Juha-Matti Arola’s blog

Finding new learning materials is like looking for new mushrooms, some are eatable and some are not. Analog is good and bad materials.

If you share your knowledge and training material, you will be giving back two or more times you will get more benefit and knowledge.

When having open Learning Management System, there has no been queries about the improvement of eLearning platform while everybody could know develop their own environment suitable for their needs.

Technology does not make learning passive it rather enables it. When you know how to use technology. When publishing eLearning materials, it requires intensive and clear planning. The management support is needed. If the eLearning is not supported, then innovative eLearning enthuastic teachers will not energy to continue. Therefore regional difference will be occurring.

Is the teacher the right person to develop the learning content? Rather we should find out the available eLearning content on the market building the networked environment. The producer will be the student as well as when Leena buys a book then he seeks information from the Internet about new articles. Long projects using 2-3 years will become obsolete, while the content is old and not anymore useful.

Creation a learning flow is important, that you eagerly wait the next phase to complete. We need a multiskilled networking for new things. Joint production is the challenge for us. That means

The project do consists of reorganizing of communal services in order to utilizing regional support more. The group is going forward more with local resources with the normal commune practises. The current polytechnic structure has not been proposed clear changes, but however there are strong needs in looking at resources. Regions are responsible for estimating polytechnic needs.

Education is an important issue for communes and regions. However creating more efficiency is more needed in order to maintain services and their quality. The communes have a freedom to provide their education services, however supported by state funding.

When looking at the Seinäjoki region, the most important is to look at what kind of work force are needed for this region, not necessarily only university education is important. The retirement of the commune organization is very important and it should be clearly followed.

Equipment reach about 100 % in Seinäjoki Polytechnic, but within the teaching facilities within Seinäjoki 71,9 %.

Teachers are using into daily work more than 60 %, but less than 40 % used daily in educating.

Internet very much used in Seinäjoki Polytechnic daily by sending emails, searching information and surfing weekly 88 %. 57 % never publishing anything into network and 40 % do not discuss in networks.

Teachers do know word processing, file administration, email and searching from the Internet. Pupil do know more widely, but not so deeply.

The generation division do exist between teachers and pupils. The most important usage of the IT is only for searching information from the network.

Challenges are technical infrastructure, training use resources, student working methods, network communication problems, pedagogical challenges and teacher’s skills and experiences. There are a lot of technical platforms that are not yet mature. The different skills are need in virtual situation. The pedagogical approaches should be different.

In 5 years all the skills for teachers and pupils are satisfied. Specific laptops for project work should be provided. Distance training is an integral part of every training programmes.

Conclusions are different teachers do need different support and training, extra equipment is needed, joint discussions, open development work are needed as well as time and resources for trainers are needed.

The challenges do include the distance between teachers and pupils. Motivating and guiding the pupils is different. Coaching and clear instructions are important within the net-based courses. The skills, motivation and estimating of education are important issues.

Knowing your pupils was thought to be a challenge, but it was showed that the pupil contact did not decrease. The possibility in virtual place to discuss secretly and hear the pupil’s ideas in private. Therefore the silent pupils are encountered equally compared to more loud or energetic pupils. Also it is easier to follow up pupils learning and their progress.

There should be more motivation to participate and the virtual course should be becoming motivating as a such. It was also found that the detailed instructions and training should be given, because the environment of learning management system was new. Different skills and instructions are needed for studying.

Grouping and individualizing are different and there are more chances for that in virtual training. The virtual courses are very suitable for silent students and those who should be taken care of more within the class should often need attention also in virtual course.

To be remembered to know any IT tools by the students as well as by the teachers especially. The possibility to process the deliverables and the possibility to chat are important. Voice and chat are important and wished to have..

The seminar was held in Seinäjoki, Finland within a project called “Opinlakeus” supported by ESF, Finnish Board of Education, other regional and national organizations.

The National Board of Education, Director Kirsi Lindroos was speaking about the uniqueness of the Southern Ostrobothnia region in networking and utilizing eLearning in educative institutions. The biggest challenge is to satisfy the needs of everchanging world.

The second big challenge is to take care of children, which is more important now than ever. Also the teachers should learn to use the IT in education. Ten years ago we were clearly world leaders, but now we have been dropped into somewhere 10th position.

Training provided by the Finnish Board of Education is not interested by teachers. Also the providers are missing. Therefore there is a need to join forces together to find innovative solutions within the Senuko type of networks.

In the historial perspective, the fact was to teach children how to write and how to calculate. But we should move forward, because currently our pupils are already in the net.

Internet connections 90 % in lower institutions and higher even more. But the contact details by only 45 % of education institutions.

Distance high school has been clearly a winning project including the full content of the high school. Already 2000 distance high school students have been graduated.

YLE co-operation within the digi-tv has been initiatiated. Also the Brittish style Teacher Channel are being developed jointly with YLE.

Regional co-operation is important for developing new teaching programmes, virtual schools etc.

The biggest concern is the co-operation between companies and educative institutions, because it is a clear fact that the companies are coming rapidly virtual and utilizing IT more effective. Therefore the trainee periods within the companies should be renewed.

“The network-based education is the best that has happened for a teacher” a reply from a teacher.

The Future School project has been in Nordic Region and also in OECD countries.

The virtuality is a major issue within the coming plans.