knowledge – content, pedagogy and technology. By doing so teachers will be able to more effectively engage and instruct students. However, as Turgut (2017) notes implementing TPACK is a challenge in itself. Teachers, particularly pre-service and beginning teachers, need mentorship, support and avenues for collaboration to further enhance both their understanding and use of TPACK (Turgut, 2017). Similarly, Jang (2010) found that peer coaching helped increase teacher’s use of technology and supported student learning.

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Creating space and time for collaboration and professional development often proves challenging as there are many demands on teachers time (Byington, 2011). As a result, online communities of practice have sprung up to allow for dialogue and sharing without the need for set meetings at specific time and locations (Byington, 2011). Wenger (as cited in Byington, 2011) asserts that online communities of practice must have a domain, community and practice. Domain refers to a shared focus, community means a group with shared interests and practice being a pattern of action (Byington, 2011). Further, emphasizing the importance of online learning groups is the work of Doering, Veletsianos, Scharber and Miller (2009) who note that online networks can support the use and integration of TPACK.