Mikko Vesisenaho

Perspectives on personal learning environments held by vocational students

This article focuses on personal learning environments (PLEs). The idea with PLEs is to put students in a more central position in the learning process by allowing them to design their own learning environments and by emphasising the self-regulated nature of the learning. This study describes the structure, functions and challenges of PLEs made by 33 students from vocational and polytechnic level schools in Eastern Finland after the first year of using them. Document and artefact analysis revealed that students built their PLEs for: mirroring the conventional learning environment; as an environment for reflection; as an environment to showcase skills; and as an environment for collaboration and networking. Student reflections indicate that building and using a PLE is a challenging task which requires specific teacher and pedagogical support. Designing a PLE demands both ICT skills and an awareness of ones own learning methods.

In search of contextual teaching of progranlvhng in a tanzanian secondary school

Teaching programming in non-Western surroundings reveals the cultural roots and dependencies of Computer Science. Both the concepts and the teaching methods of the discipline needed to be rethought in a teaching experiment carried out in Kidugala, Tanzania, among secondary school students. Following the idea of contextualized Computer Science, called ethnocomputing, we used culturally relevant entry points to teach the basics of programming. HIV/AIDS was chosen as the topic of an Internet site, to be designed and implemented by novice programmers, using the Java language. Analyzed by action research, our experiences indicate a significant motivation among the students to learn programming skills in order to be able to deal with a taboo-like topic on a neutral platform - a computer. The experiment suggests that a culturally relevant entry point, combined with problem-based learning, could challenge novice programmers also in Western societies; a side-effect of studying Computer Science education in a less developed country.

Localising and contextualising information and communication technology in education: a cultural ecological framework

This paper presents a framework for facilitating localisation and contextualisation of information and communication technology (ICT) in education. The framework is developed through the cumulative improvement of the theoretical foundations of the CATI (Contextualise, Apply, Transfer, Import) model for implementing ICT in teaching and learning. The model is re-framed in terms of cultural ecology to place greater emphasis on interactions and transactions between people and their environments. The intention is to arrive at a framework which better reflects the ecology and localisation of people’s interactions with ICT. The framework was piloted with trainee teachers at the University of Joensuu, Finland. Data were collected from student learning diaries containing reflections on the cultural ecological contextualisation of their work in an obligatory course on ICT in teacher’s work. A revised framework and associated pedagogical strategy is presented in the light of the outcomes of the pilot study.

Contextual Analysis of Students’ Learning during an Introductory ICT Course in Tanzania

An introductory programming course was developed to teach basics of information and communication technology (ICT) at Tumaini University Iringa University College in Tanzania. The course included concretized and contextualized elements to connect the learning with previous experiences and local environment of the students. The course had 27 second year students in the B.Ed. teacher program in mathematics and computer applications. The course lasted three months and included also practical project work. Learning and application ideas of students on ICT were analyzed from the basis of the CATI (contextualize, apply, transfer, import) model. The method in analyses was content analysis. The results show that most of the learning and application ideas are in application level, only some of the students have been able to apply their skills in contextualized level

Information and communication technology education contextualized in a cultural ecological view of learning

This paper presents a rationale for integrating two theoretical perspectives on information and communication technology (ICT) education. The CATI (Contextualize, Apply, Transfer, Import) framework for implementing ICT in developing countries is integrated with a cultural ecological framework based on interactions and transactions between people and their environments (taken in an inclusive sense). The intention is to arrive at a framework which better reflects the ecology and localization of peoples interactions with ICT. The integrated framework is being refined against data from work with trainee teachers at the University of Joensuu, Finland. Data are being collected from student learning diaries and records of their engagement with practical tasks. The framework underpinning the bases on which evidence is being collected is explained.

Designing a Contextualized Programming Course in a Tanzanian University

Tumaini University has been developing the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education since the mid-90s. Their first systematic ICT development project called Internet Project Strategic Plan (IPSP) focused on obtaining infrastructure for accessing information; instilling ICT skills into staff and students, and installing and servicing computers to support learning activities. With this in mind, we developed the CATI model (contextualize, apply, transfer, import) to support sustainable ICT development projects on the basis of our evaluation of the IPSP project and our previous experiences in contextualized ICT education. During the past few years we have focused our efforts on contextualizing ICT education. One of the outcomes of this initiative was a contextualized Introduction to Programming course (2004-2005). In this paper, we analyze the course design and implementation by using the CATI model. We found that the basic elements and ideas of the contextualization in terms of learning materials, practical project components, and exercises were concentrated on the application level. The course has created promising spin-offs in local Tanzanian communities. The main weaknesses of implementation are that practical elements such as teaching on the campus are still dependent on the presence of Western teachers

HIV/AIDS education in Tanzania blended with a programming course

Teaching programming offers a novel opportunity to educate students in taboo-like topics such as HIV/AIDS. First of all, the computer serves as a neutral platform to deal with issues that are hard to discuss in traditional contact settings or as a peer-to-peer way. Secondly, the students can use their creativity to design a learning environment that starts from their own interests and problems. Programming skills are needed for both of these aspects because they provide the students with tools that help them master the computing environment. At the same time an actual problem-in this case HIV/AIDS-motivates the students to learn programming that may otherwise seem like an obsolete skill of mainly theoretical flavor.

ICT education and computer science education for development — Impact and contextualization

People frequently use Information and Communication Technology (ICT), but are the users from developing countries only expensive consumers? To what extend is ICT education and its applications used for meeting the needs of society and the opportunities of development? Contextualization is a key term designed to make ICT and computer science (CS) content more familiar, understandable and applicable. It is intended to meet the local needs. This paper focuses on the different impact levels of technological development projects and ICT and CS education. We present a conference review of existing research on contextual approaches of CS and ICT education in Africa, and introduce a contextual and sustainable approach in ICT education in developing countries. A review of six international CS education and ICT conferences during 2005–2006 hold little Africa related contextualized CS and higher level ICT education issues have been studied and reported. The study shows that there is a serious lack of research into contextualized CSE, and higher level ICT education in Africa.

Pre-service teachers' experiences of ICT in daily life and in educational contexts and their proto-technological pedagogical knowledge

Many pre-service teachers are members of the net generation and are expected to be familiar with different ICTs, yet several studies have indicated that they are not necessarily able to use them for teaching and learning. The notion of teachers’ technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) is central to this concern. In this study we use the responses of 146 pre-service teachers to open-ended questions about the experiences and knowledge of ICT and pedagogy they brought with them when they entered university teacher training. The data were analysed qualitatively with content analysis based on an integrative framework generated from a number of theoretical perspectives. Derived categories and subcategories were used to construct a framework for ‘proto-TPK’ as a basis for establishing a starting point for the coordinated development of TPK with students in their university training and early careers.

Seamless Learning Environments in Higher Education with Mobile Devices and Examples

The use of seamless learning environments that have the potential to support lifelong learning anytime and anywhere has become a reality. In this sense, many educational institutions have started to consider introducing seamless learning environments into their programs. The aim of this study is to analyze how various educational university programs implement the design elements for seamless learning environments with mobile devices. For that purpose, three cases involved in a Finnish teaching development project are explored by conducting semi-structured interviews with key participants. The themes of the interviews were related to the theoretical background for mobile seamless learning environments from previous literature. This paper describes the findings of the three cases as common aspects for designing mobile, seamless learning environments; and it proposes a research agenda on challenges related to designing seamless learning environments with the integrated use of mobile devices in the curricula.