Abstract

Staff at the University of Lincoln, UK, are repositioned as students on the virtual learning environment (VLE) for the teacher education programme ‘Teaching and Learning in a Digital Age’ (TELEDA). Modules explore the social relations of virtual learning through a community approach to sharing practice, and using tools like wikis, journals and forums to demonstrate the challenges of digital scholarship enables ‘insider’ knowledge of the craft of e-teaching to be gained through experiential learning. As sector-wide shifts to flexible design and delivery increase, greater attention to the digital confidence and capabilities of staff who teach and support learning is required. Investigating the uncertain spaces between the rhetoric and the reality of teaching online has shaped the author’s doctoral research into digital education. This paper offers emerging research findings which include how experiential approaches like TELEDA are worthy investments of time and resources and reinforce the value of embedding the craft elements of e-teaching into CPD and teacher education programmes.