Liisa Ilomäki

Students' skills and practices of using ICT: results of a national assessment in Finland

Abstract The purpose of the study was to investigate Finnish elementary and high school students’ skills and practices of using the new information and communication technologies (ICT). Beliefs about the importance of ICT were also assessed. Five hundred and fifteen students responded to a self-report questionnaire. The students attended 25 schools that used ICT intensively and represented all provinces of Finland. From the analysis, there emerged three factors that represented these students’ relationships to ICT. Characteristic of the first factor was a belief that computer supported learning makes learning more meaningful and encourages one to make more efforts to study. Self-reported competence in using ICT was strongly loaded on the second factor, together with intensive reported use of ICT at home as well as networking with expert cultures and coaching of other people to improve their ICT skills. The third factor represented intensity of using ICT at school and appears to be determined more by the availability of equipment and the extent to which ICT is used in the school than by a student’s expertise in ICT.

Case studies of learning objects used in school settings

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role and characteristics of virtual learning objects in selected classroom cases. Four Finnish cases represented such pedagogical approaches as student‐centeredness, process orientation and collaborative inquiry. The case study approach enabled the investigation of concrete practices in using learning objects in ordinary classroom settings. The goal of the study was to examine the interrelatedness of the teachers’ pedagogical practices with characteristics and affordances of the learning objects, in order to understand how learning objects can support the development of advanced pedagogical practices in schools. The data used were qualitative, consisting of the participating teachers’ agendas, and observations and video recordings during classroom sessions. The results indicate that the learning objects were mostly used as exploration tools, information sources, assessment models and objects of discussion. An expert‐like use of knowledge was characteristic in the pedagogical settings, especially when the teacher was experienced in using ICT in teaching. However, not all the learning objects supported such practices, thus preventing a teacher from reaching intended pedagogical aims.

Digital competence --- an emergent boundary concept for policy and educational research

Digital competence is an evolving concept related to the development of digital technology and the political aims and expectations of citizenship in a knowledge society. It is regarded as a core competence in policy papers; in educational research it is not yet a standardized concept. We suggest that it is a useful boundary concept, which can be used in various contexts. For this study, we analysed 76 educational research articles in which digital competence, described by different terms, was investigated. As a result, we found that digital competence consists of a variety of skills and competences, and its scope is wide, as is its background: from media studies and computer science to library and literacy studies. In the article review, we found a total of 34 terms that had used to describe the digital technology related skills and competences; the most often used terms were digital literacy, new literacies, multiliteracy and media literacy, each with somewhat different focus. We suggest that digital competence is defined as consisting of (1) technical competence, (2) the ability to use digital technologies in a meaningful way for working, studying and in everyday life, (3) the ability to evaluate digital technologies critically, and (4) motivation to participate and commit in the digital culture.

Reframing teachers’ work for educational innovation

The universities of applied sciences in Finland aim to support students in achieving work life competences by integrating authentic research, development and innovation (RDI) practices into learning. However, pursuing an educational change from a traditional higher education culture to a networked model of working is challenging for teachers. This study examines 46 teacher-developers’ motivational experiences, like sources of enthusiasm and interest, as well as challenges and organisational support needed in the process of educational innovation, namely integration of RDI and education. The results indicate that the organisational culture and structures must be in line with the new adaptive ways of working and the collaboration must be consciously created in the teachers’ working environment in order to succeed in integration, as well as to succeed in the diffusion of innovation.

A case study of ICT adoption within a teacher community at a Finnish lower secondary school

The purpose of the study was to investigate how teachers adopt information and communication technology (ICT) as a pedagogical tool, what consequences the intensive use of ICT has for teaching practices, and how the use of ICT diffuses in a teacher community. The study combines longitudinal data and results of three sub‐studies conducted in the same school during the years 1994–2001. Results of the study indicated that the intensive use of ICT has several effects on the teacher community. Almost all teachers acquired the necessary technical ICT skills, and the majority of teachers used ICT with students. The pedagogical practices varied, depending on the teachers interest and pedagogical thinking; several teachers adopted advanced teaching methods. The important elements for successful implementation of ICT were the key persons (an appreciated ICT teacher, a devoted principal, and a group of innovative teachers), university support, reflective practices among the teacher community and the overall support for development work in the school.

Using Trialogical Design Principles to Assess Pedagogical Practices in Two Higher Education Courses

Design-based research has become a popular methodology in educational research because it provides results that can explicitly be applied to inform pedagogical practice, unlike surveys or experimental studies conducted in controlled laboratory settings (Brown, 1992; Edelson, 2002). One basic aspect of design-based research emphasised by many researchers is that it combines empirical research and theorydriven design of educational settings, aiming to understand how to assess and improve pedagogical practices in authentic contexts, and simultaneously develop the theories further (Bell et al., 2004; Design-Based Research Collective, 2003).

Teacher Learning within a Multinational Project in an Upper Secondary School

In this case study, we investigated teachers’ professional learning within a multinational project in an upper secondary school. The aim of the study was to investigate how the participating teachers adopted and applied the trialogical approach (TLA) in their pedagogical practices and their challenges in doing that. The mixed method approach was used for data collection and analysis. About one-fourth of the teachers participated in the activities, ten females and three males. Three groups were identified, based on their activity in the project: pilot teachers, active adopters, and adopters. Altogether 79 students (38 males and 41 females) answered a questionnaire concerning the pedagogical practices. The pedagogical revisions were well in line with TLA; the revised courses as well as new iterations and new ideas were indicators of the teachers’ creative implementation processes. However, some of the TLA ideas were more difficult to apply in an upper secondary school context; for example, the implementation of ideas involving cross-fertilization with other organizations and cultures was rare. In order to learn new pedagogical practices, teachers need organized time for collaborative planning, for reflecting, and for sharing.