The use of internet tools for teaching and learning by in-service biology teachers: A survey in Brazil Luiz Gustavo Ribeiro Rolando a, b, * , Daniel Fábio Salvador b , Maurício R.M. P. Luz a a Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Laboratório de Avaliação em Ensino e Filosoﬁa das Biociências, Av. Brasil, 4365, Manguinhos CEP 21040-360, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil b Fundação CECIERJ, Fundação Centro de Ciências e Educação Superior a Distância, Rua da Ajuda, n  5, 16 andar, Centro CEP 20040-000, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil highlights  A survey on the use of the internet by Brazilian biology teachers.  Brazilian biology teachers spontaneously use the internet to improve teaching.  Brazilian biology teachers use the internet essentially in a distributive way. article info Article history: Received 5 August 2012 Received in revised form 13 March 2013 Accepted 28 March 2013 Keywords: Improving classroom teaching Lifelong learning Learning communities In-service teacher education Internet abstract The study investigated the proﬁle of use of internet tools by in-service biology teachers in the State of Rio de Janeiro. We identiﬁed four purposes of use: Study, Didactic, Professional Management and Personal Socialization. The pedagogical use internet tools proved to be small. It was mostly focused to the search for information about biological contents for individual use and to the download of materials to distribute to the students. We discussed the importance of articulating policies and programs of teacher education through the development of activities to raise awareness about the pedagogical potential of collaborative internet tools among Brazilian teachers. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The understanding of society as a network is the result of the widespread use of computers and the new technological paradigm characterized by the high speed at which information is generated, processed and shared (Castells & Cardoso, 2005). The internet tools allow the access, processing and production of information available in text format, image, sound, data, multimedia and hypermedia documents, constituting an essen- tial language of communication in contemporary society (Lévy, 2001). International institutions like the British Educational Commu- nications and Technology Agency (BECTA, 2003), the United Nations Educational, Scientiﬁc and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2005, 2008) and the World Bank (World Bank, 2005) have advised and promoted the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for teaching and learning. Asian and European countries have implemented public policies aimed at increasing and improving the use of ICT in their educational systems (Law, Lee, & Chan, 2010; Usun, 2009). Such policies involve providing high speed access to the internet, acquisition of hardware and other digital resources, as well as providing technical and pedagogical support to schools, including opportunities of the so called teachers’“professional development” (Plomp, Anderson, Law, & Quale, 2003, 2009). In Brazil, ofﬁcial documents have reﬂected the importance of using ICT in education. Resolution CNE/CP No. 1/2002 of the Na- tional Council of Education suggests that qualifying for the teaching activity should include the use of information and communication technologies (Conselho Nacional de Educação, 2002). Recently, the * Corresponding author. Laboratório de Avaliação em Ensino e Filosoﬁa das Bio- ciências, Av. Brasil,4365, Pavilhão 108, Sala 31, Manguinhos CEP 21040-360, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Tel.: þ55 21 25621831. E-mail addresses: gustavor@ioc.ﬁocruz.br, luizgustavoribeirorolando@ gmail.com, gustavor@ioc.ﬁocruz.br (L.G.R. Rolando), salvador@cecierj.edu.br (D.F. Salvador), mauluz@ioc.ﬁocruz.br (M.R.M.P. Luz). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Teaching and Teacher Education journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tate 0742-051X/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2013.03.007 Teaching and Teacher Education 34 (2013) 46e55