Abstract
Unlike most online professional development opportunities, synchronous technology affords immediate communications for discussion and feedback while interacting with participants simultaneously through text, audio, video, and screen sharing. The purpose of this study is to find answers to meet the practical need to inform, design, and implement in-service teacher’s professional development with a focus on using synchronous technology for learning and instruction. The study examined the following questions: 1) what is the lived experience of in-service teachers going through professional development when using synchronous technology; and 2) what is the lived experience of in-service teachers using synchronous technology after the professional development. The participants in this phenomenological study included nine in-service teachers located in four states. The study used questionnaires, individual interviews, a focus group interview, online meeting sessions, and online surveys to answer the research questions. The data was analyzed exercising a reiterative process allowing time to process the information, code for themes, write, and reflect on the findings. The analysis uncovered in-service teachers were apprehensive when it came to using synchronous technology for professional development, but also held a desire to learn more. Furthermore, teachers believed using synchronous technology could help them better connect with other educators and found many conveniences once they became more familiar with it. Additionally, they expressed a need for continued support as they learned and used the technology, and were anxious to continue to use it. This study fills the current gap in professional literature that reveals the lived experience of in-service teachers using synchronous technology for professional development purposes and for learning and instruction. The findings inform professional development program developers of the lived experience of in-service teachers in an effort to support stronger designs and implementations of professional development programs delivered through synchronous technology. The findings also offer implications for integrating synchronous technology by in-service teachers at schools to learn and improve their teaching practice.