This study investigates the effectiveness of an online distance learning course in American literature for English language teacher trainees. In view of the growing demand for teacher trainees to develop ICT skills and of recent Constructivist claims about the benefits of Internet-based distance courses (Rumble 2001, Huang 2002), teacher training curricula are changing to include distance courses. However, the integration of ICT skills with academic material is still problematic. How do teacher trainees benefit when an academic course is designed as a model of collaborative and interactive learning? Do they indeed develop Internet tools and widen their repertoire of teaching strategies? How is their self-image as future teachers affected? How successfully does the course achieve its academic goals? This paper addresses the problematics involved in a course which both requires and fosters ICT skills while continuing to emphasize the exposure to literary works. While many teachers agree that ICT is suitable as a tool in cooperative work, this principle is not widely implemented in practice. (Sinko and Lehtinen, 1999) Moreover, it is claimed that teaching ICT skills promotes competency but has little long-term effect when teachers face the challenges of integrating ICT into the curriculum in their own classrooms. (Niemi 2002) The online literature course under discussion attempts to prepare teacher trainees to implement ICT skills in the classroom. It aims to achieve this, not only by promoting these skills in inexperienced ICT users and providing models of its uses in teaching literature, but also by generating metacognitive reflection on how to create flexible learning environments that foster collaborative learning. The study evaluates, through questionnaires filled out by the course participants before and at the conclusion of the course, whether students indeed acquire new computerized skills that will be useful to them as teachers. It investigates their willingness, confidence and flexibility in applying ICT in their lesson planning as expressed in questionnaires, in journal entries during the course and in the qualitative feedback from their email correspondence. In addition, the paper examines changes in students' attitudes about the relevance of the course materials to the reality of their careers. Furthermore, it investigates whether this kind of study promotes metacognitive strategies that will guide the teacher trainees in their future careers.