Preface

Background to the Series

"Media Education Publications" of the Media Education Centre, Department of Teacher Education, is the continuation of an earlier series called OLE Publications, created in late 1995. Its purpose was to provide a forum for teachers and researchers to publish articles in English, French or German on themes and topics connected to two European Union-based open and distance learning (ODL) projects, coordinated by the Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki. The two projects were the OLE Project (Open and Distance Learning in Teacher Education to Promote the European Dimension; 1995-1997, and the APPLAUD Project (A Programme for People to Learn At University-level at a Distance; 1996-1998).

The Media Education Publications series consists of articles dealing with media education, modern information and communication technologies (MICT), telematics, computer-mediated human communication (CMHC), distance education (DE), open and distance learning (ODL), flexible learning (FL), dialogic communication and comparative education with a special view to the European dimension.

Background to the Present Volume

The present volume focuses on the LIVE Project, Learning in Virtual Environments. This is the first report of a three-year project (to be concluded in the academic year 1999-2000) based on a collaborative action research approach with a special view, on one hand, to teacher education and, on the other, to ISDN- and GSM-based modern technologies. The pilot stage, also reported on in this volume, was conducted in the spring of 1997 at the Department of Teacher Education of the University of Helsinki.

The purpose of this volume is to lay some initial corner-stones for the project by reflecting on various questions that earlier research and our long-standing experience as teacher educators have drawn our attention to. These perspectives have been permeated by opinions and views of the younger members of the coauthoring team, who, at the same time, have been responsible for the pilot stage of the project.

As a point of departure, let me cite an argument presented by Bell as early as 1967 about the different tenses of man:

"Time, said St Augustine, is a three-fold present: the present as we experience it, the past as a present memory, and the future as a present expectation. By that criterion, the world of the year 2000 has already arrived, for in the decisions we make now, in the way we design our environment and thus sketch the lines of constraints, the future is committed. Just as the gridiron patterns of city streets in the nineteenth century shaped the linear growth of cities in the twentieth, so the new networks of radial highways, the location of new towns, the recording of graduate-school curricula, the decision to create or not to create a computer utility as a single system, and the like will frame the tectonics of the twenty-first century. The future is not an overarching leap into the distance; it begins in the present." (Bell 1967, 639; cited in Dutton 1996, 15)

It seems to me that the LIVE Project could, however, take this overarching leap, a quantum leap indeed, as it deals with skills and strategies as well as with the teaching and learning methods and practices the Knowledge-Based Society will expect all citizens to have. To put it very modestly, the LIVE Project is among the very first projects of the 21st century, as it reaches out towards the future that we consider accessible even today.

Gilster (Pool 1997) has recently launched the concept of 'digital literacy', by which he means the ability to understand information and--more importantly--to evaluate and integrate information in multiple formats that the computer can deliver. The LIVE Project clearly aims at the same kind of expertise by giving learners skills and knowledge of the latest digital technologies in the field of telecommunications.

Technology, however, is of secondary importance. The main aims and goals of the project focus on developing distance education as well as open and distance learning skills in teacher education. In this it relies heavily on computer-mediated communication, especially on mobile telecommunicators and multimedia videoconferencing. Yet what counts is the dialogue between human beings involved in the project, between students and students, between teachers and students, between teacher educators and teachers. So it is not only computer-mediated communication that matters but also, and more importantly, human-to-human communication, largely based on dialogic communication enabled by shared understanding and mutual respect for every one in the teacher-learner interaction.

One of the unique characteristics of the LIVE Project is its emphasis on the present, on phenomena that are in the spotlight right now. Kynäslahti (in this volume) writes more about the surprising fact that schools, generally speaking, live in the past, even they do their best to emphasise the present.

Isaacs (1996, 27) points out that one of the salient features of dialogue is its iconoclasticity, its "continuous invitation to people to live from present experience, not from memory". To my way of thinking, LIVE attemps to do exactly this. And as Gilster has aptly put it, the sense of immediacy is something that appeals to young people (Pool 1997, 7).

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Introducing the Authors

Let me introduce the authors and their articles in this publication.

Seppo Tella discusses the subtle differences between distance education and a number of other concepts, such as open and distance learning, flexible learning, distributed learning, which all have emerged lately due to diverging focuses and emphases. The question is not only of terms; rather, it deals with more profound philosophical approaches towards teaching and learning.

Janne Sariola argues that careful advance planning is indispensable when modern technology, especially multimedia conferencing with videoconference equipment, for instance, is used in teacher education. He further discusses the different ways of choosing the proper media for the right educational purpose, and advises--both pragmatically and logistically--how media planning should be done.

Anne Vähäpassi starts by describing how co-operative learning came to Finland in the late 1980s. She then analyses four main approaches of co-operative learning by highlighting the salient features of these new challenging learning strategies. Her article also includes a good selection of seminal publications in this area.

Heikki Kynäslahti tackles the difficult issue of whether a virtual school and a traditional school can live side by side or whether it is high time to realise that virtual school activities can also take place in a traditional school. He also problematises several social, communal, and societal issues related to the emerging cyborg societies, and feels tempted to suggest that we start talking about a cyborg school!

Aarno Rönkä has a long career as a distance educator. In his introductory article, he summarises some earlier trends of modern information and communication technologies (MICT) in Finnish teacher education. At the same time, he describes a few Finnish milestones in distance education and in computer-mediated communication (CMC).

Tomi Nummi, Aarno Rönkä and Janne Sariola analyse the starting points of the LIVE project and define some of the research areas and research questions to be answered during the first academic year of LIVE in 1997-1998. They build their argumentation on several aspects, i.a., on the national Information Society strategies of the Ministry of Education, on their own teacher education experience, and on the concept of the Virtual School.

Riikka Ristola, having taken part in the pilot stage of the project, discusses her initial experiences gained from the work methods implemented among young pupils of the Finnish comprehensive school. She also describes the different levels of telework embedded in the LIVE strategic plan of action.

Aarno Rönkä reports his LIVE experiences of the upper level of the Finnish comprehensive school, as well as the reactions and impressions of his colleagues from the Helsinki Second University Training School.

Tomi Nummi takes a closer look at the technical side of the project's hardware, especially the Nokia 9000 Communicator, but at the same time he reflects upon the solutions that are opened up by the emerging new synergy between education and technology.

As one of the co-authoring team, I believe these articles will give a most promising picture of the LIVE Project and of its focuses and emphases during the first year of the project.

Long live LIVE!

My heartfelt gratitude to all the co-authors of this volume. Co-authoring is excellent team work, in which everybody can share his or her opinions, views, disbeliefs, and insights with the rest of the authors.

I am deeply indebted to Anne Vähäpassi, Tomi Nummi and Kari Perenius for adding the final touches to the technical side of the publication.

I am most grateful for having the chance to add this publication to the present series of the Media Education Publications of the Media Education Centre of the Department of Teacher Education. I hope this publication will contribute to the full utilisation of both media education and latest developments in open and distance learning.

Helsinki, January 19, 1998

Seppo Tella

Director of the Media Education Centre
Department of Teacher Education
University of Helsinki

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Table of Contents

Media Education Publication 6

The Poor Relation of the Education System? Aspects of Distance Education and Open and Distance Learning
Seppo Tella

The Planning of an Open Learning Environment and Didactic Media Choice in Teacher Education
Janne Sariola

Variations of Co-Operative Learning: An Analysis of Four Different Approaches
Anne Vähäpassi

What the LIVE Project Tells us About the Nature of the School
Heikki Kynäslahti

An Overview of Modern Information and Communication Technologies (MICT) in Teacher Education at the Helsinki University Department of Teacher Education
Aarno Rönkä

Findings from the Pilot Stage of the LIVE Project
Riikka Ristola & Aarno Rönkä

The LIVE Project: Learning in a Virtual School Environment
Tomi Nummi, Aarno Rönkä & Janne Sariola

The Technical Infrastructure of the LIVE Project
Tomi Nummi

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Notes on Contributors

Seppo Tella is Professor of Media Education and Associate Professor of Foreign Language Education at the Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki. He is also Director of the Media Education Centre of the Department of Teacher Education and has coordinated a number of European Union projects in open and distance learning as well as in telematics. His main areas of research focus on analysing the concept of telelogically defined media education, modern information and communication technologies (MICT), telematics and open and distance learning (ODL), CALL (computer-assisted language learning), CELL (computer-enhanced language learning) and foreign language learning methodology. Professor Tella is also responsible for initial (pre-service) and in-service teacher education courses at the Department.

Janne Sariola is Lecturer in Distance Teaching in the Media Education Centre of the Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki. He has long been working both in initial and in-service teacher education. His special areas of interest are videoconferencing and various applications of open and distance learning. He is responsible for the distance teaching practice in the different sections of the Department of Teacher Education.

Anne Vähäpassi has been working for years as a Lecturer in International Affairs at the Department of Teacher Education in the University of Helsinki. At present, she is Project Manager at the Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council, where her main responsibility is to organise the evaluation of the courses taught through foreign language in the Finnish universities and polytechnics. She continues to work in close co-operation with the Media Education Centre.

Heikki Kynäslahti is a researcher in the Media Education Centre in the University of Helsinki. His main research interests deal with the use of MICT in rural education and with inter-institutional networks of schools. Kynäslahti has also investigated the concept of virtuality, virtual classroom, and virtual school. Further, he has operated with the problems of doing ethnographic research in virtual environments.

Aarno Rönkä has worked as an English teacher and a teacher trainer at Helsinki Second Teacher Training School since 1976. He has been actively involved in many school projects developing educational applications of MICT. Before the LIVE Project (1997-), he was the training school co-ordinator of the Kilpisjrvi Project (1994-1997), developing classroom-focused distance education using videoconferencing. He has written several articles in educational publications and is also involved in in-service teacher training.

Riikka Ristola is a research assistant in Media Education Centre of the Department of Teacher Education. Her main area of responsibility is to do research and developmental work for the LIVE project. She is also a lecturer and tutor in media education courses.

Tomi Nummi is Master of Education and works as a Project Coordinator in the Media Education Centre of the Department of Teacher Education. His main area of responsibility is to coordinate different media education courses in both initial and in-service teacher education. He is a lecturer in media education courses and is involved in various MICT (modern information and communication technologies) research and development projects such as Euro-Land and LIVE.

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Abstraktit

Tella, Seppo. The Poor Relation of the Education System? Aspects of Open and Distance Learning and Distance Education

Tämän artikkelin tarkoituksena on kuvata ja analysoida pieniä eroja, joita aiemmin melko yksimielisesti kutsuttuun 'etäopetukseen' liittyvässä peruskäsitteistössä nyt havaitaan. Näitä uusia käsitteitä yhdistää mm. ymmärrys siitä, että yhä kasvava määrä ihmisen mielekkäinä pitämistä kokemuksista tulee institutionaalisen koulujärjestelmän ulkopuolelta. Etäopetuksessa ja siitä tai sen rinnalla kehittyneissä muunnoksissa on havaittavissa opiskelijan oman kontrollin jatkuvaa kasvua ja hänen lisääntyneitä mahdollisuuksiaan käyttää erilaisia resursseja, ajattelutaitojen samoin kuin oppimisstrategioihin liittyvien metakognitiivisten taitojen painottamista.

Yhä useammat opettajat ja opettajankouluttajat tiedostavat sen, että nämä etäopetuksen uuden muodot valtaavat koko ajan lisäalaa samalla kun ne ovat siirtymässä yhä keskeisempään asemaan valtavirtakoulutusjärjestelmissä.

Avainsanat: Etäopetus, etäopiskelu, avoin opiskelu, avoin ja etäopiskelu, joustava opiskelu, hajautettu opiskelu, monimuoto-opiskelu.

Sariola, Janne. The Planning of an Open Learning Environment and Didactic Media Choice in Teacher Education

Artikkelissa tarkastellaan avoimeen opiskeluympäristöön (an open learning environment) ja mediavalintaan vaikuttavia tekijöitä opettajan ja opettajankoulutuksen näkökulmasta. Suunnittelu ja mediavalinta nähdään osana suurempaa koulutuksen muutosta, johon sisältyvät oppimiskäsityksen muuttuminen kohti konstruktivismia, tieto- ja viestintätekniikan laajeneva pedagoginen soveltaminen sekä digitaalisen median muuttuminen osaksi jokapäiväistä inhimillistä toimintaa. Helsingin yliopiston Mediakasvatuskeskuksen tutkimus- ja kehittämistoiminnassa on pyritty löytämään sellaisia avoimeen opiskeluympäristöön soveltuvia suunnittelumalleja, joiden kautta opettaja ja opiskelija tulevat entistä tietoisemmiksi omista tavoistaan suunnitella opetusta, mutta samalla laajentaen toimintaansa perinteisestä luokkahuonelähtöisestä suunnittelusta kohti opiskeluympäristölähtöistä suunnittelua. Oppilaan kannalta opiskeluympäristön suunnittelussa korostuvat tietoyhteiskunnassa tarvittavien taitojen tavoitteellinen kehittäminen ja omien opiskelu- ja oppimisstrategioiden arviointi.

Avainsanat: Avoin opiskeluympäristö; suunnittelu; liikkuvuus; digitaalinen portfolio; didaktinen mediavalinta, opettajankoulutus; mediakasvatus.

Vähäpassi, Anne. Variations of Co-Operative Learning: An Analysis of Four Different Approaches

Artikkelissa luodaan aluksi lyhyt katsaus yhteistoiminnallisen oppimisen alkuvaiheisiin Suomessa. Sen jälkeen kuvataan neljää erilaista yhteistoiminnallisen oppimisen suuntausta, niiden pääpiirteitä ja eroja: David ja Roger Johnsonin kehittämää yhdessä oppimisen (Learning Together) mallia, Spencer Kaganin luomaa rakenteellista lähestymistapaa yhteistoiminnalliseen oppimiseen (Structural Approach to Co-Operative Learning), Elizabeth Cohenin kehittämä monitahoisen/kompleksisen opetuksen (Complex Instruction) strategiaa ja Yael ja Shlomo Sharanin ryhmätutkimuksen mallia (Group Investigation): Mallit on valittu tarkastelun kohteiksi siksi, että Kaganin mallia lukuun ottamatta ne ovat tähän saakka tunnetuimpia Suomessa. Kaganin malli esitellään sen yleistettävyyden ja käytännönläheisyyden vuoksi.

Avainsanat: Yhteistoiminnallinen oppiminen; monitahoinen/ kompleksinen opetus; ryhmätutkimus.

Kynäslahti, Heikki. What the LIVE Project Tells us About the Nature of the School

Tässä artikkelissa tarkastellaan koulua sekä paikkaan liittyvänä että ajallisena isolaationa. Ympäröivää todellisuutta käsitellään koulussa eräänlaisen simulaation kautta, jolle on ominaista ajallinen viive. LIVE-projekti muuttaa tätä koulun luonnetta muokaten sitä samalla.

Pohdin myös sähköisen tilan, ruumiin ja esineen suhdetta. Tässä tuon kyborgin idean spekuloitavaksi koulun suhteen. Virtuaalikoulun määritelmiä voidaan kehittää yhä enemmän tavanomaisen koulun ja virtuaalikoulun muodostaman symbioosin suuntaan, jolloin koulun voidaan katsoa luonteeltaan muistuttavan kyborgeiksi kutsuttuja ilmiöitä.

Avainsanat: Koulu; virtuaalikoulu; kyborg; tietoyhteiskunta.

Rönkä, Aarno. An Overview of Modern Information and Communication Technologies (MICT) in Teacher Education at the Helsinki University Department of Teacher Education

Artikkelin tarkoituksena on kuvata moderniin tieto- ja viestintätekniikkaan kohdistuvan kasvatustieteellisen tutkimuksen kehitystä Helsingin yliopiston opettajankoulutuslaitoksessa. Näkökulmana ovat ne kehityslinjat, jotka ovat johtaneet nykyiseen avoimen oppimisympäristön ja etäopetuksen sekä virtuaalipedagogiikan tutkimukseen erityisesti Mediakasvatuskeskuksessa. Toteutuneen tutkimuksen yhteydet opettajankoulutuksen ja koulujen opetuksen kehittämiseen pyritään tuomaan esille.

Avainsanat: Moderni tieto- ja viestintätekniikka, avoin ja etäopiskelu; virtuaalipedagogiikka.

Ristola, Riikka & Rönkä, Aarno. Findings from the Pilot Stage of the LIVE Project

Artikkelin tarkoituksena on kuvata kuinka LIVE-projektin pilottivaihe toteutettiin keväällä 1997. Kevään aikana testattiin LIVE-projektin työskentelymalleja eri tasoilla. Alustavat havainnot osoittivat, kuinka tärkeä rooli didaktisella mediasuunnittelulla on LIVE-työskentelyn onnistumisessa. Pilottivaiheessa korostuivat myös oppilaiden metakognitiiviset taidot samoin kuin sosiaaliset, kommunikaatio-, yhteistoiminta- ja MICT-taidot.

Avainsanat: LIVE; opiskeluympäristö; didaktinen mediasuunnittelu; metakognitiiviset taidot; opettajan rooli.

Nummi, Tomi, Sariola, Janne & Rönkä, Aarno. The LIVE Project: Learning in a Virtual School Environment

Artikkelissa kuvaillaan Helsingin yliopiston opettajankoulutuslaitoksen Mediakasvatuskeskuksessa toteutettavaa kolmivuotista (1997-2000) LIVE (Learning in a Virtual School Environment) -tutkimus- ja kehittämisprojektia. Opettajankoulutukseen suunnatun projektin yleistavoitteena on kehittää uusia didaktisia malleja virtuaalikoulunomaiseen ympäristöön liikkuvan viestinnän näkökulmasta. Erityistavoitteena on tutkia, miten opiskelutilanteissa voidaan lisätä avoimen ja joustavan opiskelun piirteitä ja samalla hyödyntää tehokkaasti uutta tieto- ja viestintätekniikkaa.

Teoreettinen viitekehys rakentuu viiden käsitteen (konstruktivistisen oppimiskäsityksen, yhteistoiminnallisen oppimisen, kokemuksellisen oppimisen, avoimen ja joustavan opiskeluympäristön ja virtuaalikoulun) luomalle perustalle.

Projektissa käytettävät matkaviestimet tarjoavat uusia mahdollisuuksia koulun ja sitä ympäröivän todellisuuden reaaliaikaiselle vuorovaikutukselle oppimistilanteissa. Tutkimuksessa hyödynnetään opettajankoulutuslaitoksen ISDN- ja GSM-pohjaista kouluverkkoa, joka koostuu Mediakasvatuskeskuksesta, harjoittelukouluista ja pienistä maalaiskouluista. Koulut ovat yhteydessä toisiinsa kolmen ISDN-linjan välityksellä, mikä mahdollistaa videoneuvottelun ja audiografiikan avulla tapahtuvan kommunikaation oppilasryhmien välillä. LIVE-projekti on osa opettajankoulutuksen mediakasvatuksen opintoja. Projektilla on liittymäkohtia Mediakasvatuskeskuksen koordinoimaan perus- ja täydennyskoulutukseen ja sitä toteutetaan erityisesti osana etäopetusharjoittelua. Opiskelijat tutustuvat harjoittelun aikana virtuaalikoulun opetusmenetelmiin ja toimintamalleihin.

Avainsanat: Konstruktivistinen oppimiskäsitys; yhteistoiminnallinen oppiminen; kokemuksellinen oppiminen; uusi tieto- ja viestintätekniikka; avoin ja joustava opiskeluympäristö; opettajankoulutus; virtuaalikoulu.

Nummi, Tomi. Technical Infrastructure of the LIVE Project

Tämän artikkelin tarkoituksena on esitellä LIVE-projektin teknistä laiteympäristöä. Projektissa käytettävät teknologiat on jaettu kolmeen osa-alueeseen, videoneuvotteluun, audiografiikkaan ja kannettaviin matkaviestimiin, joita kutakin tarkastellaan erikseen. Lisäksi artikkelissa pohditaan viestintätekniikan yleisiä kehitysnäkymiä ja niiden vaikutuksia LIVE-projektin tekniselle kehitykselle.

Avainsanat: Telekommunikaatio; videoneuvottelu; audiografiikka; tietokonekonferenssi.

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Orders

Available at the Media Education Centre,
Department of Teacher Education,
P.O. Box 38, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki
Finland

Marja-Liisa Lonardi
fax +358 9 191 28114,
phone +358 9 191 28112

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