الملخص الإنجليزي
This study aimed to explore the perceptions of Omani Information Technology (IT) teachers of their participation in a virtual community of practice (VCOP) and to investigate the perceived effect of their participation in this community on their teaching practices. Also, it explores the reasons that encouraged and discouraged Omani IT teachers to participate in the virtual community of practice. A mixed method approach was followed in this study. The platform of the study was Edmodo as a virtual environment for the community. The data collection process was implemented by using a questionnaire and interviews. A content analysis was conducted to analyze the teachers' participation in the community. The participants were both male and female IT teachers from different instructional governorates in Oman (n=45). The study implementation took two months in the second semester of the school year 2017-2018. The study concluded with four results: (1)The virtual community of practice helped IT teachers to share knowledge and exchange information related to the teaching profession; (2)The virtual community of practice encouraged IT teachers to innovate and develop their teaching practices; (3) Teachers who participated in the virtual community of practice recommended other colleagues to engage in such communities, and (4) professional development, and online spaces' potentials encouraged teachers to participate in virtual community of practice; work pressure, time and, internet connection were the main reasons that discouraged teachers' participation in the virtual community of practice. This study concluded with some implications and recommendations for further studies.
