SURWEB professional development efforts commenced with the launch of the SURWEB application in October 1997.  Since early 1998, SURWEB conducted teacher-training sessions ranging from 2-hour workshops to 2-day institutes.  Teachers and students also take advantage of a SURWEB tutorial located on-line.  The on-line tutorial is a professional development strategy that both supports new users and supplements the needs of participants who have attended the face-to-face training sessions.  It is continually revised in response to user need and as new SURWEB features come on-line.

SURWEB professional development activities train teachers in the use of SURWEB.  Of equal importance, professional development offers teachers: a) orientation and skill in the use of a host of digital networked applications on the Web; b) strategies for technology integration across the curriculum; c) strategies for the integration of images, sound and moving images in the text-based classroom; d) opportunities to network and build a community of learners for the SURWEB tool.

In addition to skill and knowledge attainment, SURWEB training opportunities are an important dissemination strategy for the project.  They “evangelize” SURWEB to teachers, thus building a threshold of users who are able to inform and teach their colleagues about SURWEB.  Participants in SURWEB training also contribute to field research about SURWEB effectiveness and their recruitment to create Media Shows and Learning Segments has been critical to the quality of SURWEB content offerings.