National support for a local IT-development within the educational sector

National support for a local IT-development within the educational sector Cainet 2000, Cairo, March 2000 Johan GROTH, Ph.D. (johan.groth@gogab.se)

IT implies changes
Analogue vs. digital information
Stand alone computers vs. networks
Local vs. global
Information consumer vs. producer
Text only vs. multimedia
Issues vs. concurrent publication

The Swedish educational system
The Swedish school system consists of 1.2 million pupils, 120,000 teachers and 6000 schools
About 20 universities
It is goal oriented and decentralized
The government sets goals, disseminates information and may support for projects

National IT initiatives
The Swedish University Network (SUNET)
The IT-commission
The National Agency for Education
The National Agency for Higher Education
The Foundation for Knowledge and Competence
IT in School (ITiS)

Results at a glance
A rapid development of infrastructure
85% of all K9-schools use Internet
90% of all high schools use Internet
All universities use Internet
Most museums and libraries use Internet
Lively pedagogical discussion
IT and education is a "hot" topic in media

The Swedish Schoolnet
On and off line activities to spreads knowledge and information about Internet and education to teachers, school leaders, decision makers, pupils and parents
Acts as a catalyst to create new content
An "information broker" for organizations, companies, museums, government bodies etc.

Project philosophy
Show possibilities and give advice
Teacher empowerment is a basis for school development
Support local work of teachers and pupils
Support learning by doing
Provide forums, services, tools etc.
” Ultimate vision": school as "the center of the village"

Some conclusions
New "doors" are opened
Subjects change and merge
Less common teaching material
New resources available, simple and cheap
Processes rather than results
Growing ethical discussion
Parallel changes (buildings, pedagogy etc.)
Dependency on an a technical infrastructure

Competing factors
Speed
Acceptance
Scalability
NOTE! You may only select two!

Different approaches to introducing IT
Speed + acceptance = ad hoc approach to introducing IT
Speed + scalability = material approach to introducing IT
Acceptance + scalability = content driven approach to introducing IT

The role of industry
Share knowledge rather than distributing hardware
School is a special market, develop new products and services
Participate in joint projects

Summary
"Content pull" gives a solid IT development
Focus on possibilities gives a widespread acceptance among educators and parents
Many local initiatives combine into major changes given an appropriate national framework
New technology must be accompanied by changes in organization and administration

Invitation to discussion
If and how do we formulate a national curriculum in the IT-age?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of "personal" teaching material?
How is the school system to cope with parents or pupils who choose an "external" teacher?

Soon Internet is a critical infrastructure. What happens when the net is down?
Internet makes it possible for teachers to communicate on a daily basis with parents. What is the implications of this?
In a totally distributed school system, how do we evaluate the results? Are national criteria even possible?

How do we assess that computers and IT really deliver?
How do we ensure that IT does not create new barriers to open access in education?
How do we on a national level help the teachers prepare for this brave new world?
What do school politicians on different levels need to know?

National support for a local IT-development within the educational sector

by Johan Groth on Nov 07, 2009

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

1 Embed 1

Statistics

National support for a local IT-development within the educational sector — Presentation Transcript