We are living in a technological world, where digital devices and their use strongly influence our life. School is not immune to these trends, and there is wide evidence of the fact that teachers need to take account of what is happening, changing even deeply their didactical approaches (Ostinelli, 2019). Today’s students need to be capable to interact, learn and manage digital devices (Collins and Halverson, 2018). Teachers, on their side, should not only have technical mastery of the use of these technologies, but should also be capable to lead their pupils to develop a high level of critical sensibility and ethical awareness (Redecker, 2019). Teacher professional learning and development – a paramount feature in school innovation (Jones, Ostinelli and Crescentini, 2024) - is a key element of these processes.

Since the domain of digital technologies is quite wide, this symposium tries to offer a varied perspective on the field, allowing speakers exchanging and sharing with participants their experiences, new ideas, research results about all aspects of digital technologies in education, and discuss the practical challenges encountered and the solutions adopted.

Various countries, while planning and enacting Teacher professional learning and development (PLD) face  today the need not only to invest in structure (computers, networks, devices, etc.), but also in culture (pedagogy for the use of technology in education, digital classroom management, use of data, equity and ethics in the use of digital technology, etc.). In this context, methodologies aiming at a productive and responsible interaction with AI are very important and urgent (Chiu et al. 2024).

Due to the amplitude of the domain, the papers presented in this symposium deal with different issues. The first one is on the process of creation of a broad questionnaire aiming at getting an image of the status of the art of teachers’ knowledge, practice and attitude towards digital technologies and their use. The second is a study on teacher Professional Vision (PV), an innovative concept where teachers can develop professional expertise through noticing, interpreting, and deciding. This process is analyzed through a review of the literature and a qualitative/quantitative study, and uses a video-based digital solution. The third presentation is about research on data collected from online professional development courses for educators in early learning, literacy, and mathematics, including formative video and performance and knowledge assessments. These studies include for instance issues like the development of an artificial intelligence model to lessen the labor involved in providing personalized and timely feedback to teachers participating in our professional development courses or the development of tutoring support for middle school mathematics students. The fourth contribution deals with the first steps in a project aiming at trying to understand the relationship between Future Literacy and the development of school capital in primary schools.  The objective is to use narratives for individuate emerging trends and constraints in digital pedagogical practices. In the meantime, an imaginative agenda for transformative educational futures should be developed. Similar comprehensive overviews allow filling the gaps between successes and failures from past experiences to future alternatives.

The four studies presented in this symposium give an overview on various approaches to teacher PLD for developing a better interaction between teachers and digital technologies.

Chiu, Thomas K., Moorhouse, B., Chai, C. and Ismailov, M. Teacher support and student motivation to learn with Artificial Intelligence (AI) based chatbot. Interactive Learning Environments, 2024, 32.7: 3240-3256. Collins, A. and Halverson, R. (2018). Rethinking education in the age of technology: The digital revolution and schooling in America. Teachers College Press. Ghomi, M. and Redecker, C. (2019). Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu): Development and Evaluation of a Self-assessment Instrument for Teachers' Digital Competence. In CSEDU (1) (pp. 541-548). Jones, K., Ostinelli, G. and Crescentini, A. (2024). Innovation in teacher professional learning in Europe. Abingdon: Routledge. Ostinelli, G. (2019). L@ scuola 1.0. Bologna: Il Mulino. Redecker, C. European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators: DigCompEdu. Punie, Y. (ed). EUR 28775 EN. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2017, ISBN 978-92-79-73494-6, doi:10.2760/159770, JRC107466