The LIVE (Learning In Virtual school Environment project) means research and development of pedagogical models for distance teaching practice in school classrooms. These models help a learner improve information processing and cooperative learning in an open, virtual school-like learning environment. The LIVE project expands a multiple media learning environment and makes it possible for learners to document events and processes outside school. The equipment used enables the flexible, mobile use of audio conferencing, fax, and Internet services. As a result, the distance education network becomes an open virtual-learning environment — independent of time and space.
This article describes a research and development project carried out in a distance education classroom at the Media Education Centre of the Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki. The pedagogical decisions are based on the constructivist learning concept in an open and flexible learning environment. Special attention has been paid to the possibilities of using interactive telecommunications in learning situations, especially in videoconferencing. In teacher training, student teachers can include distance teaching practice in their studies which acquaints them with pedagogical decisions regarding distance teaching.
As the result of distance education development at the University of Helsinki, there is an ISDN-based school network consisting of the University, teacher training schools, and small rural schools. The schools in the networks are connected by three ISDN lines which enable the participants to communicate by video conferencing and/or audiographics. Instruction is further supported by telefax and electronic mail.
The theoretical framework of the LIVE project consists of three concepts: (1) virtual school, (2) constructivism, and (3) cooperative learning. A virtual school can be seen as:
…an information system based on new information and communication technologies, which is able to deal with all the tasks of school without the need for a physical school building. Ordinary physical school and virtual school may also complement each other, i.e. exist in a symbiosis... part of the activities of physical school may be moved to virtual school and carried out there with the aid of information and communication technologies. (Tella, 1995, pp. 14-15)
The concept of virtual school can be linked with the idea of a flexible and open learning environment. Flexibility means independence of time and space, while openness can be seen as the learner's ability to make decisions in a learning situation. A learner can choose the learning materials, the topic, the learning group, or set his/her own learning goals. Such a learner-centered model is based on the constructivist learning concept, which stresses the learner's responsibility and activity in the construction of his/her own knowledge.
Keegan (1996) and Tiffin & Rajasingham (1995) point out that in virtual classrooms, face-to-face interaction at a distance is electronically re-created. Therefore, a learner must reflects on his/her actions with regard to the surrounding electronic reality and especially to the group he/she belongs to. Through reflection which takes place in social interaction, a learner can expand his/her knowledge about the foundations of his/her own actions. In telematic networking this can mean common problem solving in a computer conference or interactive video conferencing between two groups of learners.
While it emphasizes the role of the learner, the constructivist learning concept also changes the pedagogical decisions of the teacher. According to Rauste-von Wright (1995, p. 121) the constructivist learning concept inevitably leads to the emphasis of flexible teaching which pays attention to learners' skills and abilities. From the teacher's point of view, this means a new kind of media planning, where situation-based interaction and flexibility in terms of time and space are central factors in pedagogical decisions. In the LIVE project, the students and the teacher together plan a learning unit, where common and individual learning goals and contents are defined. Special focus is directed toward student interaction and how it can be improved by portable telecommunications.
Modern information and communication technologies (MICT) make it possible to interact in an open and flexible learning network. In turn, this helps students grow into independent learners, because they take responsibility for their own choices and decisions in a cooperative learning environment (Sariola,1995). Cooperative learning differs from the conventional pedagogical approach which stresses cognitive goals and the role of the teacher and puts a strong emphasis on social aspects and common goals in learning. In cooperative working, interaction takes place mainly between learners and depends on the nature of the task.
Some cooperative learning methods call for more teacher direction than others, but all of them enable students to interact in varying degrees and talk about what they think, know, and feel about what they are learning. In addition, when students study together in small groups, they help each other and, at the same time, develop self-direction and responsibility for their learning. (Sharan & Sharan, 1994, p. 97)
The use of new technologies increases the learner's ability to move about in real life situations without losing the connection to his his/her cooperative group. When it comes to the whole school, it would be more meaningful if the working models of teachers and the whole organization were cooperatively-oriented. Such an organization could be called a cooperative school (Johnson & Johnson 1994, pp. 59-62). When this model is combined with MICT, it is possible to talk about a cooperative virtual school.
LIVE is a three-year action research and development project. The aims of the project are to research and develop: (1) pedagogical networking models in virtual school environment for teacher education and, (2) working methods and practices for cooperative learning in an open learning environment supported by modern information and communication technologies.
Research data will be obtained by participatory and other observation methods, by video recording learning situations, and by analyzing the contents of audio conferences and e-mail communication between learners.
The developmental perspective comes from the fact that the school has been criticized for its slow adjustment to the changing needs of society. On the other hand, Finland has introduced a plan entitled "Education, Training and Research in the Information Society: A National Strategy." One of the main objectives of the strategy is that "The whole education system will be brought within the reach of information network services, ensuring that educational establishments can use these services. Open and distance learning will be promoted at all levels of education and training" (The Finnish Ministry of Education, 1995). Similar reports have been published in other European countries and in the United States.
The LIVE project expands the MICT-based learning environment and makes it possible for learners to document events and processes outside school with portable communications equipment. This equipment enables the flexible, mobile use of audio conferencing, fax, and Internet services. The use of MICT can support and link several groups of learners together in a synchronous telecommunications network. As a result, the distance education network becomes an open virtual learning environment, independent of time and space.
With the development of MICT, it is possible to create so called LIVE groups. These groups, equipped with integrated mobile communications equipment, can move around in real-world surroundings and transmit real-time two-way messages. A similar idea, studying real-life situations and problems in distance learning, is taken by the Impact North Carolina Project at the Appalachian State University where "Students learn to plan, cooperate, present and deal with real-world processes, and problems that are models of the kind they'll find outside the classroom" (Strom, 1994, p. 13).
This expansion of the virtual learning environment enables fast synchronous interaction between school and surrounding reality. In the development of a virtual school, this means an improvement for the learners. They can follow changing processes in the world on location, transmit information quickly from place to place, process the information in real-time communication, and store the data for later investigation. All of this can lead to better understanding of the course content, which in this case, comes from the world outside school. Through cooperative working, an individual learner can create his/her own learning space for developing his/her information processing skills, problem solving, and understanding. Cooperative virtual school expands classroom-focused videoconference lessons and creates a more flexible learning environment (Husu, 1994; Meisalo, 1996).
The use of the latest telecommunications equipment in the LIVE project means that learners should have the basic skills in MICT. Mastering different levels of usage in computer-mediated communication and telematics management can be described in Figure 1.
In the LIVE project, the technological environment is built on the use of several simultaneous telecommunications systems. The schools in the distance teaching network have been connected to each other by three ISDN lines which enable the participants to communicate by video conferencing or/and audiographics. For sending material, the instruction is supported by telefax and electronic mail. Learners are connected to each other in real-time interaction by mobile phones and lap-top computers or by integrated mobile communicators (Nokia Communicator 9000). Learning resources are supported by WWW tools available in the same virtual network.
The Nokia 9000 Communicator combines digital voice and data services and personal organizer functions into a single, small-sized and unit. In addition to voice calls, the Nokia 9000 Communicator enables users to send and receive faxes, e-mail and short messages as well as access Internet services and corporate and public databases. It also provides users with organizational functions such as an electronic calendar, address book, notepad, and calculator.
All the applications in the Nokia 9000 Communicator - phone, fax, address book, e-mail, Internet - have the same user interface. For example, to send a fax, the user presses the fax application button, writes a note and selects a recipient from the address book. The user can readily confirm a phone call by fax or a follow up a fax by phone call. When the keyboard is closed, the communicator can be used as a GSM phone. When the device is opened for using the keyboard, the speakerphone is activated, allowing the user to view documents from the LCD screen while speaking (Nokia Cullular Data Customer Support).
At the moment, the development of MICT is directed towards advances in mobile communication technologies. In the near future, this development will lead to a situation where communicators can be connected to each other from and to anywhere. Telephone and computer will integrate into one MICT tool. Businesses, homes, and schools can use cordless local area networks called DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications). The DCS 1800 phone (Digital Cellular System for 1800 MHz), with multiple data transfer capacity (even 100 Kb/s), will be on the market in European cities in 1997. This makes it possible to transfer full-motion video to mobile phones.
As GSM phones have had audibility problems outside cities, satellite GSM phones will be tested in the next few years. The new telecommunications system will use so called dual-mode telephones, which can connect to twisted-pair telephone networks or satellite links (Yrityspuhelin, 1996, pp. 28-30).
The development of pedagogical applications in the LIVE project is part of distance teaching practice at the University of Helsinki. Students in both class teacher and subject teacher education become familiar with pedagogical media planning and cooperative learning methods during the teacher training period. At the beginning of each training period, students are divided into working pairs who then create their own telecommunications networks called teleteams. The members of a teleteam plan a teaching unit and evaluate their own work with help of e-mail and other telecommunications tools and at the end of the course, collect a team portfolio. As a result, teacher training takes place partly in a telecommunications network formed by the students and the teacher trainer.
The working methods and practices during the project are called LIVE working. Working consists of three levels:
At the beginning of work, learners plan together the contents and goals on the basis of the chosen topic. Next, they form cooperative groups with tasks focused on the same goal. Learners are divided into a local group at school and into a LIVE group. The local group searches for background information from the Internet and other sources while the LIVE group collects real-time information outside school. The first level work can, for example, deal with news. The groups communicate via audioconferencing or e-mail. Finally, the groups evaluate the learning process together. Learning experiences are written down in learner portfolios.
A distance learning situation is built between two schools and the LIVE groups at LIVE Level II. Work starts with joint planning during a videoconference. The learners in each school are divided into the groups, like Level I, and start to collect and process information.
Both LIVE groups communicate via audioconferencing, collect the information into e-mail messages to all the members of the network, and give audio information to both schools. The role of the LIVE groups is to act as telematic expert groups in their own learner networks. The role of the local groups is to collect further information about the topic from sources at school or from the Internet and ask the LIVE groups for reality-based corrections and explanations about the topic. Level II work could deal with regional geography, for example, and the final product could be a joint report on the topic. Figure 2 shows activities in LIVE Level II.
At Level III, the nature of telecommunications changes into interactive multimedia. With integrated communications equipment, it is possible to transfer text, pictures, sound and full-motion video effectively. With LIVE working, this means getting real-world situation on video and transmission directly to other learner groups.
A learner can combine audio or video conferencing and audiovisual materials from the information network. The possibility of visualization is a major advantages of videoconferencing. Using a camera, both written and living learning materials as well as techniques in arts and crafts can be transmitted effectively. Compared with audiographics, videoconference gives both the teacher and the learner a better chance to follow events dealing with organizing learning situations. However, with regard to the quality of teaching, the way how the teacher and the learners construct knowledge in the learning situation is even more important (Sariola 1995, p. 12).
As described above, student teachers work in cooperative projects with learners in LIVE projects. LIVE working can change the teacher's way to work, especially in planning. "In a telematic learning environment the teacher has to consider more carefully than before what kind of communication serves the teaching-learning process best both from his own and the student´s or a student group´s standpoint" (Tella, 1995, pp. 31-32).
In LIVE working, learning goals are based on the learner's knowledge. The teacher's role is to show different kinds of models and how goals are set and evaluated. In this situation, the learner's role is active information searching and responsible working towards his/her own goals and those of the cooperative group.
Since learning in cooperative LIVE working is regarded as a process, the activity during the whole process should be evaluated by both the individual learner (self-evaluation) and the whole group. Through different opinions from the group, a learner can expand his/her own knowledge about learning.
Learning in virtual school environment gives a learner a chance to work on many different levels of telecommunications. The advances of MICT make it possible for school to change into a flexible virtual learning environment and for the learner to build his/her own learning space. Live working expands the activities of learning networks into closer interaction with reality, which leads to a better understanding of the processes of life.
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