| المستخلص: |
Libyan EFL teachers in low-tech and low-resourced environments stand to gain the most from online learning, or Internet-based Continuous Professional Development (ICPD). However, to incorporate ICPD into in- service teacher development contexts, both good Internet skills and independent learning abilities are necessary. The main aim of this research was to provide appropriate online learning conditions for a sample of Libyan in-service EFL teachers and assess the quality of their online participation. An ICPD intervention course was designed for this purpose in which a Case Study group involving twelve teachers were first engaged in blended learning through a web-based Yahoo group then an extended of sixty teachers were engaged in Distance Online Learning (DOL) via Merlin - a web-based Virtual Learning Environment. Teachers' participation in blended learning was relatively reasonable. However, in online learning, participation was poor, to say the least. The poor online participation pointed to what I have termed intellectual- exposure phobia or ie- phobia, which surfaced when being involved in an unbonded group, teachers' responses to high-level tasks were poor. On the other hand, responses to low-level tasks took place comparatively easy. It is recommended that in order to acknowledge the potential of online learning for professional development, a major shift in attitudes by teachers, lecturers and policy makers is required. At the same time, any implementation of online learning should not mean the loss of f2f contact which is in addition to being deeply rooted in traditional education and is still much valued in the Libyan culture, will assist group bonding and enrich online participation.
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