Teachers' professional development in online social networking sites

Social media and social networking sites are progressively gaining attention also in relation to professional development and life-long learning for school and academic teachers and staff. In particular, social media and social networking sites are emerging as places in which to cultivate different forms of social capital, bridging and bonding, that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit, as well as exchange of resources, personal and professional relationships and implications for psychological well-being. The paper presents some conceptual reflections about the value of these tools for school and academic teachers' professional development. Moreover, two examples related to some Facebook groups for teachers and to the adoption of social networking sites for personal and professional use by Italian university scholars will be presented. The paper concludes with some considerations about the current limited adoption among extensive audiences and envisages future research directions.