Blended learning in higher education: Theory and practice in

FinlandTeemu Leinonen

Media Lab Helsinki Aalto University School of Arts, Design

and ArchitectureHelsinki, Finland

1. Introduction2. Pedagogy3. Digital first4. Examples

Agenda

1. Introduction2. Pedagogy3. Digital first4. Examples

Agenda

Teemu Leinonen

Associate Professor, Dr.New Media Design and Learning

Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture

Learning Environments Research Group (LeGroup), Media Lab Helsinki

Designer: web / mobile and learning

> Education / learning science > New Media > Design > Design Methodology

Geography lesson: Finland

History of Finland

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About 700 years: Part of Swedish Empire (1100

-)

About 100 years: Autonomic Part of Russian

Empire (1809 -)

About 100 years: Independent (1917-)

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What do you know about Finland?

Finland =

Jean SibeliusComposer.

Alvar Aalto (and Aino)Architect, Designer.

+ Metal bands: Nightwish, Stratovarius, HIM, Rasmus etc. and of course still the Scandinavian design.

Finland =

Nokia in 2010: ~350 million mobile phones /

year, ~11-12 / second.

LinuxLinus Torvalds 1991: 80% of Internet

servers, 90% of super computers.

+ IRC, the first graphical web browser, MySQL etc.

Finland =

Angry Birds1,7 billion downloads.

Clash of Clans and Hay Daythe fastest growing game company ever.

+Max Payne, Death Rally, Alan Wake etc.

Finland =

EducationAccording to OECD (PISA) Finland is one of the leading country in the quality (an

equality) of education.

Finland: Facts• Population 5.2 million

• Over 6 million mobile phone subscriptions • Over 3 million broadband Internet connections• Internet access is a right (1 Mbit/s)

• Nordic country (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland)

• Languages: Finnish and Swedish

Aalto University– Where science and art meet technologyand business

Three leading universities in their own fields became Aalto University in 2010

Helsinki School of Economics (HSE)University of Art and Design Helsinki (TaiK)Helsinki University of Technology (TKK)

The Aalto University

community:75,000 alumni,

20,000 students,5,000 staff

Long tradition in science and technology, art and design, economics and business.

1849 Technical School of Helsinki, a university since 19081871 School of Sculpture, a university since 1973

1898 Helsinki Business College, a university since 1911

189818711849

Noteworthy alumni

1.Alvar Aalto, architect. professor MIT 1921.2.Susanna Majuri, photographer. 2007.3.Eero Aarnio, designer. 1957. 4.Risto Siilasmaa, chairman of the board, Nokia. 2009. 5.Taneli Tikka, serial entrepreneur. 2004.6.Sirkka Hämäläinen, former governor of the Bank of Finland. 1981.7.Pirjo Suhonen, entrepreneur, Ivana Helsinki. 1998.8.Paola Suhonen, entrepreneur, Ivana Helsinki. 2001.

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1. Introduction2. Pedagogy3. Digital first4. Examples

Agenda

1. Introduction2. Pedagogy3. Digital first4. Examples

Agenda

Form follows the function.

Does pedagogy follow the function?

Education is about the future.

What do we know about the future?

We can analyze trends. . . from the history.

The future of work?

EK Oivallus 2011. Illustration: Rami Niemi

Work takes place in networks.

EK Oivallus 2011. Illustration: Rami Niemi

Less symphony orchestra, more jazz.

How are our graduates?

EK Oivallus 2011. Illustration: Rami Niemi

Today: often high-quality individual performers.

EK Oivallus 2011. Illustration: Rami Niemi

In the future: people who understand other competence and get excited about them.

EK Oivallus 2011. Illustration: Rami Niemi

In the future: creative, entrepreneurial people.

In the future: people who understand other competence and get excited about them.

How to become a network player? How to learn to work with others?

(or how to learn to play jazz?)

How to still reach the depth?How to become an expert in some area?

(or how to become good enough to play a solos?)

Critical is the access to the tacit knowledge of the experts.

Expertise develops in participation to the

practices of the experts, rather than

by studying formal knowledge.

Brown, Duguid, & Collins,1987, Hakkarainen 2002

What research suggests?

Brown, Duguid, & Collins,1987, Hakkarainen 2002

What research suggests?

Practicing work with experts from different fields than yours.

Critical is the access to the tacit knowledge of the experts.

Expertise develops in participation to the

practices of the experts, rather than

by studying formal knowledge.

Pedagogy in higher education?

“Bulimia pedagogy”

Lonka 2011

“Pedagogía bulímica”

We expect our students to listen and to internalize as much as possible of the information we tell them during the lectures and then ask them to “vomit” the same information back to us in an exam.

Problem-based learningAprendizaje basado en problemas

We set-up a problems for small study groups to solve. Same time students are asked to read selected, relevant literature that will help them to “solve” the problems or to have “educated” discussion on the problems.

Progressive inquiry learningAprendizaje por indagación progresiva

Students are asked to setup their own research questions that are then discussed with the class to make sure that they are relevant and important to study. Later students are asked to bring to the discussion their own hypothesis, deepening knowledge and good resources. They may also do their own experiments. At some points students are asked to summarize their findings.

Setting up Research Questions

Creating the

Context

Constructing Working Theories

Critical Evaluation

Searching Deepening Knowledge

Generating Subordinate Questions

Developing New Working Theories

Distributed Expertise

(Hakkarainen 1999)

Progressive inquiry learning

Problem-based learning with some elements of

progressive inquiry.

Study projects.

In practice (in my own teaching)

1. Introduction2. Pedagogy3. Digital first4. Examples

Agenda

1. Introduction2. Pedagogy3. Digital first4. Examples

Agenda

Laptops, mobile phone, tablets etc. Let’s use the tools our students already have.

Digital first

Learning materials (as much as possible).

Course communication: announcements etc.

Assignments: study papers, study journals, essays.

Administration: registration, grades, etc.

all in the open web (when ever possible).

Course design principle

1. Introduction2. Pedagogy3. Digital first4. Examples

Agenda

1. Introduction2. Pedagogy3. Digital first4. Examples

Agenda

New Media Concepts for the Third Sector(Study project)

http://thirdsector.mlog.taik.fi

Introduction to Media Art and Culture (IMAC)

http://imac.mlog.taik.fi

Introduction to Media Art and Culture (IMAC)

http://imac.mlog.taik.fi

Knowledge Building tool

http://fle4.aalto.fi

Knowledge Building tool

http://fle4.aalto.fi

Knowledge Building tool

http://fle4.aalto.fi

TeamUp

http://teamup.aalto.fi

TeamUp

http://teamup.aalto.fi

Gracias.

Kiitos.

http://teemuleinonen.fi

Google: ” "Pensamiento de diseño y aprendizaje colaborativo"

Leinonen, T & Durall Gazulla, E. (in press):Pensamiento de diseño y aprendizaje colaborativo