Telematics and on‐line teacher training: the Polaris Project

The link between distance learning and telematics is becoming ever stronger, yielding new solutions to old problems, innovative educational resources and new teaching/learning models. One of the most innovative and promising fruits of this relationship is on‐line education, notably a process whereby all the participants (teachers, tutors and students) are linked up in a computer network; the effect of this is the creation of a fully‐fledged learning community in which all individuals take an active part and make a valuable contribution to the group. The aim of the paper is firstly to outline the distinctive characteristics of on‐line education methodology and secondly to examine the POLARIS project, which proposes an experimental approach for in‐service teacher training based on intensive use of computer mediated communication according to the principles of on‐line education.