Opinions of social studies teachers about online professional development and online education activities, an online platform suggestion for teacher professinal development

The advancement of internet technology has led to an increase in learning opportunities. Accordingly, students now have learning opportunities not only in traditional classrooms but also through online learning platforms. Online learning offers students the opportunity to learn where and when they wish. However, the success of online learning depends on the condition that qualified teachers should teach online. Therefore, it is important that teachers should enhance their online skills in order to improve the quality of online learning process. This research aims at developing a sample online professional development portal by identifying the professional development needs of social studies teachers. The research was conducted using an action research design and a rapid prototyping model. Participant opinions were collected through 5 different interview forms. Throughout the research process, 85 volunteer teachers participated in the exploration phase, 37 volunteer teachers participated in the data collection phase, 9 volunteer teachers participated in the pilot phase, 6 volunteer teachers participated in the preliminary evaluation phase, and 40 volunteer candidate teachers participated in the evaluation activity of the online professional development portal. The results were analyzed using descriptive and content analysis methods. Based on the results, it has been concluded that teachers require effective programs that contribute to their professional development. It has been observed that teachers participated in face-to-face or online professional development activities on subjects such as information technologies, personal development, professional instructor knowledge and skills, advisory, and occupational health and safety. Alongside the positive aspects of online activities, such as flexibility, customizability and ease of self-improvement, negative features such as slow internet connection, lack of communication, and requirement to increase time allocation also emerged. The evaluation of the online professional development portal revealed fundamental principles such as content focus, attractiveness of the narrative, appropriateness of timing, active participation, compatibility with professional life, collaboration opportunities, expert support, and academic support. Policymakers and expert educators are recommended to organize activities in line with these principles.