7.1 Introduction

One version of Vendredi ou les limbes du Pacifique, describes Crusoe=s attempts to rediscover his island (Tournier, 1978). Crusoe returns to Holland after many years of exile on the island of Speranza. He reestablishes himself there but, even after some decades, longs to return to Speranza. He embarks on a journey across the ocean in search of his island. After many attempts, and in spite of all efforts, he cannot find the island and thus abandons hope of ever again setting foot on Speranza. He returns therefore once again to Holland. In conversation with a friend, he understands why he could not find the island. Like Crusoe, the island had aged and changed over the years. He was looking for the image of the island he remembered from many years ago. That image no longer existed. Crusoe returns once again across the ocean in search of the island. This time, he forces himself to alter his perception and he finds his island. He settles there, content to live out his days until his death.

The lesson to be learned from Crusoe's experiences is an appropriate and useful one and comes at a time when it has considerable meaning for education. Crusoe's search for the island was a difficult one because he had overlooked the fact that the island had changed. Yet, Crusoe himself had changed for, he too, like the island, had aged. What this experience reveals is the way that change works and how, just as one's environment changes, so too do the individuals in the environment because they form an integral part of it. By analogy, we can apply this understanding of change to education. Change affects all aspects of the learning environment including those who are a part of it. Change is a process of adaption and of accommodation whereby the learning environment and those who form part of it interact, affect each other and change together.

Traditional learning environments have provided considerable stability to teachers. They are predictable and relatively immune to perturbation, to change and even to outside influences. In contrast, OLEs represent radically different environments that often challenge traditional ways of learning and of knowing. As the beliefs in this study have shown, for some teachers, their encounters with OLEs have resulted in experiences that have suited their beliefs or that have encouraged them to change and shift their beliefs in order to accommodate the new environments. For these individuals, the environments for learning represent strange or even brave new lands which they have been able to approach with a sense of adventure and discovery. They have found support for their beliefs in the new online learning environments and have been able to define new maps, chart new directions, explore new possibilities, change along with the environment and adapt to it.

This study has profiled the beliefs of a broad selection of teachers. It has also attempted to understand how these beliefs reflect the evolution of teaching and use of technology. What conclusions can be drawn from these findings and what are the implications for educational practice and for educational research? The pages that follow explore this question. Understanding the implications can provide insight for teacher education programs, for professional development sessions and for researchers. Ultimately, the understanding of beliefs in this study can assist in the process of bringing about positive change in teaching and learning. This chapter will also look at further directions for research and suggestions will be made for refinement of this study's research methodology.