Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Finland Research
Finland Research
Finland
National Research
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for
any use which may be made of the information contained therein
The interviews were carried using fastwrite questionnaires especially designed for this purpose.
They were put into practice in late August 2008, after the Finnish teachers came back to
schools from their 10 weeks summer holidays to start the new school-year 2008-09. The
online interviews were complemented with face-to-face and phone contacts.
Various subjects
Eight female teachers and one male teacher were interviewed. The age range of their students
was from 16 to 19 years in 8 cases, and from 7 to 12 years in one case. The subjects included
English (3), French (1), German (1), Swedish (1), chemistry (1), mathematics (1) and physical
education (1). Their experiences with educational ICT were for 0 – 1 year (2), 2 - 3 years (2),
4 – 5 years(1), 6 – 7 years (2) and for 10 or more years (2).
Two teachers said that their attitude to eLearning was very positive, one said that her attitude
was neutral and six teachers described their attitudes as positive. Their use of the Internet was
from 0 to 1 hour a week in 6 cases, from 2 to 3 hours a week in one case and from 4 – 5 hours
a week in one
case. One of the interviewed was on her maternity leave, and had currently no lessons.
The eLearning was involved in the curriculum to a large extent only in the case of primary
education (7 – 12 years). The two teachers who had the longest experience of educational ICT
said that eLearning had been integrated into the curriculum of their subject to some extent.
Others said it was integrated to a small or to a very small extent.
Two of the teachers said that they adopted eLearning very much or a lot in her teaching. Four
teachers adopted it moderately, or a little, and three teachers had adopted eLearning very
little.
The teachers who adopted eLearning more performed many different kind of activities n the
Internet with their students, such as browsing web pages, searching Internet resources,
making partner projects, having email correspondence, taking part in forum discussions, using
text chat or messaging and participating in live online sessions. Those who only adopted
eLearning a little were mostly satisfied with searching web resources.
The interviewed teachers were asked to choose up to three things that motivated them most in
eLearning. The most active teacher found her best motivation in the following: systematic
promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and internationalization.
Development of materials and facilities was also an important motivating factor for the
teachers who were more active in eLearning. Instead, teacher-in-service training was often
chosen as one of the most motivating things among the teachers who were less active in
eLearning.
There was a lot of distribution in opinions of the teachers concerning the equipment, even
inside the same school. Some said there were enough computers, while others thought the
opposite. The more experienced teachers emphasized the need of teacher-in-service training in
their opinions.
Five teachers thought that the future role of eLearning will increase rapidly, whereas three of
them said the development will be slow. One of the teachers thought that eLearning will stay
as it is, not to be decreased or increased.
Supplements
There are more detailed in the answers of the interviewed teachers in supplements of this
summary of investigation.
3) Summary of the answers of 9 Finnish teachers about their views on eLearning/ODL, .xls
file and .ods files
ODL
Does your school make use of a content management system (e.g. Moodle, Pedanet, It’s learning)?
In what way do teachers use this system?
• They insert instructions and subject related content
• They present tests
• They present extra exercises
• They use e-learning materials made available by the publishing firms as additional material
to the textbooks
• Otherwise
Teachers
Insufficient adequate materials are put at their disposal by the publishing firms
The teacher has a lack of technical know-how as regards the use of the environment
The teacher doesn’t have enough time to attend training sessions
The teacher doesn’t have enough time nor the required experience to develop materials himself
There isn’t enough time during classes
The command of the use of ele is not assessed in exams
Only a few teachers make use of the environment
The school management does not support it
Students
The students have no technical training
The students prefer face-to-face instructions to e-learning
The students don’t see the extra value
My comments in general:
- didactical issues first, because they are the real stumbling stone!
- technological issues second; e.g. the ICT capacity of Finnish schools is not used to its full
potential, possibly 10 % of it has been taken into real use
ODL
I Technological opportunities :
1) teachers have sufficient technical know-how as regards the use of the Internet
2) teachers make use of learning environments
teachers make use of e-mail when communicating with students and homes
3) teachers use other tools (learning environment, SMS, skype etc.) to communicate with stu-
dents and families
4) teachers have access to a computer with an Internet connection at home
5) students have sufficient knowledge about educational ICT and eLearning
II Network of school:
14) teachers can use a learning platform (e.g. Moodle, OPIT, Fronter, Pedanet etc. )
15) teachers insert instructions and subject related content
16) teachers present tests
17) teachers present extra exercises
18) teachers use eLearning material of publishing houses as additional material to the books
19) teachers use eLearning materials replacing books
01 Name: Pirjo Saarinen (my name must not be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: pirjo.saarinen@vihti.fi
Personally, I have used the Internet for 2- 3 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive. eLearning
has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject only a little. I have adopted opportunities of
educational ICT very little in my own teaching. I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week
with my students. The Internet activity I have included in my teaching is searching Internet
resources.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are teacher-in-service training,
support and encouragement of the school management and development of materials and facilities.
There is really little of ICT training, or no money for training.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: There are
enough computers with Internet access in my school. The school network allows me to do all I want
to do on the Internet, and the equipment of my school favors introducing eLearning. I think the
future role of eLearning will stay as it is today when the entire learning processes are concerned.
01 Name: Tuula Jantunen (my name must not be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: tuula.jantunen@vihti.fi
Personally, I have used the Internet for 10 years or more. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to some extent. I have adopted
opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching a little.
I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The activities I have included in
my teaching is making grammar and other online exercises.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows: eLearning is
assessed and evaluated in exams, teacher-in-service training and more time for adopting eLearning.
There is not enough time to do everything.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: The school
network allows me to do all I want to do on the Internet, but there are not enough computers so as
to take them easily into use. There are enough computers with Internet access in my school. I think
the future role of eLearning will increase slowly.
.
Olen naisopettaja ja kouluni on Vihdin lukio. Ensisijainen
opetusaineeni on englanti. Oppilaani ovat iältään 16-19.
Henkilökohtaisesti olen käyttänyt verkkoa 10 vuotta tai enemmän.
Oma suhtautumiseni verkko-oppimiseen on myönteinen. Verkko-oppiminen
on otettu jossakin määrin huomioon ensisijaisesti opettamani aineen
opetussuunnitelmassa. Omassa opetuksessani käytän verkko-oppimisen
mahdollisuuksia vähän. Työskentelen oppilaideni kanssa viikottain
keskimäärin 0-1 oppitunnilla verkossa. Aktiviteetteja, joita teemme
verkossa, ovat kielioppi- ym harjoituksia verkossa. Eniten minua
kannustavat verkko-oppimiseen seuraavat tekijät: verkko-oppimista
arvioidaan kokeissa ja siitä annetaan numero, opettajien
täydennyskoulutus, enemmän aikaa verkko-oppimiselle. Aika ei riitä
kaikkeen. Kouluni varustelusta verkko-oppimista ajatellen voin todeta
seuraavia asioita: Kouluni verkko mahdollistaa kaiken, minkä haluan
tehdä verkossa. Tietokoneita ei ole tarpeeksi, jotta niiden
käyttöönotto olisi vaivatonta. Uskoakseni verkko-oppimisen osuus
koko oppimisessa kasvaa hitaasti. Nimeäni ei saa mainita
haastattelujen tuloksia julkaistaessa
01 Name: Iina Levàn (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: iina.levan@vihti.fi
Personally, I have used the Internet for 10 years or more. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to some extent. I have adopted
opportunities of educational ICT moderately in my own teaching. I work in the Internet for about 0-
1 hour a week with my students. The Internet activities I have included in my teaching are browsing
web pages, searching Internet resources and email correspondence.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are teacher-in-service training,
systematic promotion of eLearning at school and putting the international dimension into learning
processes.
01 Name: Marjo Yliluoma (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: marjo.yliluoma@karvia.fi
Personally, I have used the Internet for 6 - 7 years. My attitude to eLearning is very positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a large extent. I have adopted
opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching a lot.
I work in the Internet for about 4 - 5 hours a week with my students. The activities I have included
in my teaching browsing web pages, searching Internet resources, partner projects, email
correspondence, forum discussions, text chat or messaging and live online sessions.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows: systematic
promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and internationalization. eLearning is not
interpreted as a method of learning by the school management of the municipality.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: There is
sufficient technical know-how and support. The equipment of my school favors introducing
eLearning, and there are enough computers with Internet access available. I think eLearning will
have a rapidly increasing role in school in future.
02 Gender: female
04 Email: laura.pihkala-posti@koulut.tampere.fi
Personally, I have used the Internet for 6 - 7 years. My attitude to eLearning is very positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject only to a small extent. I have
adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching very much.
I work in the Internet for about 0 - 1 hour a week with my students. Activities I have included in
my teaching browsing web pages, searching Internet resources, partner projects, email
correspondence, forum discussions and tutoring courses.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are development of materials
and facilities and internationalization. My own interest has also been crucial. Unfortunately, there
is not sufficiently teacher-in-service training with good quality. More time and technical support is
needed for eLearning.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: My students
have a learning platform at their disposal. Technical support does not work properly. There is need
for even more computers.
01 Name: Ossi Mauno (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: male
04 Email: ossi.mauno@vihti.fi
Personally, I have used the Internet for 2 - 3 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive. eLearning
has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a small extent. I have adopted opportunities
of educational ICT in my own teaching moderately. I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a
week with my students. The Internet activities I have included in my teaching are browsing web
pages, searching Internet resources, publishing online products and guiding courses of students.
I think it is more reasonable to do some matters online, especially when teaching ICT.
02 Gender: female
04 Email: minna.vainionpaa@vihti.fi
Personally, I have used the Internet for 0 – 1 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive. eLearning
has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a minor extent. I have adopted
opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching very little.
I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The activity I have included in
my teaching is searching Internet resources.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows: systematic
promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and development of materials and
facilities. There seems to be not enough time to learn new things, even if I had interest in it.
Computers should function without friction, as I have no skills myself to mend broken devices.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: The school
network allows me to do all I want to do on the Internet, but computers are out of order, from time
to time.
I know about this topic so little that my answers are deplorably scarce. Maybe I will some day know
more if my hectic life as the mother of two small children allows me that.
.
Olen naisopettaja ja kouluni on Vihdin lukio. Ensisijainen
opetusaineeni on ruotsi. Oppilaani ovat iältään 16-19.
Henkilökohtaisesti olen käyttänyt verkkoa 0-1 vuotta. Oma
suhtautumiseni verkko-oppimiseen on myönteinen. Verkko-oppiminen on
otettu vähäisessä määrin huomioon ensisijaisesti opettamani
aineen opetussuunnitelmassa. Omassa opetuksessani käytän
verkko-oppimisen mahdollisuuksia erittäin vähän. Työskentelen
oppilaideni kanssa viikottain keskimäärin 0-1 oppitunnilla verkossa.
Aktiviteetteja, joita teemme verkossa, ovat tiedonhaku internetistä.
Eniten minua kannustavat verkko-oppimiseen seuraavat tekijät:
koulussa edistetään verkko-oppimista systemaattisesti, innostuneet
oppilaat, materiaalien ja välineistön kehitys. Aika ei tunnu
riittävän uuden opetteluun, vaikka kiinnostusta olisi. Koneiden
pitäisi myös toimia aukottomasti kun itsellä ei ole taitoa
selvittää jumiutuvia laitteita. Kouluni varustelusta
verkko-oppimista ajatellen voin todeta seuraavia asioita: Kouluni
verkko mahdollistaa kaiken, minkä haluan tehdä verkossa. Tietokoneet
jumiutuvat joskus pahasti.
Uskoakseni verkko-oppimisen osuus koko
oppimisessa kasvaa hitaasti.
Tiedän aiheesta niin vähän, että vastaukset ovat valitetttavan laihoja, en tiedä hyödytkö
niistä mitään ;-). Ehkä jonain päivänä olen asiasta paremmin perillä jos kahden viipottajan
äidillä kiire ikinä hellittää...
02 Gender: female
04 Email: pirjo.orkovaara@vihti.fi
Personally, I have used the Internet for 4 - 5 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive. eLearning
has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a small extent. I have adopted opportunities
of educational ICT moderately in my own teaching. I work in the Internet for about 2 - 3 hours a
week with my students. Activities I have included in my teaching are browsing web pages,
searching Internet resources and forum discussions.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning is the development of materials
and facilities. There will be online courses for students in future. Teacher-in-service and systematic
promotion of eLearning is lacking. There is no real support for users.
There is some know how in school, but the municipality that maintains the school sets too many
bids and restrictions, which slow down and disturb development. The increase of the work load of
teachers is not taken into account in salaries.
Videoconferencing
Several research projects were set up to study the use of videoconferencing in education
In order to clarify in what ways intercultural competences can be fostered in everyday work, the
empirical studies will focus on (1) human resources management issues; (2) intercultural
professional training issues; and (3) intercultural interaction and communication issues. Both
qualitative and quantitative research methods will be used to gather data on selected samples of
private enterprises and those in the public sector.
Examinations are taken by both immigrant employees and their co-workers and supervisors
belonging to the ethnic majority.
On the basis of the project results personnel training materials and an intercultural learning model
will be developed and eLearning materials on issues of diversity will be produced on CD-Rom.
The material for the research is gathered from students taking part in the basic studies of education
at the University of Tampere's Research Centre for Vocational Education. A group of adult students
who work in the field of adult education take part in this study program during 2003. The studies
are arranged according to the principles of collaborative learning and most of the study assignments
are carried out in a virtual learning environment.
The methodology of the research is mainly qualitative and concentrates on the study journals that
the students write about their learning experiences. The research material consists mainly of the
study journals that the students have written over the course of their studies, as well as a
quantitative questionnaire.
The research is carried out at the University of Tampere's Research Centre for Vocational
Education.
Publications:
• Susimetsä, Marko 2006 Motivated and Self-Regulated Learning of Adult Learners in a
Collective Online Environment Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 1160 Tampereen yliopisto ISBN
951-44-6666-7 ISSN 1455-1616
The main results of the project will be a) the realisation on the application sites os home distance
learning via ICATV that will be continued and extended after the project's duration, and that can be
disseminated to other places, and b) a 'blue-print', in the form of aspecifications manual, for
planning and implementing home learning via ICATV. HUT CET has a specific responsibility of
work package WP08 'DOMITEL Implementation' including an exploitation plan.Publications:
Search word: ?
Research Finnish Air Force cadets in network - experience in use of online learning
Project: environment in basic studies of mathematics
Researcher: Mika Nieminen
University of Jyväskylä
Research PL 35
Unit: 40014
JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO
Research
01.01.2003 - 31.12.2007
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of Mathematics and statistics
Science: Natural sciences
online teaching
mathematics
Keyword(s): distance teaching
air force
cadets
Abstract: In recent years a large number of studies dealing with teaching of natural
science and mathematics, like this one, have been made in Finland and
abroad. Many of them are based on pragmatism enabling to evolve various
approaches (development research, design research, educational
reconstruction). In the Finnish Defence Forces an increasing need for online
teaching resulted in the creation of the AVOT programme, and as a part of
the programme this research focused on the possibilities to use online
teaching in the Air Force.
The present study was conducted during the years 2003 to 2007 with the aim
to examine the effect of online teaching model, developed in the context of
the design research for the use in the basic studies of Mathematics for Air
Force cadets, on the results of the Cadet Courses 90, 91 and 92. One of the
objectives of the study was also to survey the usability of the Defence
Forces' online training portal in teaching mathematics for Air Force cadets.
This is a design research on the basis of which online courses were evolved
cyclically. The most important parts subject to development were online
discussions and tutor diaries the substance of which was analysed. The
usability of the training portal was surveyed by using the applied SUS
question series. A comparison of course results was made by covariance
analysis: the scores of the final tests were scaled to correspond to one another
by means of the item response theory.
It appears from this research that the results of the Cadet Course 92 that
studied using online courses are not statistically very different compared to
the results of the Cadet Course 90 that was given conventional lecture based
teaching. The training portal proved to be unsuitable for study of
mathematics but, on the other hand, the results achieved by online learning
were comparable with the results achieved by lecture based teaching. As this
study shows the use of online teaching can be increased justifiably in aircraft
maintenance training ensuring more flexible and diversified teaching.
• Nieminen, Mika 2008 Ilmavoimien kadetit verkossa - kokemuksia
verkkopohjaisen oppimisympäristön käytöstä matematiikan perusopetuksessa.
Finnish Air Force Cadets in network - experience in use of online learning
Publications: environment in basic studies of Mathematics Department of physics
university of Jyväskylä, Research report No. 3/2008 Jyväskylän yliopisto 192
s. ISBN 978-951-39-3117-9 ISSN 0075-465 x
The five substudies were carried out as parts of three projects involving
higher education courses. The main data collected and analysed in all five
substudies consisted of the record of the students' online discussions. The
different documents produced by the individuals or groups and data on their
learning outcomes were also exploited in analysing the materials. Substudies
I, II and V were based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative
methods. Substudies III and IV explored the activities of the small groups by
using a qualitative approach.
All the five substudies indicated that interaction and collaboration in online
learning environments are complex phenomena. In order to work together
and interact successfully participants must engage in teamwork, making an
equal personal contribution to the team's collaborative activities and freely
sharing their prior knowledge, beliefs, assumptions and feelings. Here the
mechanisms of the grounding process are basic elements which can enhance
learners' ability to work as a team and reach shared understanding in
knowledge building activities or whose absence can, on the other hand,
hamper teamwork and the construction of knowledge (Substudies I-IV). The
grounding process enabled the learners to face up, as they went about
building and maintaining common ground, to a dual-problem space
consisting of a content space and a relational space. Learners must focus on
the content space in order to understand what their fellow learners are saying
and, at the same time, give thought to what they should themselves say to the
other learners and how they should say it so as to ensure that their learning
partners grasp what they are themselves saying. On the other hand, they must
understand the relational space of group work, representing what their fellow
learners are willing and able do and what they all can do as a group together
and how their work will go forward efficiently. Besides this, individuals must
attend to whether their fellow learners are willing and able to make contact,
recognise the ideas and suggestions that are important, and willing to listen,
react and respond. Further, participants must also know how to be present in
the online learning environment and how to signal their presence in a suitable
way. The research results indicate that both individual learners and learner
teams must put more effort into building and maintaining common ground.
Research
LIVE - Learning in Virtual School Environments
Project:
Researcher: Seppo Tella (seppo.tella@helsinki.fi)
Research University of Helsinki
Unit: PL 9
00014
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research
01.09.1996 - 12.01.2000
date:
Level of
Comprehensive schools
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
open learning environment
Keyword(s): distance education
teacher education
LIVE was a three-year colaboprative action research project. The key
objectives were to investigate and develop: a) educational networking
models in virtual school environments for teacher education nad b) working
methods and practices for cooperative learning in open learning
Abstract:
environments supported by modern information and commuication
technologies. The principles and results of the project are reported in Media
Education Publications 6 & 8. Cf. http://www.helsinki.fi/~tella/mepo6.html
http://www.helsinki.fi/~tella/mepo8.html.
Publications:
Research
Mukava-project: integrated school day
Project:
Researcher: Lea Pulkkinen
University of Jyväskylä
Agora
Research
40014
Unit:
JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 14 260 1211
Research
01.09.2002 - 13.01.2003
date:
Level of Preprimary education
Education: Comprehensive schools
Field of Psychology, educational psychology
Science: Educational science
interpersonal relations
social success
affective development
Keyword(s):
school-community relationship
parent-school relation
information society
Abstract: This technology assessment focuses, on the one hand, on considering how to
gain greater benefit and pleasure from the information and communication
technologies (ICT), and how to eliminate a number of specific risks, on the
other. The emphasis is placed on the children's and young people's initial
social capital that has an essential role to play with respect to people's
subsequent welfare and the future of our society. It is also important that
Finland, as a pioneer of ICT development, could gain credence as a
vanguardist of socially and ethically sustainable technological development
in accordance with people's needs. What this presupposes is increased
resource provision for research, content production, consumer education, as
well as ICT and media education.
Day care and school have vital roles to play as providers of ICT education
and support to the individuals' initial social capital. Day care, school, and the
family may also function as co-educators promoting the socialisation process
in an information society. With regard to the promotion of initial social
capital, it is vital to diminish the digital divide and increase social equality in
other respects. Here we shall focus on the means and methods of supporting
children and their parents through school and other societal functions, in
order to alleviate the current regional, economic, and socio-economic
differences in the availability and accessibility of ICT.
ICT has changed families' daily lives and children's educational environment
to an essential degree. Considerably more time is spent on ICT-related
activities while families spend less time together. The possibility of parental
control over children's media use is decreasing, with the family members
being increasingly exposed to other impulses and external influence. This
means that the accumulation of initial social capital has been partly overtaken
by other socialisers, increasingly by the media and young people's peer
groups.
Most methods that expand the social dimension in the use of ICT also
increase the initial social capital and decrease the risks. In particular, social
interaction is required to achieve morals, overall trust and confidence. The
installation of equipment in joint facilities, provided with software allowing
teamwork and games, are practical means of expanding the social dimension.
It would be extremely important to restore to parents their supervising role,
even regarding the use of ICT and the media.
Being encouraged in the informative use of ICT will increase the individual's
social capital, to an even greater extent than its social uses. Interaction, online
availability, and the strength of multimedia experiences help make ICT
applications extremely attractive. This means that they offer almost unlimited
opportunities to learning at school, leisure-time information retrieval, other
practical uses, and networking. ICT can be used effectively to promote
communal and discovery learning, creative problem solving, and learning
motivation. Challenges will be seen in individual media skills and knowledge
interpretation skills, which enable a young person to distinguish the required
material in the information deluge and to critically assess whether the net-
based information in question is reliable.
Most ICT development risks pertain to the areas of social and emotional
development. Net-based communication will not provide the social skills that
are required by real-life human contacts and relations. Since ICT is attractive
and interactive (rewarding social contacts), it is applied by certain media,
which can lead to addiction situations that are entirely different from those
caused by conventional media. The black and white nature of values and
norms, strong emotional experiences, and attractiveness, make ICT
applications especially challenging with respect to emotional life. Numbed
emotions, withering compassion, and increasing aggressiveness are particular
risks prevailing among large-scale consumers of ICT-based entertainment.
What is required to exploit the opportunities of ICT, and to avoid the risks, is
to provide parents and consumers with more effective education. The Internet
can be used to produce versatile parental support forms, based on support
provided by peers or experts. Applicable solutions include chat sites and
bulletin boards used for networking by parents, day-care workers and
teachers. One possibility to control children's use of the media, computer
games, and the Internet, can be provided by various classification systems,
which are becoming a standard requirement for several conventional image
processing programs. A functional classification system would also inform
the parents with regard to the quality of the services and programs in
question.
The best means and methods to ensure children's well being in a developing
ICT environment are those obtained through education and media-related
instruction. These will generate the media skills that not only increase the
pleasure and satisfaction obtained from the media but also "vaccinate" people
against the ICT-induced emotional, social and behavioural risks. This
education is geared towards teaching the child to use the media actively
(implemental skill) and selectively, and to critically assess the experiences
gained (media reading skills), even when an adult is not present. From the
ICT and media perspective, important arenas include homes, day-care
centres, schools, religious communities, and leisure-time groups.
The first project publications include a collection of articles dealing with quality in
university web-based teaching. The collection (in Finnish) is available online:
http://www.helsinki.fi/ktl/julkaisut/laadukkaastiverkossa.pdf (Nevgi, Löfström &
Evälä 2005). During 2005 the data from web-based courses were collected, analysed
and the results presented as paper presentations in the conferences and as articles in
scientific journals (see publications).
The content of the handbook is based on the research data reported in the article
collection, research in web-based teaching and learning, the authors¿ experiences of
web-based teaching and the Programme for the Development of Teaching and Studies
2007-2007. The objects of the project were fulfilled.
Publications:
Research
Role of the media in the lives of Finnish, British and German children
Project:
Researcher: Raisa Koivusalo-Kuusivaara
University of Helsinki
PL 54
Research
00014
Unit:
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
Research
01.01.2003 - 18.05.2007
date:
Level of
Preprimary education
Education:
Field of
Communication and information sciences
Science:
media
child
Keyword(s):
international comparison
communication
Abstract: Characteristic of today's media environment is intensity and constant
presence. The media also play a significant role in the lives of small children
since they, on average, start regular following of media at the age of three.
The contents, tools and social relations linked to the media do form an
environment for the children by means of which they form their concepts of
culture, society, social relations and build their identities.
The research explains the interpretation of audiovisual media and the role of
the media in the lives of Finnish, British and German children between four
to six years of age. The aim of the research is to deepen the scientific
knowledge on what kind of significance socially and culturally the media
have in the lives of small children and how they interpret the media contents.
In the study, the relationship between children and the media has been
observed as a tool, as a social, symbolic and cultural interpretation
environment. Additionally, the possibilities what the Theory of Symbolic
Interactionism which is rarely used in communication research can offer in
the observance of children's media relationship.
The media enable the development of a child's various skills and can thus
create social, symbolic and cultural resources which have a significance in a
child's development. The relation between a child and media is a two-way
interrelationship and in the interpretation of media information, the earlier
intellectual and social experiences are included. In his or her active media
relationship, a child develops his or her vocabulary, perceptions, thinking and
emotional life. Using the media as a social event, the social readiness of a
child is, for its part, developed. Thus, for example, the rules and regulations
concerning media uses guide how the family functions and define the
position of a child within the family. The contents of the media and different
supplementary products form, for their part, a child's cultural codes and
categorizations.
Research
Sence of communality in virtual environments
Project:
Researcher: Ulla Heinonen
University of Turku
Research PL 124
Unit: 28101
PORI
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
Level of
Adult education, other than certificate-oriented
Education:
Field of Educational science
Science: Cultural studies
online communities
technological change
Keyword(s):
communality
virtual teams
Abstract: This research project is part of the large research program 'Life as learning'
(LEARN), which is coordinated by the Finnish Academy. It belongs to the
project ' Models and methods for future knowledge construction:
Interdisciplinary implementations with mobile technologies (MOMENTS
project).
The research will be carried out through jointly conducted work packages, in
which each partner has responsibility areas of their own. The research
methods consist of both quantitative and qualitative data gathering
techniques, including questionnaires, interviews, content analysis as well as
theoretical and computer-assisted modeling. The case studies geared towards
mobile technologies (especially PCAs) and mobile communication will be
conducted in different learning institutions and work places. The ultimate
objective is a new integrated learning model that can be utilized in designing
the future curricula and implementing formal and informal training, both in
schools and in work places.
Abstract:
The chosen methodological approach to quality follows the general
principles of material-based grounded theory. The evaluation of quality has
been implemented with the indicators that the research participants,
especially students, themselves regarded important. Quality concepts have
been specified through student focus group interviews and
analysis of online discussion materials. The research results are based on
workbased leaming quality evaluation data gathered from students and
workplace instructors through 360-degree assessment and WWW-based
questionnaire, as well as evalution reports of the various evaluation methods
written by the actors. The focus of the quality work is on self-assessment and
using networks to develop the quality ofwork-based leaming.
The concept of work-based leaming quality in the field of social and health
care emphasises communalism and interactionin compliance with the nature
of the work on the field and the predominant leaming theory. Quality
concepts vary between the various actors in the network.The students
connected quality strongly to the process of leaming a professional skill and
possibility to leam in a workplace.The teachers emphasised structures and
creating the settings for leaming. On the other hand, workplace instructors
emphasised results and vocational proficiency shown by the
students.
AlI the methods tested in the research have their limitations and strengths
that must be understood when choosing one of them. Commitment to one
method limits the usability of the results. Jn the evaluation of the suitabilityof
a method it is essential to consider the purpose of use; what kind of data
gathering is useful for the developmentof quality.
Online discussion makes the work-based learning process visible and gives
teachers the chance to follow the quality of the process in real time.
Situations can be interfered when problems are still acute.The problem with
web discussion regarding quality work is the lack of a systematic
approach.That is why online discussion is a supplementary method in quality
work.
The problem with focus group interview in quality work is its detachment
from the leaming process, pedagogy and development. In spite of the
participatory and empowering nature of the method, it is difficultto evaluate
the extent or frequency of a problem or receive suitable follow-up
information through focus groups. A WWW-based questionnaire makes
available the many advantages generally connected with information
technology. Evaluation is fast, accurate, flexible, economical, independent of
time and place and almost real time. The method is suitable for temporal
follow-up and comparison. Human communication, which is important in
quality development, is lost in evaluation done in information networks.
This cannot be replaced with numeric summaries. The results of the analysis
of the materials gathered with the various methods strengthen the conception
of high-quality work-based leaming environments in the social and health
care educational institutes that participated in the research. Both the students'
and workplace instructors' subjective evaluations of the work-based leaming
quality were positive.
• Hulkari, Kirsti 2006 Työssäoppimisen laadun käsite, itsearviointi ja
kehittäminen sosiaali- ja terveysalan ammatillisessa peruskoulutuksessa Acta
Publications: Universitatis Tamperensis 1163 Tampere: Tampere University Press ISBN
951-44-6683-7
Research DEDICATE - Distance Education Information Courses with Access through
Project: Networks
Researcher: Irma Pasanen-Tuomainen (irma.pasanen@hut.fi)
Helsinki University of Technology / Library
Research PL 7000 (Otaniementie 9)
Unit: 02015
TKK
Research
15.05.1998 - 31.12.1999
date:
Level of
Adult education
Education:
Field of
Communication and information sciences
Science:
library
Keyword(s): distance education
training of trainers
The aim of the DEDICATE project is to develop distance education courses
in information literacy. The distance education courses which train the
trainers initially in libraries will be demonstrated and tested at four library
sites in Technological Universities in Estonia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania
Abstract:
and at the Nicholas Copernikus University in Poland. The support required in
distance education is surveyed from both the learners as well as from the
instructors point of view. Support in the form of document delivery is also
examined.
Publications:
Research
Distant education at school and in teacher education
Project:
Researcher: Eila Jeronen
University of Oulu
PL 2000
Research 90014
Unit: Oulun yliopisto
tel.+358 8 553 3702
fax.+358 8 553 3744
Research
01.01.2004 -
date:
Level of
Upper secondary schools
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
multiform teaching
Keyword(s): network based education
geography
Abstract: During the last decade, there have been large changes in the society and the
school system in Finland. This article briefly describes the curriculum for
upper secondary school geography, to be introduced by the 1st of August
2005. In the new curriculum, communication, media skills and technology
are listed as important teaching methods. The article also offers a specific set
of pedagogical and assessment strategies found to be successful in distance
education in Geography. Distance education offers students an opportunity to
have upper secondary level education also in small rural village schools,
which do not have teachers in all the required subjects.
• Jeronen, E. & Anttila-Muilu, S. 2005 Effective Practices in Distance
Education in Upper Secondary Level Geography in Finland. In K. Donert &
P. Charzynski (Eds.): Changing Horizons in Geography Education.
2.Geography in European higher education. Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Torun, Poland 146-150
Publications: • Jeronen, E. & Anttila-Muilu, S. 2005 Effective Practices in Distance
Education in Upper Secondary Level Geography in Finland. In K. Donert &
P. Charzynski (eds.) Changing Horizons in Geography Education. 2
Geography in European higher education. Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Torun, Poland 146-150
Search word : Etäopetus (distant learning)
Research Indicators of the learning process for the intervention in the virtual
Project: programming courses
Researcher: Sirpa Torvinen (sirpa.torvinen@joensuu.fi)
University of Joensuu
PL 111
Research 80101
Unit: JOENSUU
tel.+358 13 251 7928
fax.+358 13 251 7955
Research
01.01.2001 -
date:
Level of Upper secondary schools
Education: Universities
Field of
Computer sciences and computer technology
Science:
distance study
web-based learning
Keyword(s): programming
dropout
learning difficulty
Abstract: Problems in learning programming among regular Computer Science
students are very common. University of Joensuu, Department of Computer
Science, started in fall 2000 to offer first year's university level studies to the
high school students in surrounding rural area of Joensuu. In fall 2001 we
expanded to the neighboring province, South-Savolax as well. Almost half of
the content in this distant curriculum, called Virtual Approbatur, consist
programming.
Our interest towards problems within learning programming break out when
we noticed that main part of students who drop out, leave off the study
process during the first programming course or right after it during the
second programming course. Any way main part of dropouts is possible to
avoid based on the information by interviews or questionnaires, if the
students could get help immediately when they encounter problems in their
study process. The threshold to dropout in virtual courses are clearly lower
than in contact lessons so the need for intervention in virtual programming
courses is obvious.
In this study we are going to find out the indicators in the virtual
programming courses that will tell both to the supervisors and to the students
when there is need for some extra material or additional guidance in order to
help the study process. We have improved our materials in very quick tempo
based on the analysis of questionnaires, interviews and feedback given by
students.
Aim of this study is not only the improvements to the course materials and
arrangements but more about finding the solutions to the dropout
phenomenon. Our goal is that after this study we know what kind of
indicators will tell us when student is going to be dropped out, and based on
these signals we could develop an adaptive learning environment that could
help students over the troubles in distant learning process. This system will
intervene to the distant study process already before the problems are coming
too hard to overcome for students. In Virtual Approbatur program students
study independently over the Web so the needs for supervising and supports
for learning are even more challenging than in traditional learning. When
there is need for intervention in Web-based courses? How we can intervene
in Web-based courses?
Publications:
Research
Modern learning environments, continuity of higher education
Project:
Researcher: Sirpa Kantola-Pakkanen
University of Oulu / Economics and Business Administration
PL 4600
Research 90014
Unit: Oulun yliopisto
tel.+358 8 553 2905
fax.+358 8 553 2906
Research
15.11.2001 -
date:
Vocational institutions
Level of Universities
Education: Polytechnics (AMK) institutions
Adult education
Field of
Business administration, economic geography
Science:
higher education
distance education
Keyword(s):
learning environment
economics of education
Abstract: Modern Learning Environments -research area is a part of research and
development co-operation program between Naturpolis Kuusamo Education
and Development Service unit (owned by Kuusamo Town) and University of
Oulu. The co-operation program (2001-2003) is financed by EU, Regional
Council of Northern Ostrobothnia and Kuusamo Town.
The head subject of the year 2002 "The Continuity of Higher Education" in
the Modern Learning Environments - research area is approached by the
customer's point of view and the organiser's point of view. Modern Learning
Environment -research area is carried out by Faculty of Economics and
Business Administartion.
1) The Customer Satisfaction and Development Needs of the Distance and
Multiform Education / Mr. Juha Väisänen
2) The Support Services of Distance and Multiform Education / Ms. Maria
Murtoniemi
3) The Costs and Cost Structure of the Distance and Multiform Education /
Mr. Henry Kilpivaara
4) Investments and Cost Allocation in the Area of Distance and Multiform
Education / Ms. Tea Kauhanen
The case organisation of the research is the Education and Development
Service unit and the distance and multiform education realised by the unit.
This research examine the carrying out of higher education by using distance
and multiform education methods in the area without own University or
Polytechnic.
Distance and multiform education was initiated in Kuusamo in 1990 and
since then higher education has been transferred and carried out in the area.
At the moment there are ca. 220-260 higher education students using
distance and multiform education methods. The results of this research will
be utilised in order to strengthen the continuity of higher education in the
area.
The research of distance and multiform education is quite rare and new in
the area of economics and business administration in Finland. The earlier
research has been carried out mainly in USA, England and Australia.
Publications:
Research MustLearnIT: Using ICT for special subject distance learning in multigrade
Project: schools
Researcher: Ilkka Luoto (ilkka.luoto@chydenius.fi)
University of Jyväskylä
Pitkänsillankatu 1-3
Research 67701
Unit: KOKKOLA
tel.+358 6 8294111
fax.+358 6 8294202
Research
01.10.2005 -
date:
Level of
Comprehensive schools
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
multigrade education
distance education
information technology
Keyword(s):
small school
comprehensive education
evaluation
Abstract: The MuStLearnIT project targets primary schools in different European
countries operating under special conditions such as multigrade and remote
schools, where a few teachers (or even a single teacher) are responsible for
teaching a small number of pupils of different ages and grades a variety of
lessons and where often there are no 'subject specific expert' teachers for a
number of lessons, as opposed to larger 'standard' primary schools where
several teachers of various specialisations cater for classes, each of which
consists of pupils of the same age and abilities. The Research Department of
the Chydenius Institute will contribute their experience and interest in
evaluating the interim and final results of the project.
Publications:
Research Paired student work in distance education based on network and video
Project: conferencing connections
Researcher: Kaarina Laine (kaarina.laine@utu.fi)
University of Turku
Assistentinkatu 5
Research
20014
Unit:
TURUN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 2 33351
Research
01.01.1998 - 31.01.1999
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of Educational science
Science: Communication and information sciences
distance education
Keyword(s): didactic use of computer
computer network
The intention based on this small-scale test was to discover if it was possible
to develop interaction between the distance education groups using video
conferencing and network by making use of paired student work and
alternately placing the teacher in both locations.
Research Pilot experiment on the use by novices of networking and videonet meeting
Project: study methods in university teaching
Researcher: Kaarina Laine (kaarina.laine@utu.fi)
University of Turku
Assistentinkatu 5
Research
20014
Unit:
TURUN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 2 33351
Research
01.09.1997 - 30.11.1998
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of Educational science
Science: Communication and information sciences
didactic use of computer
Keyword(s): distance education
university studies
In this experiment our aim was to discover the reactions of a teacher and two
groups of students to multimethod teaching where, in a distance learning
context, they were making use, for the first time, of networking and net-
meeting teaching technology in their studies. The purpose of the teaching
was to support and further the students' skills in information processing,
reflection, discussion and networking.
The subjects in the research were two groups of education students. One
group was working in the Department of Education in Turku (n=3); the other
was in the Department of Teacher Education in Rauma (n=7). Of the ten
participants six were women anf five were men. The teacher was in Turku.
There was a tutor in Rauma who dirested networking studies in particular. In
both places lessons took place in multimedia classrooms where distance
learninig assistants looked after the video connections. The students were
presented, via the net, with both open and structured questions on their
Abstract: opinions as to how the teaching had succeeded. The teacher wrote feedback
papers evaluating the success based on her observations and on the video
tapes recorded. The answers to the open questions were interpretated
qualitatively by the content analysis to form answer categories. All the
answers and answer categories were examined through frequential
distribution.
In spite of the fact that this was a pilot experiment, it can be seen to indicate
that even teachers and students who are unused to technology in their
teaching and studying can benefit positively from it, when it is used
appropriately. It would seem that a technological learning environment can
be planned in such a way that it offers students facilities for self-directed
study, while at the same time developing the skills necessary for deep
learning, and for communication and computer skills. In this experiment the
biggest problem was achieving natural interaction between the distance
groups.
Publications:
Research
Upper secondary distance learning project
Project:
Researcher: Petra Wager
University of Helsinki / Department of Teacher Education
PL 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 20)
Research 00014
Unit: HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 19129611
Research
01.01.1998 - 31.12.1999
date:
Level of
Upper secondary schools
Education:
Field of
Science:
distance education
Keyword(s):
upper secondary
Abstract:
Publications: • Ollikainen Raila 1999 Opiskelun ohjaus etälukiossa Helsingin yliopisto.
Kasvatustieteen laitos
• Nurminen Outi 1999 Itseohjautuva toiminta avoimessa opiskeluympäristössä.
Tapaustutkimus etälukiosta Helsingin yliopisto. Kasvatustieteen laitos
• Aalto Markus 1999 Aikuisen etälukiolaisen opiskelu rankkaa, mutta
motivoivaa työtä julkaisussa Kokemuksia, tuntemuksia & ajatuksia
etäopiskelusta Etäuutiset 1/1999
• Kynäslahti H., Wager P. 1999 New Roles of the Teacher. ComNEd'99
-seminar 13.-18.6.1999, Aulanko, Hämeenlinna
• Kynäslahti H., Wager P. 1999 Changing Roles of the Teacher in Inter-
institutional Networks of Schools. Husita-seminar 29.8.-1-9-1999, Budapest,
Hungary
• Wager P., Aalto M. 1998 Impact. Opetus- ja opiskeluprosessit avoimissa
etäopiskeluympäristöissä. Opetushallituksen etäopetusprojektin tutkimuksen
väliraportti 13.10.1998
• Wager P., Kynäslahti H. 1999 Roles of the Teacher in an Open and Distance
Teaching Environment. The 19th ICDE Conference on Open Learning and
Distance Education: The New Educational Frontier: Teaching and Learning
in a Networked World 20.-24.6.1999, Vienna, Austria
• Wager P., Vahtivuori S., Passi A. 1999 "Opettaja, opettaja, teletiimi Tellus
kutsuu..." Yhteisölliseen Opiskeluun Tähtäävän Virtuaalikoulumaisen
Opiskeluympäristön Edellytyksiä Kasvatus 30 (3)
• Wager Petra, Aalto Markus 2000 Etälukiolla eteenpäin. Opetuksen ja
opiskelun uudet etätuulet. IMPACT-tutkimuksen
loppuraportti. ESR/Kehittyvä koulutus 1/2000 Helsinki Opetushallitus ISBN
952-13-0830-3 ISSN 1238-1462
Avoin oppimisympäristö 1
The study showed that the web-based learning environment with its ways of
organization was more supportive of meaningful learning than was the
traditional learning environment at university. As concluded from the
learning experiences of adult students, one of the most important features in
the web-based learning environment was the collaborative context,
constructed jointly by students, which opened up a dialogical space in the
learning environment where learners felt they were connected to a wider
knowledge transfer context in addition to the substance of learning. The
learning environment cannot thus be described exhaustively as one of the
contexts underlying learning, but is composed in the interaction between
different contexts of knowledge construction.
Publications:
Research
Advantages and disadvantages of web-based learning
Project:
Researcher: Kirsi Tirri (kirsi.tirri@helsinki.fi)
Research University of Helsinki
Unit: PL 9
00014
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 191 20555
fax.+358 9 191 20561
Research
01.08.1999 -
date:
Level of
Adult education
Education:
Field of Educational science
Science: Computer sciences and computer technology
didactic use of computer
learning environment
Keyword(s):
computer network
learning
The purpose of the study is to investigate the advantages and disadvantages
of web-based learning. The view of teachers and students are compared to
find out the possible differenees in their perspectives in web-based leaming,
Abstract: studying and teaching. The data is gathered by questionnaires and interviews
from those students and teachers who have studied and taught in the Open
Virtual University of Helsinki (HEVI) and Apaja internet-services during the
years 1995-1999.
• Tirri, Kirsi 2000 Tendances actuelles de l'édition pédagogique en
Finlande L'edition pedagogique en Europe Nice Idées Nouvelles
Éditions 104-113 ISBN 2-9-13022-02-2
• Tirri, K. & Tella, S. 2001 Creating a virtual based learning environment for
the Finnish school International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education
and Life-Long Learning 11 4/5/6 343-355
• Tirri, K. & Nevgi, A. 2001 Students' views on learning in virtual
Publications: university Resources in Education, ED 448121
• Tirri, K. & Nevgi, A. 2001 In search of a good virtual teacher Resources in
Education, ED 448122
• Nokelainen, P., Silander, T., Tirri, H., Nevgi, A. & Tirri, K. 2001 Modeling
Students' Views on the Advantages of Web-Based Learning with Bayesian
Networks Proceedings of The 10th International PEG2001
Conference,Tampere, June 2001 202-211
Research
Calibrating eLearning in Schools (CALIBRATE)
Project:
Researcher: Teemu Leinonen (teemu.leinonen (at) uiah.fi)
Research
University of Art and Design
Unit:
Research
03.10.2005 -
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Communication and information sciences
Science:
school
Keyword(s): learning environment
digital application
The CALIBRATE (Calibrating eLearning in Schools) project (October 2005
- March 2008) brings together eight Ministries of Education, (including six
Abstract: MoEs from new member states), to carry out a multi-level project designed
to support the collaborative use and exchange of learning resources in
schools.
Research
Collaborative distance learning in post secondary adult education
Project:
Researcher: Marko Susimetsä
University of Tampere
PL 229
Research 13101
Unit: HÄMEENLINNA
tel.+358 3 355 111
fax.+358 3 3551 3611
Research
01.01.2001 - 17.08.2006
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Adult education
Science:
adult education
collaborative learning
Keyword(s): web-based learning
distance study
learning environment
The aim of the study is to study the factors explaining the efficiency of
collaborative learning in a virtual learning environment and to build a model
of this learning from the learners' point of view.
The material for the research is gathered from students taking part in the
basic studies of education at the University of Tampere's Research Centre for
Vocational Education. A group of adult students who work in the field of
adult education take part in this study program during 2003. The studies are
arranged according to the principles of collaborative learning and most of the
Abstract: study assignments are carried out in a virtual learning environment.
Research Critical points that effect the process of creating a team learning environment
Project: into a polytechnic school
Researcher: Leena Varis
Research
Jyväskylä Polytechnic / Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences
Unit:
Research
01.01.2004 - 20.11.2007
date:
Level of
Polytechnics (AMK) institutions
Education:
Field of
Business administration, economic geography
Science:
polytechnic education
Keyword(s): team
learning environment
The aim of this paper is to find out the critical points that are confronted
when creating a team learning process according to Team Academy¿s
methods into a polytechnic school. Timeline is the first year of the team
learning pilot. The subject has been observed in this paper from the point of
view of the coordinator of a pilot. This person is also the coach for the first
team and he/ she is leading the new process.
Team Academy¿s learning methods have been developed since the year
1993, when the first Team Academy was founded in Jyväskylä. After this the
learning methods have been expended in several polytechnic schools. The
people that have been interviewed for the paper are from these schools. They
are the head coach of Team Academy in Jämsänkoski, the founder of
Proakatemia in Tampere, the coordinator of Oiva-Akatemia in Kymeenlaakso
Abstract:
polytechnic and the founder of Bisens-Akatemia in Lahti.
The interviews were done with main themes, not with strict question papers.
Through interviews there were defined four critical points during the first
year of team learning process: the collaboration between the coordinator and
the school board, the coach¿s skills and motivation, well planned
communications and using the learning methods based in the tools that are
used in Team Academy. Research results of this paper can be used in
programmes of creating team learning processes into polytechnic school.
With the help of these results the coordinator can be reminded of the critical
points and take them into consideration. The theoretical references of the
paper are books about change management, team learning and
communications.
• Varis, Leena & Veripää, Sari 2007 Kriittiset tekijät tiimioppimisympäristön
Publications: perustamisessa ammattikorkeakouluun Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu
Research Developing tutoring in the teaching of Open University. The action research
Project: study
Researcher: Päivikki Jääskelä (paivikki.jaaskela@avoin.jyu.fi)
University of Jyväskylä
Pitkänsillankatu 1-3
Research 67701
Unit: KOKKOLA
tel.+358 6 8294111
fax.+358 6 8294202
Research
01.01.2000 - 16.04.2005
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
university studies
open university
Keyword(s):
guidance
tutor
Abstract: This study focuses on the nature and the role of tutoring with the aim of
developing tutoring through two action research-based interventions among
the multiform (classroom teaching, distance education and self-study)
teaching methods used in Open University in Jyväskylä.
The first intervention was to develop basic studies and tutoring in Education
in the Chydenius Institute Open University. In the project a five credit study
unit, which was offered as an alternative to more traditional study tasks, was
planned and put into practice. This alternative study method was
characterised by exploratory and problem-based learning, by the construction
of knowledge in the tutoring group, and by the students reflecting on their
activities and thinking as well as by a clearer role for tutors as supervisors
and evaluators. The theoretical framework of the project was formed from
considerations regarding the nature of educational knowledge and thinking as
well as a focus on the constructivist-pragmatist approach to learning and
student guidance.
Following the action research approach, the research task was modified
during the research process: The first task was the development of tutoring
and the description and evaluation of this process. As the research progressed
the task changed into one of investigating the nature and the role of tutoring
in the Open University and the development of curriculum for a new tutor
training.
The methodological approaches used in the study were interpretivity,
qualitative evaluation of the developed activity and the formation of
constructivist knowledge. The data consisted of documents written by
students, a study diary kept by the researcher, discussions at meetings of
tutors, evaluation discussions after working in tutoring groups, and
documents describing the development project, such as working papers and
meeting memos.
The nature and role of tutoring are defined by the Open University¿s own
working culture and by the academic nature of university studies as well as
by the various starting points and prerequisites for study of the students.
Working in these contexts places the tutors in the middle of conflicting
expectations. The results show that the implementation of multiform teaching
needs to be evaluated more critically than hitherto. The position of tutors in
the Open University and as a part of the university¿s dialogic learning
community should be strengthened by developing means of cooperation and
tutor training.
• Jääskelä, Päiviki 2005 Tuutorointi avoimen yliopiston opetuksessa.
Tuutoroinnin kehittämistä koskeva toimintatutkimus Chydenius-instituutin
Publications:
tutkimuksia nro 1/2005 Kokkola ISBN 951-39-2102-6. ISSN 0789-0710
The aim of the research was to find out how employees experience usability
and suitability with elearning in Loisto in Savings Bank Optia. Another aim
of this research was to find out what employees find important in using e-
learning. A further aim was to search for suggestions to develop the usage of
e-learning.The research methods were quantitative survey examination and
qualitative theme interview. The survey examination was carried out with a
Abstract: control inquiry. The data was collected with a structured questionnaire which
was delivered to 39 people. 20 employees responded to the questionnaire.
The response rate reached 51,3 percent. Six employees were interviewed for
this research.
The target group in this study were mature students (N=319) who took part in
the experimental Provincial University in the Kemi-Tornio area. Under the
working name of Masters from the Province, the implementation of the
experimental Provincial University as part of a national pilot project comes
under the provincial University of Lapland. This is one example of the
operational model at the Provincial University.
The study was set in the fields of adult education, family and education¬al
sociology and university policy. The study took a fundamental
ethnomethodological approach. Founded by Garfinkel in the 1950s,
ethnomethodology describes the everyday lives of ordinary people and the
methods and flows of thought by which ordinary members of society make
sense of their living conditions, function within them and influence them. In
other words, it describes the way in which people handle their daily work,
their studies and day-to-day life at home. In different contexts, the subject
may perform in different positions. Ethnomethodological research also
emphasizes that the researcher¿s role need not be eliminated; rather, personal
opinions about matters reveal familiar and unfamiliar areas of social reality.
The empiric material for the study comprised experiences from the subjects¿
day-to-day lives and the significance they gave to their actions. Discourse
analysis was used as the method of approach for this material. Constructions
of events form the core of discourse analysis. Speech is seen as broader
linguistic practices that bring about social reality. Social texts, which are the
focus of discourse analysis, include both spoken and written material.
The results drew attention to the need for decentralized university education.
Guidance systems showed a dear need for development and the students¿
experiences underlined the necessity for coordinating the courses arranged in
the area. From the perspective of the research area, the network-like
Provincial University is unclear and shaky. The results indicated inadequate
cooperation at the practical level between educational organizations as well
as with economic life. Several regional strategies and plans have been drawn
up in recent years, the concrete implementation of which is still at the early
stage.
• Vaara, Marja-Liisa 2005 Avoimista opinnoista osaamiseksi
Maakuntakorkeakoulukokeilun arkea opiskelijoiden kokemana Kemi-Tornion
Publications: seutukunnassa Acta Universitatis Lapponiensis 90 Rovaniemi Lapin
yliopisto 166 s. ISBN 951-634-993-5 ISSN 0788-7604
The subjects (N = 300) of the study are higher education students. The
empirical part of this research project consists of two phases. In the first
phase, we design and explore instructional support based on flexible
collaboration scripts. In the second phase, we study the effects of these
scripts in terms of both learning processes and outcomes. The intervention
conditions will vary between different groups. The aim is to design scripts
that allow teachers and students to modify the script (e.g. modifications on
task or available resources). Scripts are designed for supporting collaboration
among learners who are at some points working at distance and at some
points face-to-face, and whose interaction is (at least partially) mediated by a
computer (Dillenbourg & Jermann, 2006).
The subjects were students attending three primary schools (N=198). The
study consists of two parts. Part One studies the influence of LEGO/Logo
learning on students' performance in tests that was built on Piagetian
schemata, i.e., conserving of displaced volume, propositional reasoning,
probabilistic reasoning, and mastering of permutation. The test arranged was
a classroom test (Enkenberg 1989). Two research groups underwent different
instructional procedures. The LEGO/Logo group (n = 103) participated in a
20-hour teaching phase, whereas the ordinary group (n = 95) participated in
conventional teaching without the use of computers. Pre- to post test changes
in testscores were compared for the LEGO/Logo group and the ordinary
group. In this way it was possible to assess the influence of LEGO/Logo on
the students' general, context-independent problem-solving skills.
The study also reports on the analyses of the Logo programs developed by
the students during the experimental phase and their relationship to the
students' problem solving. The development of Piagetian thinking was
independent of the instructional model, gender and school achievement.
However, the results of the study indicated that learning model, gender, and
thinking level, as well as interaction between the learning model and prior
experience, accounted for group differences in LEGO/Logo problem solving
among students. Overall the results were interpreted as supporting the
validity of the discovery learning model, when students are solving problems
in a progressive learning environment. The student's role as an active learner
during progressive problem solving should be respected by the teacher but, at
the same time, the teacher should provide appropriate support in those
situations where students encounter insuperable problems during problem
solving.
Publications: • Suomala, Jyrki 1996 Eight-year-old pupils' problem solving process within a
LOGO learning environment Scandinavian Journal of Educational
Research 40 4 209-309
• Suomala, Jyrki 1997 Kognitiiviset ristiriidat ongelmanratkaisun aikana
LEGO/Logo oppimisympäristössä. Teoksessa Teknologiakasvatuksen
tulevaisuuden näköaloja. J. Kajanoja, J. Kari & M. Parikka (toim.) Jyväskylän
yliopiston opettajankoulutuslaitos. Opetuksen perusteita ja käytänteitä 30 53-
59
• Suomala, Jyrki 1995 Spontaani oppiminen LEGO/Logo
-oppimisympäristöissä. Teoksessa Rajanylityksiä: monipuolistuva
kasvatustutkimus tieteiden kentässä. J. Jussila & R. Rajala (toim.) XVI
Kasvatustieteen päivät Rovaniemellä 24. - 26.11.1994. Lapin yliopiston
kasvatustieteellisiä Julkaisuja C. Katsauksia ja puheenvuoroja 10 409-423
• Suomala, Jyrki 1996 Effect of Teaching Method on Children's conflicts in a
LEGO/Logo Learning Environment. Proceedings. Fifth European Logo
Conference, Birmingham, England, 21-23 July 1995. Aston university,
Birmingham 45-49
• Suomala, Jyrki 1993 Natural learning in a Lego-Logo learning environment.
In Proceedings the fourth European logo conference University of Athens,
Department of Informatics 28-31 August 1993. Athens, Greece: Douras
School 69-74
• Suomala, Jyrki 1999 Students' problem solving in the LEGO/Logo learning
environment Jyväskylä studies in education, psychology and social research
152 ISBN 951-39-0384-2 ISSN 0075-4625
The research problems are: How do people feel about learning in the various
workplaces, in work environments which are organised in different ways?
What kind of learning environment is the workplace? How does learning at
work appear as a part of the wider sphere of the individual's life? What is the
nature of the views people hold of their workplaces and developing there?
What are the workers' point of departure with regard to learning? How does
learning ocuur in group work, and of what kind? What kind of a learning
environment is a project group engaged on creative work?
The research findings reveal how workers from different points of departure
accomplish their work and learn at work. The nature of the work and the way
in which it is organised have a significant effect on the opportunities arising
for learning at work. The Tayloristic way of organising work continues to
dominate many workplaces; this was seen in the metal company and the
department store. The metal company was low in stimuli as a learning
environment, likewise to some extent the department store. However, the
employer did endeavour, among other things through varying tasks, to
expand the scope for learning and the preconditions for feeling good at work.
In the department store the workers did not themselves perceive opportunities
for learning, although there would indeed appear to be some. The new media
enterprise on the other hand represents a work organisation with a flat
hierarchy based on project work and responsibility for the individual. There
were ample opportunities for learning. Regarding this workplace the essential
question, however, concerns the nature of learning. In the hectic pace of work
there were no opportunities for gaining a command ofthe entity. In the
hospice the work appeared to be compelling in its pace and relatively simple
basic nursing. However, such work demands a profound understanding of the
care of the patient. Each of the workplaces differed from the others
withcregard to the nature of the work and the way in which it was organised.
The ways of learning also differed significantly. For learning the point of
departure is generally experience, but in some workplaces learning was based
on trial and error, on others on independent information acquisition,
combining theory and experience and solving problems together.
The activities of the theatre group provided an opportunity to see what the
prerequisities for creative group work are, and on the other hand what
barriers occur in project-type group work. What emerged especially through
the theatre work was the significance of physical space and the possibilities
as a means of promoting learning and the creation of something new. Work in
the theatre requires continuous learning and creating something new, which
occurs through various experiments and cooperation in the group. With
regard to the requirements of the social theory of learning and the creation of
something new the thetre group was virtually "exemplary". At atmosphere
was deliberately engendered that was conducive to learning and the creation
of something new. Through ethnographic research, however, questions
emerged in the activity of the group the solution of which in working life will
be a great future challenge of the mode of working based on a project-type
organisation is applied more widely. Such challenges are pressures on
activities of an economic nature and also pertaining to the rest of the
members' lives. The very prominent role played by emotions in the theatre
workers' descriptions of work was significant. Emotions are part and parcel
of theatrical work;the people concerned are very aware of them and operate
with them consciously. in theactivities of the group the significance of
emotions is important in maintaining the working atmosphere. contructive
resolution of conflicts was one major part of processing emotions in the
group. Another main theme was sustaining a positive atmosphere in the
group. Confidence in the members, respect for yhem as professionals and
artists were essential components in the creation of the working atmosphere.
Research Learning new, experimenting and considering. Individual and social learning
Project: paths in the cooperation of pre-primary and primary education
Researcher: Pirjo Forss-Pennanen (pirjo.forss-pennanen@cou.fi)
Research University of Jyväskylä
Unit: Pitkänsillankatu 1-3
67701
KOKKOLA
tel.+358 6 8294111
fax.+358 6 8294202
Research
01.01.1993 - 08.09.2006
date:
Level of
Preprimary education
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
primary education
learning environment
Keyword(s):
professional growth
cooperation
This study is based on a local development project for pre-primary and
primary education. Its purpose is to describe the development that has taken
place along with the project in the working culture of schools and day-care
centres and in the educators' interaction, as well as how the educators see
their own path of professional growth and how important the development
project has been to their path of professional growth. The theoretical
approach to the study is ecological.
The development project has enabled a social and individual growth process,
which is related to the educators' professional growth. As a method the path
descriptions of professional growth is practicable especially for professionals
who already have work experience, for reflecting experiences related to their
work. At its best, the method creates new perspectives when observing
personal work history and at the same time the method advances the
unlearning of bad practice and is relieving as the individual goes through
experiences related to her/his career, draws and interprets points of change
and key events.
• Forss-Pennanen, Pirjo 2006 Uuden oppimista, kokeilua ja pohtimista.
Publications: Yksilöllisiä ja yhteisöllisiä oppimispolkuja esi- ja alkuopetuksen yhteistyössä
Avoin oppimisympäristö 2
Research
Meaningful and significant learning in Eastern Finland Virtual University
Project:
Researcher: Raimo Silkelä (raimo.silkela@joensuu.fi)
University of Joensuu
PL 86
Research 57101
Unit: SAVONLINNA
tel.+358 15 51170
fax.+358 15 531060
Research
01.01.2002 - 31.12.2003
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
web-based learning
Keyword(s): learning environment
learning
Abstract: The purpose of the study is to investigate
1. how meaningful and significant the students participating in the internet
courses of Eastern Finland Virtual University find their studies, and
2. what kind of were the learning styles during these courses.
The data for the study will be collected from the students of Eastern Finland
Virtual University through questionnaires and half-structured thematic
interviews in March and April 2002. The questionnaire data will be analysed
using the SPSS 10 program and the interview data will be submitted to a
phenomenographical analysis during summer and autumn 2003.
Publications:
Research
Multilingual learning environments and the needs of working life
Project:
Researcher: Aini-Kristiina Jäppinen (jappinen@ktl.jyu.fi)
University of Jyväskylä
PL 35
Research 40014
Unit: JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 14 260 3200
fax.+358 14 260 3201
Research
01.08.2004 -
date:
Vocational institutions
Level of
Universities
Education:
Polytechnics (AMK) institutions
Field of
Educational science
Science:
learning environment
multiculturalism
Keyword(s): multilingualism
lifelong learning
working life
Abstract: The firts part of the study (2003-2004) focused on foreign language,
plurilingual, and multicultural learning environments in higher and
vocational education and in working life. The aim was to study how these
kinds of learning environments met the requirements of the working life of
the future as to the depth of understanding, knowledge creation and enabling,
and life long learning. In higher education, three multicultural Master
Programs in the University of Jyväskylä were included that were realized in
English, not in the mother tongue of the learners. Teaching through English
in the Finnish Kuopio vocational school represented the vocational sector.
The part of the working life was studied in Metso Paper, a big Finnish
international enterprise of paper machines. The planning of the second part
of the study has started. It will concern the devevopment of expertise in
Metso Paper as an international and multilingual working environment in
terms of informal and formal learning.
Publications:
Research
Path of Open University - the road to university
Project:
Researcher: Anna-Liisa Hyvärinen
University of Joensuu
PL 111
Research
80101
Unit:
JOENSUU
tel.+358 13 251111
Research
01.01.2003 - 31.12.2006
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Sociology, educational sociology
Science:
open university
university
Keyword(s):
higher education
recruitment
The road to university takes increasingly varied educational paths. The path
through open university is the most popular choice, and it has an effect in
part on the expansion of university studies to a larger group of students.
The study examines the path of open university and the possibility of
transition from open university to university from the point of view of those
who have made the transition.
Abstract: The study concentrates on examining the choice of university from the path
of open university. The study examines the age, educational base, sex and
social position of those choosing this path. The study takes a look at the
formation of student¿s educational selection of university from open
university and the consequences of this transition.
The study material has been collected with a questionnaire, and the method
used is quantitative. The subject group is formed by students of open
university who have been admitted to universities of East Finland.
• Hyvärinen, Anna-Liisa 2006 Avoimen yliopiston väylä - koulutuspolku
yliopistoon Lisensiaatintutkimus. Joensuun yliopisto. Yhteiskuntatieteiden
Publications:
tiedekunta. Sosiologian laitos
The actual purpose of the study was to describe the RLO pedagogical action
process implemented in special class teaching among young people aged 15-
17 who were threatened by exclusion from education. In addition to this, the
realization and development of real-life-oriented pedagogical action in the
case of young people near exclusion was also studied. From the theoretical
and educational philosophical points of view, the research analysed the
connections of the real-life-oriented pedagogical action process to social
pedagogical thinking and tradition of action and to reform pedagogy.
The study was carried out as a social pedagogical action study in which the
data was gathered using various research methods. The methods included
ethnographic observation and interpretation as well as social pedagogical
participatory action research. Field data consisted of interview data, pupil
transfer documents and other documents, participatory observation, pupils'
essays, meeting memoranda and comparative statistical data on the pupils'
school performance. Triangulation was used in an attempt to observe the
research object in a comprehensive manner.
Research
Research team on ICT in learning and working environments
Project:
Researcher: Päivi Häkkinen (paivi.hakkinen@ktl.jyu.fi)
University of Jyväskylä
PL 35
Research 40014
Unit: JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 14 260 3200
fax.+358 14 260 3201
Research
01.01.1999 - 31.12.2003
date:
Level of Comprehensive schools, upper stage
Education: Universities
Field of Communication and information sciences
Science: Educational science
Keyword(s): learning environment
computer network
didactic use of computer
university
learning through work
enterprise
The task of the research team is to exploit the potential of ICT in developing
and evaluating learning environments with a view to developing teaching and
learning. Attention will be paid particularly to the construction of meaningful
knowledge from the perspective of individuals, groups and the learning
community as a whole. In this context, the team will focus especially on
analyzing cognitive and social processes, as well as contextual features
related to learning in virtual environments. The theoretical background is
anchored into socio-constructivist (Palincsar, 1998) and socio-cultural
theories of learning (Säljö, 2000).
Abstract:
Particular focus is on various theories and recent research on collaborative
learning (Baker, 2002; Crook, 2000; Dillenbourg, 1999; Stahl, 2003),
Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL; Koschmann, 1996),
Computer-Supported Co-operative Work; (CSCW; Dourish, 1998) as well as
on the questions of knowledge management (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995).
The contexts of the research conducted in this group and in collaboration
with the relevant bodies vary from childhood education and school learning
to universities and various work organizations.
• Häkkinen, P. 2002 Challenges for design of computer-based learning
environments British Journal of Educational Technology 33 4 465-474
• Häkkinen, P. 2001 Collaborative learning in technology-supported
environments two cases of project-enhanced science learning International
Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long
Learning 11 4/5/6 375-390
• Häkkinen, P., Arvaja, M. & Mäkitalo, K. 2002 Mechanisms of grounding in
co-constructing knowledge. In K. Littleton, D. Faulkner, R. Joiner, D. Miell,
& P. Häkkinen (Eds.) Learning to collaborate and collaborating to learn
• Häkkinen, P., Järvelä, S. & Byman A. 2001 Sharing and making perspectives
in web-based conferencing. In P. Dillenbourg, A. Eurelings & K. Hakkarainen
(Eds.) Proceedings of European Perspectives on Computer-Supported
Collaborative Learning Maastricht Universiteit Maastricht 285-300
• Häkkinen, P. & Arvaja, M. 1999 Kollaboratiivinen oppiminen
teknologiaympäristöissä (Collaborative learning in technology-supported
Publications:
environments). In A. Eteläpelto & P. Tynjälä (Eds.), Asiantuntijaksi
oppiminen (Learning of expertise)
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 2002 Web-based Cases in Teaching and Learning
the Quality of Discussions and a Stage of Perspective Taking in
Asynchronous Communication Interactive Learning Environments 10 1 1-22
• Järvelä, S., Häkkinen, P., Arvaja, M. & Leinonen, P. 2002 Instructional
support in CSCL. In P. Kirschner, R. Martens & J.-W. Strijbos (Eds.) What
we know about CSCL in higher education
• Arvaja, M., Häkkinen, P., Rasku-Puttonen, H. & Eteläpelto, A. 2002 Social
processes and knowledge building during small group interaction in a school
science project Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 46 2 161-179
• Mäkitalo, K., Häkkinen, P., Järvelä, S. & Leinonen, P. 2002 The mechanisms
of common ground in the web-based interaction The Internet and Higher
Education 5 3 247-265
Research
Sharing and constructing perspectives in virtual interaction (SHAPE)
Project:
Researcher: Piritta Salo (piritta.leinonen@oulu.fi)
University of Oulu
PL 2000
Research 90014
Unit: Oulun yliopisto
tel.+358 8 553 3702
fax.+358 8 553 3744
Research
01.01.2000 -
date:
Level of Universities
Education: Adult education
Field of Educational science
Science: Linguistics
interaction
Keyword(s): didactic use of computer
learning environment
The SHAPE project, funded by the Academy of Finland, is a joint project by
the Universities of Jyväskylä and Oulu. The cross-disciplinary project
investigates the nature and quality of virtual interaction in higher education
and work place contexts, building on the theories of the role of social
Abstract: interaction in learning as well as on the dynamics of discourse. The three-
year project provides theoretically grounded principles and guidelines for
increasing and evaluating the quality of virtual interaction thus facilitating
the design of more purposeful web-based learning models in formal and
informal education.
Publications: • Häkkinen, P., Järvelä, S. & Dillenbourg, P. 2000 REFLEX- Group Reflection
tools for developing virtual distributed expert community Proceedings of
International conference on Learning Sciences, June 2000, Michigan, USA
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 2000 Levels of Web-Based Discussion: Theory of
Perspective Taking as a Tool for Analysing Interaction. In B. Fishman & S.
O'Connor-Divelbiss (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fourth International
Conference of the Learning Sciences Erlbaum Mahwah, NJ 22-26
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 2000 Web-based cases in teaching and learning -
the quality of discussions and a stage of perspective taking in asynchronous
communication Interactive Learning Environments
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 2000 Levels of Web-based communication. In H.
van Oostendorp (Ed.). Cognition in a digital world
• Järvelä, S., Kuure, L., Saarenkunnas, M., Taalas, P. & Salovaara,
H. 1999 Vierekkäin verkossa: pedagogisia malleja verkkotyöskentelyyn.
Teoksessa Horila, M. (toim.) ITK, Täällä tietoyhteiskunnan alla.
Interaktiivinen teknologia koulutuksessa Hämeen kesäyliopiston julkaisuja,
sarja B 49-51
• Kuure, L., Saarenkunnas, M. & Taalas, P. 2001 Negotiating a New Culture of
Doing Learning? A Study of Interaction in a Web Learning Environment with
Special Focus on Teacher Approaches
• Kuure, L., Saarenkunnas, M. & Taalas, P. 2000 Verkkovälitteisen
tapauskeskustelun mahdollisuuksia kielenopetuksessa ja
opettajankoulutuksessa. Teoksessa Kaikkonen, P. & V. Kohonen (eds) Minne
menet kielikasvatus? Näkökulmia kielipedagogiikkaan Jyväskylän yliopisto
• Kuure, L., Saarenkunnas, M., & Taalas, P. 1999 Teacher roles and interaction
in web-based learning environments. A article for the Trails (Training of
Facilitators by Open Learning Systems) -project Available at http://www-
deis.cit.ie/trails
• Saarenkunnas, M., Järvelä, S., Häkkinen, P., Kuure, L., Taalas, P. & Kunelius,
E. 2000 NINTER - Networked interaction: theory-based cases in teaching and
learning Learning Environments Research
• Saarenkunnas, M., Kuure, L. & Taalas, P. 2000 Towards Equal Discourse in
Web-based Interaction Material for the ICT4LT (Interaction and
Communication Technology for the Language Teacher) -project
On the basis of the research it is quite obvious, that the pedagogical setting
of the before mentioned courses sets very specific requirements for the
implementation of the courses. Specific recommendations were also made
for the practitioner as well as suggestions for further research.
• Haverila, Matti 2007 Students¿ perception of highly interactive, reflective
and process oriented eLearning courses Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulun
Publications: julkaisuja. Sarja A. Tutkimuksia 11. Tampere ISBN 978-952-5264-61-6 ISSN
1456-0011
Research Study of the impact of information and communication technology on the role
Project: of learners
Researcher: Seppo Tella (seppo.tella@helsinki.fi)
Research University of Helsinki
Unit: PL 9
00014
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research
01.01.1998 - 30.10.1998
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Science:
information technology
Keyword(s) communication technology
: learning environment
open environment
The focal objective of the study is the identification and analysis of current
experiments, research and studies that have investigated the impact of
imformation and communication technology (ICT) on the role of the learner.
In order to achieve this objective: 1) an analytic framework has been
developed whicj identifies a profile od roles for the learner; 2) a review of the
use of ICT to support and/or create these learner roles for the learner; 3)
weaknessess and omissions in this profile typically found in 'conventional'
Abstract: teaching and learning environments are identified; 4) recommendations are
given as to how the use of ICT can strengthen or create learner roles.
Research
StuNet- Business possibilities and education : Student Enterprise Network
Project:
Researcher: Pekka Arponen (pekka.arponen@helsinki.fi)
University of Helsinki / University of Helsinki/ Ruralia institute
Research Lönnrotinkatu 7
Unit: 50100
MIKKELI
Research
01.11.2006 -
date:
Level of Vocational institutions
Education: Polytechnics (AMK) institutions
Field of
Science:
student
entrepreneurship
Keyword(s): entrepreneurship education
learning environment
co-operative
Abstract: The objective of the project is to improve entrepreneurial attitudes and skills
of students who graduate from schools providing vocational and professional
education in South-Savo, Finland. For this purpose we will establish new
student enterprises at schools and these enterprises are also to be integrated
to the teaching. We will also create a student enterprise network for to get
different kind of synergetic benefits.
Publications:
The practitioners in all focus groups identified that information had a crucial
role in promoting opportunity awareness and decision learning. The Internet
had added value especially in obtaining educational and labour market
information. Practitioners used resources an the Internet similarly to the way
they used previous printed resource materials. The Internet was not widely
used in screening client needs or supporting the implementation of individual
action plans. Screening was based mainly on client interviews.
Rather than developing coherent strategies for the use of ICT, the
practitioners were using technical applications in order to solve fragmented
problems. The results also revealed that the emphasis was on delivering
career information rather than promoting career management skills from a
lifelong guidance perspective. Novice and experienced users of the Internet
had similar perceptions of their role in the use of the Internet in different
guidance activities. The practitioners believed that it takes more work to use
the Internet; on the other hand the Internet could be used in routine tasks.
There is still a need for personal support for clients in their use of the
Internet. Guidance expertise is also needed in the design and evaluation of
technical applications in guidance. There are several implications that from
this research. Internet-based services should be developed in co-operation
between ministries responsible for career service delivery. Educational
institutions should provide more flexible access points for guidance services.
In order to use the Internet in a coherent way, a practitioner must be able to
identify the targets for guidance and the theoretical framework used in
service design.
Research Thinking and content learning in teaching through a foreign language. CLIL
Project: or content and language integrated learning
Researcher: Aini-Kristiina Jäppinen (jappinen@ktl.jyu.fi)
University of Jyväskylä
PL 35
Research 40014
Unit: JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 14 260 3520
fax.+358 14 260 3521
Research
01.08.2001 - 31.12.2003
date:
Level of
Comprehensive schools
Education:
Field of Educational science
Science: Linguistics
learning
teaching in a foreign language
Keyword(s):
cognition
learning environment
Abstract: Teaching through a foreign language, that is Content and Language
Integrated Learning (CLIL), refers to all situations, including immersion and
bilingual education, where a foreign language is a medium of instruction of
different subjects. These approaches are increasing in Europe because of the
rapid social change. They benefit foreign language learning in providing
wider choice of languages learned and opportunities for intercultural
communication.
CLIL learners create analogical reasoning systems for content learning. This
process forms the basis for representational thinking and causes cognitional
development of concepts and meaning schemes. This was concretized in
terms of 18 cognitions as combinations of Piagetian mental operations and
Bruner's critical areas of discovery learning.
The study of mathematics and science uncovered development of cognition
of 669 Finnish mainstream learners of 7-15 years of age in the public
comprehensive school in terms of magnitude, ratio, proportion,
denomination, estimation, and climate. The longitudinal study (2001-2003)
was based on a representative sample from 12 schools in three major cities of
Finland. The experimental group of 335 CLIL learners was taught through
English, French, or Swedish and the control group of 334 learners through
Finnish, the mother tongue of all learners in the control group. The selected
topics of mathematics and science were taught in four periods of 3-5 weeks.
After the teaching periods, the learners' cognitional level was tested.
Research Towards primary school physics teaching and learning: Design research
Project: approach
Researcher: Kalle Juuti
University of Helsinki
PL 9
Research 00014
Unit: HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research
01.09.2002 - 11.02.2005
date:
Level of
Comprehensive schools, lower stage
Education:
Field of Educational science
Science: Physics and chemistry
Keyword(s): physics
teaching
primary school
learning environment
This thesis describes a project to design a primary school physics learning
environment which takes into account teachers' needs, design procedures,
properties of the learnig environment, and pupil learning outcomes.
The project's design team has wide experience in research and development
work in relation to science education, the use of ICT in education, the way
students think about physics, curriculum and teaching method development,
and the design of instructional materials. This knowledge base was the
starting point for design. The project engaged in design research. Design
research is here considered to be a form of educational research, and offers
opportunities to study unique educational phenomena. It produces artefacts to
be applied directly in an educational setting, and thereby engages the
researcher in the direct improvement of educational practice. Design research
can even offer a strategy for the development and refinement of educational
theory.
The first main research result was a design procedure. The procedure
contained four phases: 1) needs assessment; 2) definition of the objectives
for a design solution; 3) design and production of the material; and 4)
Abstract:
evaluation of the material. The phases apply research literature and empirical
research. Phases three and four are iterative and include three stages: limited
use of the prototype, a pilot test and a field test.
The third main result was that qualitative level models delivered by way of
stories offer much potential for learning primary school physics. From the
Finnish perspective, the designed learning environment offers a novel
phenomenon to investigate primary physics teaching and learning in a new
situation where, from the point of view of this research, rather ambitious new
National Framework Curriculum for physics education has been introduced.
• Juuti, Kalle 2005 Towards Primary School Physics Teaching and Learning:
Design Research Approach University of Helsinki. Department of applied
Publications: sciences of education. Research report 256 Helsinki: Yliopistopaino ISBN
952-10-1992-1 ISSN 1795-2158
ch Project: Two information retrieval learning environments. Their design and evaluation
Researcher: Kai Halttunen (kai.halttunen@uta.fi)
University of Tampere
Research 33014
Unit: TAMPEREEN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 3 2156111
Research
01.01.1999 - 12.05.2004
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Communication and information sciences
Science:
learning environment
Keyword(s): information retrieval
information skills
Abstract: In this thesis, the design and evaluation of two information retrieval (IR)
learning environments are presented. The design and evaluation took place in
a basic course of IR (6 ECTS credits) at the Department of Information
Studies at the University of Tampere. The course consisted of lectures, web
exercises and tutored search exercises. Tutored exercises were carried out in
two learning environments, in a traditional and in an experimental one. The
participants in the study (n=57), were undergraduate students of information
studies at the university.
The results indicate that anchoring and scaffolding are promising strategies in
IR instruction. Participants studying in the experimental learning
environment took the view that anchored instruction increased
meaningfulness of learning tasks. The overall effectiveness of queries in the
search exercises was slightly better in the experimental environment and the
students made far fewer semantic knowledge errors than the students in the
traditional learning environment.
Students from both environments made quite the same number of syntactic
knowledge errors. The change in students' conceptual IR know-how was also
larger in the experimental learning environment. The results of the study, in
terms of the benefits of anchoring and scaffolding, are not categorical
because of the range of intervening variables and the difficulty of setting up a
field experiment which tried to be naturalistic but at the same time tried to
focus on a specific aspect - the differences between the IR learning
environments.
Research
Web portfolio 2. Learning environment
Project:
Researcher: Olli Hatakka (olli.hatakka@joensuu.fi)
University of Joensuu / The Resesarch and Development Center
PL 111
Research
80101
Unit:
JOENSUU
tel.+358 13 251111
Research
01.01.2001 -
date:
Level of
Polytechnics (AMK) institutions
Education:
Field of Educational science
Science: Teacher education
web-based learning
Keyword(s):
learning environment
Abstract: The research project aims at producing a working model of using the
environment as basis for virtual polytechnic teaching and learning. To
achieve this the research has several subtopics, which are: The teachers'
learning conceptions and their effects on the use of the web based learning
environment Web portfolio (in planning, designing and utilising the
environment) and how this effects the way teachers work. Secondly we want
to find out the factors that enhance so called dedicated interaction among
students and teachers while using the Web portfolio as learning platform.
Thirdly we want to know how the planned courses can be stored and
recycled easily as models for the other courses. In additon to these three
above mentioned tasks, we want to find the "best practices" concerning the
use of the tools provided in the Web portfolio.
All and all the idea is to combine this collected information to a handbook
like model for polyctechnic and other higher educational institutions that are
virtualising their teaching and learning practices.
(Olli Hatakka ja Teemu Valtonen, 2002)
Publications:
Research
Virtual Environments for the Shared Construction of Teacher Expertise
Project:
Researcher: Päivi Häkkinen (paivi.hakkinen@ktl.jyu.fi)
University of Jyväskylä
PL 35
Research 40014
Unit: JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 14 260 3200
fax.+358 14 260 3201
Research
01.01.2000 - 31.12.2001
date:
Preprimary education
Level of
Comprehensive schools
Education:
Universities
Psychology, educational psychology
Field of Educational science
Science: Pre-school education
Teacher education
teacher education
Keyword(s): learning
learning environment
The focus of the NINTER (Networked Interaction: Theory-Based Cases in
Teaching and Learning) and Pro Child (Constructing Professional Expertise
in Childhood Education by Networked Discussions) projects is an
exploration of the potentials and constraints of shared virtual environments
in supporting learning and interaction in teacher education.
Research Work and learning in a car tyre factory. Organizational learning and factors
Project: influencing it in industrial learning environment
Researcher: Pasi Koski (pasi.koski@uta.fi)
University of Tampere
Työelämän tutkimuskeskus
Research
33014
Unit:
TAMPEREEN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 3 215 6111
Research
01.01.2003 - 21.04.2007
date:
Level of
Adult education, other than certificate-oriented
Education:
Field of
Adult education
Science:
learning environment
Keyword(s): problem based learning
working life
The study was conducted in the context of a three-year development project
implemented in a Finnish car tyre factory. The business-strategy-related aim
of the project was to create out of the factory a ¿customer-oriented process
organization¿. This development work was done by employing three
methodological means: supervisor training, team-specific training concerning
the norms that guide action as well as inter-departmental training in problem-
based learning (PBL) as a special object of empirical analysis. In the research
project, PBL was understood as a development method that would exploit the
basic ideas of problem-based learning. Methodologically, a case study
strategy was chosen for the purposes of the present research.
The findings of the research and development project under study were
promising from the view-point of developing work process knowledge. The
study indicated that along with increasing work process knowledge, the
personnel understands much better each other¿s tasks and the significance of
all phases from the viewpoint of a whole process. Malfunctions and
disruptions are reacted to and repair works are done faster because
communication channels have improved and knowledge of possible causes is
spread wider in the factory floor.
Workers can also be better prepared for these situations in advance; because
of a better understanding than earlier they are able to make conclusions about
sudden changes in the course of a process. At the same time,
misunderstandings and suspicions among the personnel of what causes the
problems decrease. Blaming the ¿department next door¿ that easily occurs in
a negative atmosphere decreases because due to increased work process
knowledge the causes of malfunctions and mistakes are not blamed on fellow
workers or thought of as having been caused deliberately. This may improve
the working atmosphere significantly.
One of the supporting elements of the development method is also the view
that change can be best generated by creating a positive attitude towards
collective development. A workplace is always a whole that consists of
different ¿communities of practice¿, in which the preconditions for
development are defined by the political settings within and among these
communities and by the nature of the work process.
Political processes largely define the extent to which an aim can be reached
in a certain organization by means of development work promoted by an
outsider. To a certain extent, understanding micro-politics in a certain context
always requires understanding the specific nature of the context and the often
relatively hidden struggle between different interests. This in turn requires
the ability to go beyond the functional and unitarist view on organization.
Despite being partly autonomous, organizational politics is not born out of
thin air: it is linked with the work and management practices, rewarding and
development systems as well as with the techno-logical, financial and social
dimension of the workplace.
The study also shows that it is not enough to only sketch present
development needs if knowledge of the most significant changes occurred in
an organization in its recent history is not collected at the same time.
Organizational changes can leave behind political tensions which may foil
the plans for introducing new courses of action.
Publications:
Research
Learning intercultural competency in the workplace
Project:
Researcher: Pirkko Pitkänen (pirkko.pitkanen@joensuu.fi)
University of Joensuu
PL 111
Research
80101
Unit:
JOENSUU
fax.+358 13 251 3564
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
Level of
Adult education, other than certificate-oriented
Education:
Field of Adult education
Science: Cultural studies
immigrant
working life
Keyword(s): in-plant training
intercultural education
learning
Abstract: The aim of this international and multi-disciplinary research project is to
clarify prerequisites for learning successful intercultural collaboration at
work in both the private and public sectors, and to develop a transformative
learning model for fostering intercultural competency in day-to-day
activities. In Finland, the attainment of intercultural competency is becoming
ever more necessary due to an increase in ethnic and cultural diversity in
workplaces. Despite the increase in immigration, relatively little is known
about how to help people with foreign background to cope within the Finnish
labour market.
Research
BIC-Blueprint for interactive classrooms
Project:
Researcher: Tuomo Rintamäki (tuomo.rintamaki@hut.fi)
Helsinki University of Technology / Center for Educational Technologies
PL 8000
Research
02015
Unit:
TKK
tel.+358 9 4511
Research
01.01.1996 - 31.12.1997
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Science:
interaction
Keyword(s)
classroom
:
multimedia
The Blueprint for Interactive Classrooms project aims to make university
education and training more accessible to a wide range of learners through
low cost and flexible, user-friendly distance education technology. The project
activity consists of the design and building of five interactive telepresence
classrooms in five of the partner sites. Each classroom will facilitate the
delivery or reception of courses over a variety of telematics networks and will
incorporate various interactive mechanisms (TV, ISDN videoconferencing,
Abstract: telephone, computer conferencing), each one catering for a different
educational scenario.
The project will produce a handbook which will be a complete guide to any
distance education provider on how to build their own telepresence
infrastructure, modelled on the five different scenarios which include sites for
teaching remote learners, teaching remote and local learners, group
presentation and interaction, a single learner, and a learning centre group.
The aim of the research and development project is to create and describe a
distance learning environment where video conference and audiographics are
used simultaneously in two classrooms, one in Helsinki, the other in
Kilpisjärvi. This kind of distance education we call classroom focused
distance education. The main object of interest is the symbiosis of
conventional and distance education, and its impact on the instructional
processes. An important area of the research is to study how the networking
of the schools makes it possible to share professional knowledge and
resources. Our aim is also to study how the this way of organizing school
instruction affects educational aquality. Methodologically, we try develop
research tools suitable for etnographic study of the problem area.
Observation, videotapes of lessons, methods of interaction analysis,
interwievs, field notes, documents; meetings of teachers and researchers.
The main result is that the Kilpisjärvi project has succeeded in creating
satisfactory ways of carrying out, and also theoretically analysing, classroom
focused distance education. The Kilpisjärvi pupils have been able to studdy
in teir local school, and achieve learning results equal to the results of the
pupils in the Helsinki School. The common factor uniting the participant is
that they all have learning as their aim. Otherwise this kind of instructional
approach does not compensate enough for the segregation of the two groups
of pupils. The interaction with the teacher is intensive for both groups, but
the interaction between the groups is scanty. As a result the role of the teacher
is emphasized, he/she brings together the different classrooms for common
activities.
The present results show that the shared teaching resources in classroom
focused distance education make possible flexible instructional and
organizational arrangements, such as differentiation of groups of pupils. The
sharing of expert knowledge of subject teachers contributes to educational
equality, and opens new perspectives for the development of rural schools.
Distance education has proved to be great importance to the village
community: the children need not leave their homes at an early age to go to
school, and adult people have got a new channel of adult education.
Publications: • Rönkä A. 1995 Kilpisjärvi-projekti - luokkamuotoista etäopetusta
kehittämässä. Teoksessa ITK-95. Interaktiivinen teknologia
koulutuksessa Konferenssi Hämeenlinnassa Aulangolla 21.-22.4.95 113-119
• Rönkä A. 1995 Luokkamuotoista etäopetusta kehittämässä: Kilpisjärvi-
projektin ensimmäisen lukukauden kokemuksia. Teoksessa S. Tella (toim.)
Juuret ja arvot. Etnisyys ja eettisyys - aineenopettaminen monikulturaalisessa
oppimisympäristössä Ainedidaktiikan symposiumi Helsingissä 3.2.1995.
Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 150 411-423
• Salminen J. 1995 The evaluation of the ISDN-based Video Conferencing in
Classroom Focused Distance Education Paper presentation in online Educa
Berlin, an International Conference on Distance Education, November 24-
25.1995, Berlin
• Salonen M. 1995 Aspects of Classroom Interaction in Two-Way
Videoconferencing Paper presentation in Open Classroom Conference:
Distance Learning and New Technologies in School Level Education and
Training. Oslo. Norway
• Sariola J. 1995 Vuorovaikutteinen video-opetus ala-asteella Esitelmä
kasvatustieteen päivillä Jyväskylässä 24.11.1995
• Säntti J. 1996 Itseohjautuvuus ja itseohjattu oppiminen luokkamuotoisessa
etäopetuksessa Tutkielma. Heelsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos
• Falck A-K., Husu J., Kronlund T., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo
V. 1995 Luokanopettajaksi opiskelevien etäopetuksesta koulun etäopetukseen.
Teoksessa H. Kynäslahti, A. Lauriala & M. Suortamo (toim.) Kokeileva poko:
Luokanopettajan poikkeuskoulutus opettajankoulutuksen
kehittäjänä Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia
147 209-220
• Husu J., Salminen J., Falck A-K., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo
V. 1994 Luokkamuotoisen etäopetuksen lähtökohtia: Kilpisjärvi-projektin
alkuraportti Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 135
• Husu J. 1995 The Helsinki - Kilpisjärvi Project: A Collaborative Action
Research of Distance Education in Classroom Environment. In D. Seawart
(ed.) One World, Many Voices: Quality in Open and Distance
Learning London: Open University 2 7-8
• Kaskinen A. 1995 Luokkamuotoisen etäopetuksen koulutustaloudellisia
näkökulmia: Tapaustutkimus Helsingin II Normaalikoulun ja Kilpisjärven
yläasteen välisestä etäopetuskokeilusta Opinnäytetyö, Jyväskylän
palvelualojen ammattikorkeakoulu
• Kronlund T. 1995 New Learning Perspectives For Remote Classrooms Using
Videoconferencing Paper presentation in Open Classroom Conference:
Distance Learning and New Technologies in School Level Education and
Training. Oslo, Norway
• Kronlund T., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo V. 1995 Modern Distance Education
Technology and the Problem of Small Rural Schools in Finland Life and
Education in Finland 4 43-49
• Kynäslahti H. & Salminen J. 1995 Integration of Remote Classrooms:
Technical and Local Perspectives. In F. Nouwens (Ed.) Distance Education -
Crossing Frontiers Rockhampton: Central Queensland University 151-154
• Nummi T. 1995 Opettajan rooli ala-asteen luokkamuotoisessa
etäopetuksessa Tutkielma. Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos
• Kynäslahti H. & Stevens K. 1996 Mediating Local and Global knowledge:
The Emergence of the Virtual Classroom in Finland and New Zealand. In B.
Glastonbury (Ed.) Dreams and Realities: Information Technology in the
Human Services Helsinki. National Research and Development Centre for
Welfare and Health 205-214
• Kynäslahti H. 1995 Experiencing virtual classroom as a translocal field A
paper presentation at the 8th Conference of Society for Information
Technology and teacher Education. April 1-5, 1997, Orlando, Florida, USA
• Meisalo Veijo (ed.) 1996 The Integration of the Remote Classrooms: A
distance Education Project using Video Conferencing University of Helsinki.
Department of Teacher Education. Research Report 160
• Salonen, M. & Kynäslahti H. 1996 Pupil Experiences of Classroom Focused
Distance Education Using Two-Way Video Conferencing Paper presentation
in 'The link that brings us together'. the 12 th Canadian Association for
Distance Education Conference. May 22-25, 1996, Moncton, Canada
• Stevens, K., Kynäslahti, H., Salminen J. 1996 Alustavia tuloksia
verkottumisesta Suomessa ja uudessa Seelannissa Kasvatus 27 2 196-205
• Sariola J. 1995 Kuuleeko Vihti? Kokemuksia etäopetusharjoittelusta.
Teoksessa S. Tella (toim.) Juuret ja arvot. Etnisyys ja eettisyys -
aineenopettaminen monikulturaalisessa oppimisympäristössä Ainedidaktiikan
symposiumi Helsingissä 3.2.1995. Helsingin yliopisto.
Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 150 425-434
Research
Learning intercultural competency in the workplace
Project:
Researcher: Pirkko Pitkänen (pirkko.pitkanen@joensuu.fi)
University of Joensuu
PL 111
Research
80101
Unit:
JOENSUU
fax.+358 13 251 3564
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
Level of
Adult education, other than certificate-oriented
Education:
Field of Adult education
Science: Cultural studies
immigrant
working life
Keyword(s): in-plant training
intercultural education
learning
Abstract: The aim of this international and multi-disciplinary research project is to
clarify prerequisites for learning successful intercultural collaboration at
work in both the private and public sectors, and to develop a transformative
learning model for fostering intercultural competency in day-to-day
activities. In Finland, the attainment of intercultural competency is becoming
ever more necessary due to an increase in ethnic and cultural diversity in
workplaces. Despite the increase in immigration, relatively little is known
about how to help people with foreign background to cope within the Finnish
labour market.
Research
BIC-Blueprint for interactive classrooms
Project:
Researcher: Tuomo Rintamäki (tuomo.rintamaki@hut.fi)
Helsinki University of Technology / Center for Educational Technologies
PL 8000
Research
02015
Unit:
TKK
tel.+358 9 4511
Research
01.01.1996 - 31.12.1997
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Science:
interaction
Keyword(s)
classroom
:
multimedia
The Blueprint for Interactive Classrooms project aims to make university
education and training more accessible to a wide range of learners through
low cost and flexible, user-friendly distance education technology. The project
activity consists of the design and building of five interactive telepresence
classrooms in five of the partner sites. Each classroom will facilitate the
delivery or reception of courses over a variety of telematics networks and will
incorporate various interactive mechanisms (TV, ISDN videoconferencing,
Abstract: telephone, computer conferencing), each one catering for a different
educational scenario.
The project will produce a handbook which will be a complete guide to any
distance education provider on how to build their own telepresence
infrastructure, modelled on the five different scenarios which include sites for
teaching remote learners, teaching remote and local learners, group
presentation and interaction, a single learner, and a learning centre group.
The aim of the research and development project is to create and describe a
distance learning environment where video conference and audiographics are
used simultaneously in two classrooms, one in Helsinki, the other in
Kilpisjärvi. This kind of distance education we call classroom focused
distance education. The main object of interest is the symbiosis of
conventional and distance education, and its impact on the instructional
processes. An important area of the research is to study how the networking
of the schools makes it possible to share professional knowledge and
resources. Our aim is also to study how the this way of organizing school
instruction affects educational aquality. Methodologically, we try develop
research tools suitable for etnographic study of the problem area.
Observation, videotapes of lessons, methods of interaction analysis,
interwievs, field notes, documents; meetings of teachers and researchers.
The main result is that the Kilpisjärvi project has succeeded in creating
satisfactory ways of carrying out, and also theoretically analysing, classroom
focused distance education. The Kilpisjärvi pupils have been able to studdy
in teir local school, and achieve learning results equal to the results of the
pupils in the Helsinki School. The common factor uniting the participant is
that they all have learning as their aim. Otherwise this kind of instructional
approach does not compensate enough for the segregation of the two groups
of pupils. The interaction with the teacher is intensive for both groups, but
the interaction between the groups is scanty. As a result the role of the teacher
is emphasized, he/she brings together the different classrooms for common
activities.
The present results show that the shared teaching resources in classroom
focused distance education make possible flexible instructional and
organizational arrangements, such as differentiation of groups of pupils. The
sharing of expert knowledge of subject teachers contributes to educational
equality, and opens new perspectives for the development of rural schools.
Distance education has proved to be great importance to the village
community: the children need not leave their homes at an early age to go to
school, and adult people have got a new channel of adult education.
Publications: • Rönkä A. 1995 Kilpisjärvi-projekti - luokkamuotoista etäopetusta
kehittämässä. Teoksessa ITK-95. Interaktiivinen teknologia
koulutuksessa Konferenssi Hämeenlinnassa Aulangolla 21.-22.4.95 113-119
• Rönkä A. 1995 Luokkamuotoista etäopetusta kehittämässä: Kilpisjärvi-
projektin ensimmäisen lukukauden kokemuksia. Teoksessa S. Tella (toim.)
Juuret ja arvot. Etnisyys ja eettisyys - aineenopettaminen monikulturaalisessa
oppimisympäristössä Ainedidaktiikan symposiumi Helsingissä 3.2.1995.
Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 150 411-423
• Salminen J. 1995 The evaluation of the ISDN-based Video Conferencing in
Classroom Focused Distance Education Paper presentation in online Educa
Berlin, an International Conference on Distance Education, November 24-
25.1995, Berlin
• Salonen M. 1995 Aspects of Classroom Interaction in Two-Way
Videoconferencing Paper presentation in Open Classroom Conference:
Distance Learning and New Technologies in School Level Education and
Training. Oslo. Norway
• Sariola J. 1995 Vuorovaikutteinen video-opetus ala-asteella Esitelmä
kasvatustieteen päivillä Jyväskylässä 24.11.1995
• Säntti J. 1996 Itseohjautuvuus ja itseohjattu oppiminen luokkamuotoisessa
etäopetuksessa Tutkielma. Heelsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos
• Falck A-K., Husu J., Kronlund T., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo
V. 1995 Luokanopettajaksi opiskelevien etäopetuksesta koulun etäopetukseen.
Teoksessa H. Kynäslahti, A. Lauriala & M. Suortamo (toim.) Kokeileva poko:
Luokanopettajan poikkeuskoulutus opettajankoulutuksen
kehittäjänä Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia
147 209-220
• Husu J., Salminen J., Falck A-K., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo
V. 1994 Luokkamuotoisen etäopetuksen lähtökohtia: Kilpisjärvi-projektin
alkuraportti Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 135
• Husu J. 1995 The Helsinki - Kilpisjärvi Project: A Collaborative Action
Research of Distance Education in Classroom Environment. In D. Seawart
(ed.) One World, Many Voices: Quality in Open and Distance
Learning London: Open University 2 7-8
• Kaskinen A. 1995 Luokkamuotoisen etäopetuksen koulutustaloudellisia
näkökulmia: Tapaustutkimus Helsingin II Normaalikoulun ja Kilpisjärven
yläasteen välisestä etäopetuskokeilusta Opinnäytetyö, Jyväskylän
palvelualojen ammattikorkeakoulu
• Kronlund T. 1995 New Learning Perspectives For Remote Classrooms Using
Videoconferencing Paper presentation in Open Classroom Conference:
Distance Learning and New Technologies in School Level Education and
Training. Oslo, Norway
• Kronlund T., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo V. 1995 Modern Distance Education
Technology and the Problem of Small Rural Schools in Finland Life and
Education in Finland 4 43-49
• Kynäslahti H. & Salminen J. 1995 Integration of Remote Classrooms:
Technical and Local Perspectives. In F. Nouwens (Ed.) Distance Education -
Crossing Frontiers Rockhampton: Central Queensland University 151-154
• Nummi T. 1995 Opettajan rooli ala-asteen luokkamuotoisessa
etäopetuksessa Tutkielma. Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos
• Kynäslahti H. & Stevens K. 1996 Mediating Local and Global knowledge:
The Emergence of the Virtual Classroom in Finland and New Zealand. In B.
Glastonbury (Ed.) Dreams and Realities: Information Technology in the
Human Services Helsinki. National Research and Development Centre for
Welfare and Health 205-214
• Kynäslahti H. 1995 Experiencing virtual classroom as a translocal field A
paper presentation at the 8th Conference of Society for Information
Technology and teacher Education. April 1-5, 1997, Orlando, Florida, USA
• Meisalo Veijo (ed.) 1996 The Integration of the Remote Classrooms: A
distance Education Project using Video Conferencing University of Helsinki.
Department of Teacher Education. Research Report 160
• Salonen, M. & Kynäslahti H. 1996 Pupil Experiences of Classroom Focused
Distance Education Using Two-Way Video Conferencing Paper presentation
in 'The link that brings us together'. the 12 th Canadian Association for
Distance Education Conference. May 22-25, 1996, Moncton, Canada
• Stevens, K., Kynäslahti, H., Salminen J. 1996 Alustavia tuloksia
verkottumisesta Suomessa ja uudessa Seelannissa Kasvatus 27 2 196-205
• Sariola J. 1995 Kuuleeko Vihti? Kokemuksia etäopetusharjoittelusta.
Teoksessa S. Tella (toim.) Juuret ja arvot. Etnisyys ja eettisyys -
aineenopettaminen monikulturaalisessa oppimisympäristössä Ainedidaktiikan
symposiumi Helsingissä 3.2.1995. Helsingin yliopisto.
Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 150 425-434
Search word: Videoconferencing
Research
Learning intercultural competency in the workplace
Project:
Researcher: Pirkko Pitkänen (pirkko.pitkanen@joensuu.fi)
University of Joensuu
PL 111
Research
80101
Unit:
JOENSUU
fax.+358 13 251 3564
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
Level of
Adult education, other than certificate-oriented
Education:
Field of Adult education
Science: Cultural studies
immigrant
working life
Keyword(s): in-plant training
intercultural education
learning
Abstract: The aim of this international and multi-disciplinary research project is to
clarify prerequisites for learning successful intercultural collaboration at
work in both the private and public sectors, and to develop a transformative
learning model for fostering intercultural competency in day-to-day
activities. In Finland, the attainment of intercultural competency is becoming
ever more necessary due to an increase in ethnic and cultural diversity in
workplaces. Despite the increase in immigration, relatively little is known
about how to help people with foreign background to cope within the Finnish
labour market.
Research
BIC-Blueprint for interactive classrooms
Project:
Researcher: Tuomo Rintamäki (tuomo.rintamaki@hut.fi)
Helsinki University of Technology / Center for Educational Technologies
PL 8000
Research
02015
Unit:
TKK
tel.+358 9 4511
Research
01.01.1996 - 31.12.1997
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Science:
interaction
Keyword(s)
classroom
:
multimedia
Abstract: The Blueprint for Interactive Classrooms project aims to make university
education and training more accessible to a wide range of learners through
low cost and flexible, user-friendly distance education technology. The project
activity consists of the design and building of five interactive telepresence
classrooms in five of the partner sites. Each classroom will facilitate the
delivery or reception of courses over a variety of telematics networks and will
incorporate various interactive mechanisms (TV, ISDN videoconferencing,
telephone, computer conferencing), each one catering for a different
educational scenario.
The project will produce a handbook which will be a complete guide to any
distance education provider on how to build their own telepresence
infrastructure, modelled on the five different scenarios which include sites for
teaching remote learners, teaching remote and local learners, group
presentation and interaction, a single learner, and a learning centre group.
Research
Teacher education as multi-mode education
Project:
Researcher: Leena Krokfors (leena.krokfors@helsinki.fi)
University of Helsinki
PL 9
Research 00014
Unit: HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
Level of Comprehensive schools
Education: Universities
Field of Educational science
Science: Teacher education
teacher
teacher education
Keyword(s):
virtual university
multiform teaching
The aim of the research project is to investigate how a multimode teacher
education program supports the pedagogical idea of research-based teacher
education. In the program, the students study and work as teachers
simultaneously. This kind of learning at workplace enables the integration of
theory and practice. The multimode program is an application of flexible
learning. Another pedagogical feature is learning in the workplace which is
an increasing trend in higher education. The pedagogical use of information
Abstract:
and communication is treated as a media educational phenomenon including
network-based recorded lectures and the use of videoconferencing in
supervision of students when they practice in their own class. The research
project continues the research and development work that was established in
the 1990s. It is a part of the wider research activities of the Centre for
Research on Teaching, located in the Department of Applied Sciences of
Education.
• Kynäslahti, Heikki, Jyrhämä, Riitta, Maaranen, Katriina, Krokfors, Leena,
Toom, Auli & Kansanen, Pertti 2005 Työn ja koulutuksen suhde [Elektroninen
aineisto ]: opettajana työskentelyn yhteydestä opettajaksi
opiskeluun Aikuiskasvatus 25 2 4
• Krokfors, Leena, Jyrhämä, Riitta, Kynäslahti, Heikki, Toom, Auli, Maaranen,
Katriina & Kansanen, Pertti 2006 Working while teaching, learning while
Publications: working: students teaching in their own class Journal of education for
teaching : Routledge Iso-Britannia 32 1 s. 21-36
• Kynäslahti, Heikki, Kansanen, Pertti, Jyrhämä, Riitta, Krokfors, Leena,
Maaranen, Katriina & Toom, Auli 2006 The multimode programme as a
variation of research-based teacher education Teaching and teacher
education Iso-Britannia 22 2 s. 246-256
Research Interaction of remote classrooms: Distance education project using video
Project: conferencing
Researcher: Heikki Kynäslahti (heikki.kynaslahti@helsinki.fi)
University of Helsinki / Department of Teacher Education
PL 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 20)
Research 00014
Unit: HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 19129611
Research
01.01.1994 - 31.12.1997
date:
Comprehensive schools
Level of
Universities
Education:
Adult education, other than certificate-oriented
Computer sciences and computer technology
Field of
Educational science
Science:
Engineering, industry and transport
distance education
Keyword(s): interaction
didactic use of computer
Abstract: The background of the research project was a series of experiments and
research on distance education, carried out at our Department. In these the
suitability of audiographichs and video conference for distance teaching in
primary and secondary schools was explored. In 1994 the parents in the little
village of Kilpisjärvi in Finnish Lapland wanted to start a local lower
secondary school for their children. Since there is a biological research
station of the University of Helsinki in Kilpisjärvi, it was natural that the
Teacher Training School of our Department would offer pedagogical support
to the beginning school, making use of distance education.
The aim of the research and development project is to create and describe a
distance learning environment where video conference and audiographics are
used simultaneously in two classrooms, one in Helsinki, the other in
Kilpisjärvi. This kind of distance education we call classroom focused
distance education. The main object of interest is the symbiosis of
conventional and distance education, and its impact on the instructional
processes. An important area of the research is to study how the networking
of the schools makes it possible to share professional knowledge and
resources. Our aim is also to study how the this way of organizing school
instruction affects educational aquality. Methodologically, we try develop
research tools suitable for etnographic study of the problem area.
Observation, videotapes of lessons, methods of interaction analysis,
interwievs, field notes, documents; meetings of teachers and researchers.
The main result is that the Kilpisjärvi project has succeeded in creating
satisfactory ways of carrying out, and also theoretically analysing, classroom
focused distance education. The Kilpisjärvi pupils have been able to studdy
in teir local school, and achieve learning results equal to the results of the
pupils in the Helsinki School. The common factor uniting the participant is
that they all have learning as their aim. Otherwise this kind of instructional
approach does not compensate enough for the segregation of the two groups
of pupils. The interaction with the teacher is intensive for both groups, but
the interaction between the groups is scanty. As a result the role of the teacher
is emphasized, he/she brings together the different classrooms for common
activities.
The present results show that the shared teaching resources in classroom
focused distance education make possible flexible instructional and
organizational arrangements, such as differentiation of groups of pupils. The
sharing of expert knowledge of subject teachers contributes to educational
equality, and opens new perspectives for the development of rural schools.
Distance education has proved to be great importance to the village
community: the children need not leave their homes at an early age to go to
school, and adult people have got a new channel of adult education.
• Rönkä A. 1995 Kilpisjärvi-projekti - luokkamuotoista etäopetusta
kehittämässä. Teoksessa ITK-95. Interaktiivinen teknologia
koulutuksessa Konferenssi Hämeenlinnassa Aulangolla 21.-22.4.95 113-119
• Rönkä A. 1995 Luokkamuotoista etäopetusta kehittämässä: Kilpisjärvi-
projektin ensimmäisen lukukauden kokemuksia. Teoksessa S. Tella (toim.)
Juuret ja arvot. Etnisyys ja eettisyys - aineenopettaminen monikulturaalisessa
oppimisympäristössä Ainedidaktiikan symposiumi Helsingissä 3.2.1995.
Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 150 411-423
• Salminen J. 1995 The evaluation of the ISDN-based Video Conferencing in
Classroom Focused Distance Education Paper presentation in online Educa
Berlin, an International Conference on Distance Education, November 24-
25.1995, Berlin
• Salonen M. 1995 Aspects of Classroom Interaction in Two-Way
Videoconferencing Paper presentation in Open Classroom Conference:
Publications:
Distance Learning and New Technologies in School Level Education and
Training. Oslo. Norway
• Sariola J. 1995 Vuorovaikutteinen video-opetus ala-asteella Esitelmä
kasvatustieteen päivillä Jyväskylässä 24.11.1995
• Säntti J. 1996 Itseohjautuvuus ja itseohjattu oppiminen luokkamuotoisessa
etäopetuksessa Tutkielma. Heelsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos
• Falck A-K., Husu J., Kronlund T., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo
V. 1995 Luokanopettajaksi opiskelevien etäopetuksesta koulun etäopetukseen.
Teoksessa H. Kynäslahti, A. Lauriala & M. Suortamo (toim.) Kokeileva poko:
Luokanopettajan poikkeuskoulutus opettajankoulutuksen
kehittäjänä Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia
147 209-220
• Husu J., Salminen J., Falck A-K., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo
V. 1994 Luokkamuotoisen etäopetuksen lähtökohtia: Kilpisjärvi-projektin
alkuraportti Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 135
• Husu J. 1995 The Helsinki - Kilpisjärvi Project: A Collaborative Action
Research of Distance Education in Classroom Environment. In D. Seawart
(ed.) One World, Many Voices: Quality in Open and Distance
Learning London: Open University 2 7-8
• Kaskinen A. 1995 Luokkamuotoisen etäopetuksen koulutustaloudellisia
näkökulmia: Tapaustutkimus Helsingin II Normaalikoulun ja Kilpisjärven
yläasteen välisestä etäopetuskokeilusta Opinnäytetyö, Jyväskylän
palvelualojen ammattikorkeakoulu
• Kronlund T. 1995 New Learning Perspectives For Remote Classrooms Using
Videoconferencing Paper presentation in Open Classroom Conference:
Distance Learning and New Technologies in School Level Education and
Training. Oslo, Norway
• Kronlund T., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo V. 1995 Modern Distance Education
Technology and the Problem of Small Rural Schools in Finland Life and
Education in Finland 4 43-49
• Kynäslahti H. & Salminen J. 1995 Integration of Remote Classrooms:
Technical and Local Perspectives. In F. Nouwens (Ed.) Distance Education -
Crossing Frontiers Rockhampton: Central Queensland University 151-154
• Nummi T. 1995 Opettajan rooli ala-asteen luokkamuotoisessa
etäopetuksessa Tutkielma. Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos
• Kynäslahti H. & Stevens K. 1996 Mediating Local and Global knowledge:
The Emergence of the Virtual Classroom in Finland and New Zealand. In B.
Glastonbury (Ed.) Dreams and Realities: Information Technology in the
Human Services Helsinki. National Research and Development Centre for
Welfare and Health 205-214
• Kynäslahti H. 1995 Experiencing virtual classroom as a translocal field A
paper presentation at the 8th Conference of Society for Information
Technology and teacher Education. April 1-5, 1997, Orlando, Florida, USA
• Meisalo Veijo (ed.) 1996 The Integration of the Remote Classrooms: A
distance Education Project using Video Conferencing University of Helsinki.
Department of Teacher Education. Research Report 160
• Salonen, M. & Kynäslahti H. 1996 Pupil Experiences of Classroom Focused
Distance Education Using Two-Way Video Conferencing Paper presentation
in 'The link that brings us together'. the 12 th Canadian Association for
Distance Education Conference. May 22-25, 1996, Moncton, Canada
• Stevens, K., Kynäslahti, H., Salminen J. 1996 Alustavia tuloksia
verkottumisesta Suomessa ja uudessa Seelannissa Kasvatus 27 2 196-205
• Sariola J. 1995 Kuuleeko Vihti? Kokemuksia etäopetusharjoittelusta.
Teoksessa S. Tella (toim.) Juuret ja arvot. Etnisyys ja eettisyys -
aineenopettaminen monikulturaalisessa oppimisympäristössä Ainedidaktiikan
symposiumi Helsingissä 3.2.1995. Helsingin yliopisto.
Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 150 425-434
Project Bridging Insula Europae
The task of Euneos was to investigate ODL limitations and barriers. As this was the main step of the
project research phase and for this reason, we formed a focus group of nine teachers to be held both
on-line and in person. Seven teachers were chosen from Vihti upper secondary, and two from other
schools. The selection included teachers of different subjects and with different ICT skills levels.
Those two teachers who were not from Vihti school represented teachers with more experience of
ODL.
The main aim of the focus group was to single out barriers, limitations and negative aspects of ODL
systems. The Vihti upper secondary school was chosen as the main target school of interviews,
because the school represented a mainstream upper secondary school in Finland with about 550
students, and because it was possible to contact teachers also face-to-face over there.
The interviews were carried using fastwrite questionnaires especially designed for this purpose.
They were put into practice in late August 2008, after the Finnish teachers came back to schools
from their 10 weeks summer holidays to start the new school-year 2008-09. The online interviews
were complemented with face-to-face and phone contacts.
Various subjects
Eight female teachers and one male teacher were interviewed. The age range of their students was
from 16 to 19 years in 8 cases, and from 7 to 12 years in one case. The subjects included English
(3), French (1), German (1), Swedish (1), chemistry (1), mathematics (1) and physical education
(1). Their experiences with educational ICT were for 0 – 1 year (2), 2 - 3 years (2), 4 – 5 years(1), 6
– 7 years (2) and for 10 or more years (2).
Two teachers said that their attitude to eLearning was very positive, one said that her attitude was
neutral and six teachers described their attitudes as positive. Their use of the Internet was from 0 to
1 hour a week in 6 cases, from 2 to 3 hours a week in one case and from 4 – 5 hours a week in one
case. One of the interviewed was on her maternity leave, and had currently no lessons.
The eLearning was involved in the curriculum to a large extent only in the case of primary
education (7 – 12 years). The two teachers who had the longest experience of educational ICT said
that eLearning had been integrated into the curriculum of their subject to some extent. Others said it
was integrated to a small or to a very small extent.
Two of the teachers said that they adopted eLearning very much or a lot in her teaching. Four
teachers adopted it moderately, or a little, and three teachers had adopted eLearning very little.
The teachers who adopted eLearning more performed many different kind of activities n the
Internet with their students, such as browsing web pages, searching Internet resources, making
partner projects, having email correspondence, taking part in forum discussions, using text chat or
messaging and participating in live online sessions. Those who only adopted eLearning a little were
mostly satisfied with searching web resources.
Systematic promotion would motivate
The interviewed teachers were asked to choose up to three things that motivated them most in
eLearning. The most active teacher found her best motivation in the following: systematic
promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and internationalization. Development of
materials and facilities was also an important motivating factor for the teachers who were more
active in eLearning. Instead, teacher-in-service training was often chosen as one of the most
motivating things among the teachers who were less active in eLearning.
There was a lot of distribution in opinions of the teachers concerning the equipment, even inside the
same school. Some said there were enough computers, while others thought the opposite. The more
experienced teachers emphasized the need of teacher-in-service training in their opinions.
Five teachers thought that the future role of eLearning will increase rapidly, whereas three of them
said the development will be slow. One of the teachers thought that eLearning will stay as it is, not
to be decreased or increased.
Supplements
There are more detailed in the answers of the interviewed teachers in supplements of this summary
of investigation.
6) Summary of the answers of 9 Finnish teachers about their views on eLearning/ODL, .xls file
and .ods files
01 Name: Marjo Yliluoma (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Kantin koulu (Kant school)
04 Email: marjo.yliluoma@karvia.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: English
06 Age range of my main student groups: 7 - 12 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 6 - 7 years. My attitude to eLearning is very posit-
ive. eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a large extent. I
have adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching a lot.
I work in the Internet for about 4 - 5 hours a week with my students.
The activities I have included in my teaching browsing web pages, searching Internet re-
sources, partner projects, email correspondence, forum discussions, text chat or mes-
saging and live online sessions.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows: sys-
tematic promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and internationalization.
eLearning is not interpreted as a method of learning by the school management of the mu-
nicipality.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: There
is sufficient technical know-how and support. The equipment of my school favors introdu-
cing eLearning, and there are enough computers with Internet access available. I think
eLearning will have a rapidly increasing role in school in future.
Personally, I have used the Internet for 6 - 7 years. My attitude to eLearning is very posit-
ive. eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject only to a small ex-
tent. I have adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching very much.
I work in the Internet for about 0 - 1 hour a week with my students.
Activities I have included in my teaching browsing web pages, searching Internet re-
sources, partner projects, email correspondence, forum discussions and tutoring courses.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are development of
materials and facilities and internationalization. My own interest has also been crucial. Un-
fortunately, there is not sufficiently teacher-in-service training with good quality. More time
and technical support is needed for eLearning.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: My
students have a learning platform at their disposal.
Technical support does not work properly. There is need for even more computers.
01 Name: Pirjo Orkovaara (my name must not be mentioned when publishing
results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Vihti upper secondary school
04 Email: pirjo.orkovaara@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: physical education
06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 4 - 5 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a small extent. I have
adopted opportunities of educational ICT moderately in my own teaching. I work in the In-
ternet for about 2 - 3 hours a week with my students. Activities I have included in my
teaching are browsing web pages, searching Internet resources and forum discussions.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning is the development of
materials and facilities. There will be online courses for students in future. Teacher-in-ser-
vice and systematic promotion of eLearning is lacking. There is no real support for users.
There is some know how in school, but the municipality that maintains the school sets too
many bids and restrictions, which slow down and disturb development. The increase of the
work load of teachers is not taken into account in salaries.
I think there will be a rapid growth in the role of eLearning as a whole.
I think the future role of eLearning will increase rapidly.
01 Name: Ossi Mauno (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: male
03 School: Vihti upper secondary school
04 Email: ossi.mauno@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: mathematics
06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 2 - 3 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a small extent. I have
adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching moderately. I work in the In-
ternet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The Internet activities I have included
in my teaching are browsing web pages, searching Internet resources, publishing online
products and guiding courses of students.
I think it is more reasonable to do some matters online, especially when teaching ICT.
I think the future role of eLearning will increase rapidly.
01 Name: Pirjo Saarinen (my name must not be mentioned when publishing
results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Vihti upper secondary school
04 Email: pirjo.saarinen@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: chemistry
06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 2- 3 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject only a little. I have adop-
ted opportunities of educational ICT very little in my own teaching. I work in the Internet
for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The Internet activity I have included in my
teaching is searching Internet resources.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are teacher-in-service
training, support and encouragement of the school management and development of ma-
terials and facilities. There is really little of ICT training, or no money for training.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: There
are enough computers with Internet access in my school.
The school network allows me to do all I want to do on the Internet, and the equipment of
my school favors introducing eLearning. I think the future role of eLearning will stay as it is
today when the entire learning processes are concerned.
01 Name: Tuula Jantunen (my name must not be mentioned when publishing
results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Vihti upper secondary school
04 Email: tuula.jantunen@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: English
06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 10 years or more. My attitude to eLearning is posit-
ive. eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to some extent. I
have adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching a little.
I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The activities I have in-
cluded in my teaching is making grammar and other online exercises.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows:
eLearning is assessed and evaluated in exams, teacher-in-service training and more time
for adopting eLearning. There is not enough time to do everything.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: The
school network allows me to do all I want to do on the Internet, but there are not enough
computers so as to take them easily into use. I think the future role of eLearning will in-
crease slowly.
01 Name: Iina Levàn (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Vihti upper secondary school
04 Email: iina.levan@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: French
06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 10 years or more. My attitude to eLearning is posit-
ive. eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to some extent. I
have adopted opportunities of educational ICT moderately in my own teaching. I work in
the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The Internet activities I have in-
cluded in my teaching are browsing web pages, searching Internet resources and email
correspondence.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are teacher-in-service
training, systematic promotion of eLearning at school and putting the international dimen-
sion into learning processes.
I think the future role of eLearning will increase rapidly.
01 Name: Minna Vainionpää (my name must not be mentioned when publishing
results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Vihti upper secondary school
04 Email: minna.vainionpaa@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: Swedish
06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 0 – 1 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a minor extent. I have
adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching very little.
I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The activity I have in-
cluded in my teaching is searching Internet resources.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows: sys-
tematic promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and development of ma-
terials and facilities. There seems to be not enough time to learn new things, even if I had
interest in it.
Computers should function without friction, as I have no skills myself to mend broken
devices.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: The
school network allows me to do all I want to do on the Internet, but computers are out of
order, from time to time.
I know about this topic so little that my answers are deplorably scarce.
Maybe I will some day know more if my hectic life as the mother of two small children al-
lows me that.
I think the future role of eLearning will increase slowly.
01 Name: Tuija Saarinen (my name must not be mentioned when publishing
results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Vihti upper seconday school Tampere Finland
04 Email: tuija.saarinen@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: English
06 Age range of my main student groups: 16-19 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 0 - 1 year. My attitude to eLearning is neutral.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject only to a very small ex-
tent. I have adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching very little.
I work in the Internet for about 0 - 1 hour a week with my students.
Activities I have included in my teaching are searching Internet resources and watching
news in English on WWW.
The matter that gives me the best motivation for my own eLearning is the enthusiasm of
students. There is no budget for training of educational ICT. I have not enough motivation
to learn all that is possible to learn in my own free time. The attitudes to eLearning are
fairly negative in my working community, including myself.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: My
school has enough computers with Internet access.
I think eLearning will have a slowly increasing role in school in future.
LIP 6 Live Online
- the course for live cooperation
LIP 6 Live Online was the latest course of teacher-in-service training "Learn Internet Projects by
Doing". The three on-site seminars of the course took place in the school-year 2007-2008, and the
international partner projects were also carried out in 2007-08. The course was organised in
cooperation of OPEKO, the National Center for Professional Development in Education, and the
Comenius 3 network COMP@CT.
The on-site seminars of LIP 6 Live Online were held at OPEKO in Tampere September 27-28,
2007, November 21, 2007 and January 28-29, 2008.
The course was coached by Ilpo Halonen, senior lecturer, M.A. The new aspect of the course was
the use of live online sessions as part of the partner projects performed with foreign colleagues and
with their student groups. LIP 6 Live Online was the 6th course with an e-journalistic approach to
project-based eLearning PBeL. The LIP 1 was organised in 2002-03.
There was a live online room for 50 participants integrated into eJournals where LIP 6 LION
participants worked. Live sessions proved to be very useful. They were used e.g. in contacts with
teachers in St Peter's School in Panchgani India. Visits of Finnish and Dutch teachers to India were
prepared in the live online room of eJournals. The LIP 6 Live Online course contributed a lot to the
development of Finn-India network, which was initiated by COMP@CT in the autumn 2007.
The course LIP 6 Live Online had the ambitious objective to train some teachers as moderators of
live online sessions.
LIP 6 LION was the first LIP training for teachers consisting not only of asynchronous
collaboration but also of live online sessions, live speech and possibly video by web cameras. The
content of the course was eJournalism, i.e. creative journalistic activities of children and teenagers
on the web. They had opportunities to write, draw, sing, take photos and videos, and publish their
products, using eJournals, either on Intranet or in public on the Internet. The children worked under
guidance of their teachers. Teams of two or more teachers were free to cooperate in the Internet on
their own.
The Finnish course participants learned to make international projects in LIP 6 Live Online
seminars in Tampere Finland, and they helped their colleagues abroad in project making. There
were live online sessions of teachers and students in addition to asynchronous collaboration. The
course, like other LIP courses, was arranged by the Finnish National Centre of Professional
Development in Education OPEKO, and it belonged to projects of the COMP@CT network. The
course was free of charge for both the Finnish participants and their foreign partners.
The course included only virtual collaboration on the Internet, and there was no travelling for the
foreign partners in the context of LIP projects.
Teacher-in-service courses having this same concept of training have been organized between 2002
– 2008 followingly:
The first three LIP courses were targeted mostly at teachers of languages.
LIP 4 Enterprise was organized for teachers interested in active citizenship and entrepreneurship in
2004-05, in collaboration with Dr Liisa Remes, an expert of the topic.
LIP 5 Primary in 2005-06 was a training course for teachers of basic comprehensive schools, grades
1-9.
Applying
Teachers in Finland filled in the application form in the Internet. Foreign partners who liked to
attend to the LIP course filled in another form in the Internet, the content of which was submitted to
the course leader.
Those who liked to be partners in the LIP 6 Live Online course attended to pilot sessions in the
school-year 2006-2007 where the use of live online rooms was shown to them in a practical way.
The course participants were introduced in the eJournal LIP 6 Live Online, which was the common
tool of information and communication between attendants, as well as the gateway to live online
rooms. The same eJournal was the central tool of information and communication when the course
LIP 6 Live Online started in the autumn 2007.
The LIP training format was part of eJournalism, a holistic approach to project-based eLearning
PbeL. Teachers engaged in methods of networked collaboration and of international partner projects
in order to improve their own teaching and to make learning processes more and more
communicative. The e-journalistic approach has many advantages. The authenticity of
communication adds motivation. One learns a lot beside the foreign language: pupils learn cross-
cultural understanding, better skills of information and communication technology (ICT) and of
distant learning in written and oral environments both synchronously and asynchronously.
In the first f2f seminar the Finnish participants were instructed to use the eJournal, a most adequate
tool for partner projects in the Internet. At the same time they started their partner projects.
Participants learned to know about project making in the Internet and about working in the net with
their pupils. They participated in live online sessions between the seminars. The further seminars,
either one or two, included checking how projects were proceeding. More advice was given to the
participants how to continue their international project work. Completing the project and its
evaluation were new topics treated in the last f2f seminar. The participants discussed the project
method and learned more about it. They also evaluated how the LIP course had been run and what it
had meant for their own work. Foreign partners were informed and instructed by the Finnish
participants, which strengthened their adopting project methods.
Partner projects were carried out mostly in an asynchronous collaboration. The Finnish colleagues
worked in teams in eJournals, and they had one or more foreign partners in each journal. Partners
organized their lessons so that there was enough time for pupils to write and publish their articles in
the eJournal. In the beginning, participants instructed their students to work in an independent way
in the eJournal. Online sessions in the computer lab were needed, at least at the beginning of the
project work, for giving pupils and students instructions.
After pupils knew how to work in the eJournal they were able to go on working in an asynchronous
way, carrying out their assignments. Drafts of texts were also written and corrected on paper. After
that pupils turned their texts and images digital off-line. Only some online time was needed for their
publishing in the Internet. Knowing how to publish articles pupils were able to work ubiquitously
doing their project tasks whenever they had time.
Fastwrite questionnaires of eJournals were introduced into project work of pupils and students, and
it accelerated the speed of writing texts enormously.
Live online sessions were organised for teachers involved in projects, and for groups of students
who collaborated in the Internet. Group sessions were arranged either in computer labs, classrooms
or at homes respectively, noticing the time zones of different countries.
Partner projects were started in the first seminar, and the projects were carried out during the course
and after that. In addition to live online meetings participants used email and the internal messaging
tool of the eJournals - both for internal messages and for e-mail - to communicate to each other. The
LIP course was tutored by the course leader who was available for the participants and for their
partners by email, and also in live online sessions organized on a regular basis. Anna Airikkala, an
experienced language teacher from Nurmijärvi Finland, assisted in training moderators for live
sessions during the LIP 6 Live Online course.
The Finnish participants of LIP 6 Live Online carried out their own partner project each, together
with one or more foreign colleagues. There were groups of pupils or students included in every
partner project. The teacher colleagues of the Finns came from many EU countries, Norway and
Russia. In addition to that there were 8 partnerships in the context of the Finn-India network.
The course leader got the following information from the potential participants before the course:
The participants were also aksed about their experience about international project work and about
partner projects so far. The wishes and the proposals of participants and of their partners were taken
into consideration.
Pilot sessions started in August 2007, and there were repetitive sessions throughout the autumn
2007. Participants were chosen by the end of September. International project work started from the
first seminar in September 2007 on. .
Teachers who had made partner projects before were invited to attend to the LIP 6 Live Online
course, because the live online component of the international project work was new to them too.
The experienced project-makers were asked to occasionally assist others during the course. The
course was useful for the experienced ones who did not yet know the eJournal, the new innovative
Internet tool which was used in this course. Foreign colleagues who committed to be project
partners were not always experienced in project making, so the Finnish teachers gave tuition and
support.
Ideally, projects were tailored up to the need of partners. If the learner groups were beginners or not
advanced in a foreign language, projects could follow the format of The Image/Das Bild/L`Image ,
developed by the European Schools Project. This learning concept means that relatively similar
learner groups of the same foreign language collaborate in the Internet to advance their language
skills, their cultural knowledge and their technological know-how. In case of more advanced
learners other project models are adopted in collaboration.
Individual Internet projects could be designed, up to the skills level of the participant, in
cooperation with the course leader and the project partner. Basically, all projects were unique and
differed from each other.
Partners came from a project platform of some international virtual community, who organize
partner projects on the standing basis, such as European Schoolnet, MyEurope, European Schools
Project, IEARN , Kidlink and Dafnord (German language). All these virtual communities also have
partner exchange sites where to find more partners for collaboration.
It was the course leader who tried to find out partners for projects, but teachers were able to find
partners also on their own.
If partners agreed, they could continue practically for the whole school year to perform the project.
Partners were advised to foresee how much working time it would take to carry out the project they
has agreed on, so that there would be enough time for project activities, such as informing the own
educational institution about the project, discussing the project with the partners, discussing the
project in the learner group, making the project materials with the learner group, publishing the
articles in the eJournal, commenting on the articles of others, discussing the outcomes in the learner
group, asking for help and getting instructions from the course leader etc.
Live online sessions also needed a certain amount of time. Participants were asked to calculate in
advance how much time and effort they can would be able to put on the LIP 6 Live Online project,
and keep their partners informed all time, especially in cases of possible problems.
The participants were advised to work in the eJournal, the innovative and user-friendly virtual
environment e.g. for partner projects. It enabled live contacts, and it included both making and
editing of project results and also publishing them in the Internet. Live online rooms integrated into
eJournals enhanced collaboration. Other ways of publishing material on the web were also taken
into use according to the needs.
What advantage did the foreign partners have from the course?
The foreign colleagues were teachers who were interested in project-based eLearning. Cooperation
in the framework of this course offered them more than just standard projects. They learned some
more about supervising eLearning and about e-moderating networked collaboration. They got all
advice and instructions given to the participants. They learned to know how to implement e-
journalistic activities into project work. The foreign partners also got instructions about the
technique of the eJournal, and they had opportunities even to take part in publishing project results
if they had time and motivation to learn it.
Live online sessions greatly contributed to their knowledge about project-based eLearning PBeL.
There have been teachers of English, German, French, Swedish and Russian participating in LIP
training, and they have been able to work in eJournals of respective languages.
The organizers tried to find ways to offer LIP training to all teachers, not depending on the
language. For example, if teachers of primary schools were involved, young pupils could
collaborate more in issues such as illustration, photographing, singing or videoing in order to
compensate the lack of sufficient skills in foreign languages.
The evaluation of the course was based on the fact that participants should be encouraged to be
networked and organized with their domestic and foreign colleagues, so as to collaborate with them.
Completing the course, all participants should have more competent in their Internet skills than
before. And they should have been better motivated to carry out partner projects in the Internet also
in future.
These objectives were reached according to the evaluations of the participants.
OPEKO, the National Centre of Professional Development in Education, gave out a certificate also
to online partners of LIP 6 Live Online, if such a certificate was requested, where the new standards
of their competence in educational ICT were stated. The certificate proved that they have performed
the collaborative project together with their Finnish partners in the Internet.