The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research launched a 2017-2021 digitalization strategy for the higher education sector to strengthen teachers' digital skills and maximize the potential of technology in learning. The strategy aims to develop digital and pedagogical competencies for students and teachers. It also requires institutions to define goals for digitalizing learning processes. Some universities, like the University of Agder and University of Bergen, have adopted additional digitalization strategies focusing on developing teacher culture, integrating computing into curricula from the first semester, and testing research-based teaching methods incorporating digital tools.

1. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Norwegian Ministry
of Education and Research
Norway: Digitalization strategy for the HE-sector
(2017 – 2021)
Jan Peter Strømsheim
Zagreb, 7-8 December 2018

2. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Agenda
I. About the strategy
• The rationale for a strategy for digitalization in HE
• Target Group Descriptions and Goals
• Key Policy Measures
II. HE-institutions with digitalization strategies
• Two cases/initiatives
• CCSE - Centre for Computing in Science Education:
• aims to become an international hub for the research-based
integration of computational methods in science educations.

3. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Why a strategy?
Surveys indicate that newly qualified teachers have not received sufficient professional
digital education as part of their basic education.
In order for Norwegian higher education and research to be able to
– Use the full potential of technology to increase student learning
– ….
a prerequisite is that the use of technology for learning and new knowledge is raised to
the strategic level at the institution and integrated into all academic and administrative
activities.
We need to strengthen the teachers' digital abilities to carry out reorganization
and further development of learning processes due to the new possibilities
digitalization offers

4. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Digitalization strategy for the HE-sector (2017 – 2021)
Launched 19 September, 2017
• Anchored in national policy
– E.g. several White Papers
• Based upon a comprehensive
proposal for a strategy
with several sub-strategies for
- Education (*)
- Research
- Infrastructure and Basic services (*)
- Administrative services
- Information Security (*)
(*) Generic Primary/Secondary Edu.

5. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Target Group Descriptions and Goals :
The Student:
• Meets an academic community of staff and students where digital opportunities
are utilized in active and varied learning and assessment modes,
The Teacher:
• Has advanced digital and pedagogical skills,
• Is given incentives for professional and pedagogical development …
The different Administrative Levels:
• Are consciously aware of its leadership and has the competence to lead, motivate
and support necessary change processes as a result of digitalization.

6. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Some key measures -
Digitalization for increased Quality in Education
1. Develop a national arena for quality in higher education
2. Strengthen research on the connection between quality and changed learning
processes based on digitalization
3. HE institutions define goals and concrete measures related to the digitalization of
learning processes and the use of new learning methods
4. Requirements for pedagogical basic competence and teaching experience
when employed in all academic positions,
5. Requirements for merit systems for educational competence and pedagogical
development at all institutions
6. Elaborate solutions for access to learning resources across educational institutions

7. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Several institutions have adopted their
own strategies for digitalization or
incorporated digitalization targets in new
institutional strategies
• Increasingly, digitalization is linked to
quality in the education.
• There has been particularly high
activity in the digitalization of the
exams,
– and on developing new digital
assessment methods

8. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Institutional Digitalization and ICT strategies
• MatRIC – Centre for Research, Innovation and Coordination of
Mathematics Teaching (University of Agder)
• BioCEED – Centre of Excellence in Biology Education,
University of Bergen

9. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
MatRIC – University of Agder
MatRIC sets out to:
• Create, lead and support networks that enable sharing and
development of effective use of video, digital, web-based and
emergent technologies in teaching, learning and assessing
mathematics.
Networks
• Teaching
– This network seeks to bring together and develop mutual support and
share innovative approaches among those concerned with the
development of pre-service teachers' mathematical subject knowledge

10. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
bioCEED – The University of Bergen, the University Centre
at Svalbard (UNIS) and Institute of Marine Research
• bioCEED develops biology educations that fill future needs in science and society.
They achieve this by connecting scientific knowledge, practical skills and societal
applications throughout our educations. They want to build on the strengths of the
research culture to develop a collegial and scholarly teacher culture.
Focus areas

11. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Teacher Culture
Academia is characterized by
two strong cultures: the
teaching culture and the
research culture.
• They want to build a scholarly
and collegial teacher culture
inspired by the research
culture.

12. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research

13. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Computing in Science
Education
• Most of the bachelor programs at the Faculty of
Mathematics and Natural Sciences integrate
programming and computing from the first
semester, and build on this basis throughout the
education.

14. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Computers change the rules of the game
• We have extremely powerful tools for doing calculations
that have radically changed the work of the professional
scientist …
– AND the problems that can be tackled
• However,
• Reforming mathematics and science curricula requires
mathematicians, computer scientists and natural scientists to
work together

15. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
E.g. Physics
• Has integrated computing
in the education from day
one.
• The students can now work
with realistic, applied
problems to a large degree
early in their education.
Graphic illustration of the path of a probe shot
through a tornado.
How to calculate this path without computing?

16. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
In order to contribute to build a culture for
teaching and learning, the center is:
• Developing teacher culture through
• annual teacher retreat, teaching in teams, workshops and
seminars
• with focus on teaching, and learning and curriculum

17. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Research-based development of methods and
approaches is important
• The integration of computing opens for
– creative, collaborative and project-driven learning approaches
– where students address realistic and research-near problems early on,
• but methods and approaches to ensure this is done in effective ways,
are sparsely developed
The centre is therefore:
• developing and testing research- and industry-near CSE cases in
collaboration with stakeholders

18. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Dissemination, dialogue and communication
through partnerships is important
The dissemination plan includes e.g.:
• Internal dissemination
• International extensions
• School partnerships

19. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
• This strategy is important for strengthening the HE-teachers'
digital abilities to make use of the new possibilities
digitalization offers.
However:
• Do we use computers to teach merely the classical
curriculum?
• Or, how can educational programmes be adequately reformed
due to increased use of ICT?
Concluding remarks

20. Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Norwegian Ministry
of Education and Research
MatRIC URL: http://www.matric.no
bioCEED URL: https://bioceed.w.uib.no/
CCSE URL: http://www.mn.uio.no/ccse/english/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vLutIsrgIo
Thank you for your attention.
Any questions?