Transcript e-LSEE Collaboration of GLOBE teachers for promotion of e

Learning in Internet – a
challenge for school education
Ülle Kikas
Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Tartu
Coordinator of the e-LSEE project
Acknowledgement: e-LSEE partners and teachers
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Outline
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Is it necessary?
Is it workable?
Web vs. text book
e-LSEE learning materials
– aims
– principles for development
– structure and functionality
• Conclusions
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Why to use WWW in education?
• As citizens and employeers, people
increasingly need skills for operating in
virtual environment
• For successful acting in modern society
pupils should be prepared for action in a
variety of virtual domains
• Tasks and problems of society should be
integrated into learning process
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Why to use WWW in education 2
• Students have positive perception towards using of ICT tools
• Students use ICT mostly as entertainment tool for leisure time at
home
• Word and spreadsheet processing, the most frequent ICT
applications in school, are boring for students
• ICT was less frequently used in gymnasium classes than in basic
education (Mooij and Smeets, 2001)
• the use of problem-solving applications proved to be almost
absent in classes observed in secondary schools (Mooij and Smeets,
2001)
• It is necessary to diversify the learning content,
and apply the learning strategies that are
motivating for students
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Is it workable in a traditional school?
Obstructive factors:
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Difficulties with curricula adaptation
Unsufficient technical support
unsufficient skills of teachers
Few educationally-directed materials
Language barrier, etc
• Supporting conditions
– high percentages of teachers have good or advanced computer
skills and positive perception towards using ICT for teaching
– Access to computers and Internet has been dramatically
improved: in countries like Iceland, Finland, Luxemburg,
Slovenia, Estonia, almost all schools have access to Internet
Request from students and society
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
World Wide Web as a resource for science
education
visual and numerical data on Earth’s environment
• Web sites of research institutions, universities, data
centres etc.
– reliable content, relatively stable URL adresses
– educational mission of research institutions
– Support basic skills in science education
• frequently refreshed, reflect the latest movements in science,
nature and society
• Learning, based on Web information will never be boring
Web resources are mostly fruitless in educational terms
Absence of widely appreciated methodologies and tradition
Learning process is sophisticated
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Traditional learning
Students are
confident about
their answers
Text book is
(almost) a
single source
of information
Teacher is
confident about
the content
Does not reflect the complexity of problems in real life
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Learning in Internet
Information from multiply sources
Critical selection between sources
V I
Computer
R T U A L
M
E
Diffusion of information
and
Internet
Student and teacher are partners
in generation of knowledge
Role of a teacher is much more
sophisticated
D
I
U
M
skills
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Learning in Internet:
not a purposless surfing
Generation of new knowledge, application of the
existing attainments in new context
• Combination of 3 processes:
Information search and selection
Critical selection
Diversity in definitions and explanations
Pre-selection by teacher
Educationally directed sites
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Learning in Internet:
Acquisition
Language barrier
Visual and numerical information is helpful
synthesizing, generation of knowledge
Individualised approach + team work
Presentation and discussion of results
Teacher should be a moderator and have high
expertise in content
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
e-LSEE
Collaboration of GLOBE teachers for promotion of
e-Learning in Science and Environmental
Education supported by EC Socrates-Minerva program
– CZ, EE, NL, NO, PL, UK
Output
– a set of e-learning materials integrated in unit html format
– in 6 national languages
– available in Web and distributed as CD
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
e-LSEE e-learning materials. Concept
• e-learning activities for interactive learning in Web,
based on Web services of the GLOBE program
• Support learning and teaching of geography, biology,
physics, chemistry, informatics and science
• Themes are included in curricula of all partner countries
• Target ages 11 - 17
• Suitable for teaching in classroom and for independent
learning
Not a new resource or an interactive text book
Rather a set of examples, user-interface for teachers
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
e-LSEE e-learning materials. Concept
• Technical:
– All materials are in unit html format
– Interactivity bases on GLOBE Web services
– software: a browser, word processing (MS Word),
spreadsheet processing (MS Excel)
– conservative approach: should work with Windows
95 or later
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
e-LSEE e-learning materials. Aims
• dignify the environmental data collected by the students
around the world
• Simplify starting of subject teaching a in computer class
• Improve students understanding on numerical and visual
information
• Motivate students to learn more about the Earth
environment
• develop the problem solving skills of pupils
• Make learning process more attractive
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
e-learning materials. structure and functionality
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Summary1
Technical equipment and professional skills of
teachers in many schools are sufficient for starting
the ICT-supported subject teaching
Web resources can diversify the learning process and
bring the complexity of “real life” into school.
Learning in Web is a sophisticated process. It
demands high professional skills of teacher
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Summary 2
The e-LSEE learning materials direct students to work
in virtual medium, and implement the tasks or solve
the problems on basis of Web information
This approach could be suggested for wider use in ICTsupported education
Still, there are few tests in schools, and we do not know
the opinion of students, yet.
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Summary 3
Development of educational materials in collaboration of
teachers from different countries was rather
complicated process
trans-national discussion and agreeing of concepts,
content and technical layout took more efforts than it
was expected
the process itself was beneficial for professional
development of teachers in e-learning area, and
positive for propagation of e-learning in Europe
Conference “e-Learning in Science and Environmental Education”, Tartu October 3, 2003
Summary 3
Congratulations with Teachers’ Day!