Post on 14-Jan-2015
description
Does education support rural development?Hróbjartur Árnason ,University of Iceland
photo: Some rights reserved by Örlygur Hnefill
• Background• 4 examples• 2 didactical points
Nordic population density• Sweden - 9,230,000• Denmark - 5,510,000• Finland - 5,330,000 • Norway - 4,755,000• Iceland - 320,000• Greenland - 57,000• Faroe Islands - 49,000
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What did we do?• Six Symposia– Practical examples– Research results– Reflections on ideas
DISTANS Network:• Toured the Nordic countries• Visited educational sites
Distans.wetpaint.com
• Shrinking infrastructure• Few opportunities• „Lower“ quality of life•Difficult to offer learning because students are few and scattered
Challenges mentioned
Let them eat cake!
Let them learn!
Using distance and flexible learning to bridge distances
Mariann Solberg:Flexible learning can support rural areas by giving:
• Qualified workers• Increased innovation• Even out social and geographic
inequality• Democratic participation• Personal development• Slows down emigration
Four examples from Iceland:
3/4Capital: Reykjavik
320.000 inhabitants100.000 km2
ÍsafjörðurNursestudents create cohort in isolated town
Synchronus, cohort in one distant location
Teacher training: Asynchrounus and blendedIndividual students persue studies with work, and attend F2F gatherings on campus.
Stykkishólmur + 8 other Regional and topical research centres • Attract students to rural
areas for intensive courses• Teachers teach online or
visit university
Háskólasetrið á HornafirðiHöfn og Kirkjubæjarklaustri
Rannsóknasetur HÍSuðurlandi, Selfossi og
Gunnarsholti
Rannsóknasetur HÍVestmannaeyjum
Háskólasetur SuðurnesjaSandgerði
Háskólasetur SnæfellsnessStykkishólmi
Rannsóknasetur HÍVestfjörðum
Bolungarvík og Patreksfirði
Rannsóknasetur HÍNorðvesturlandi
Skagaströnd
Rannsóknasetur HÍNorðausturlandi
Húsavík
Rannsóknasetur HÍAusturlandiEgilsstöðum
Nine research centres
Computer school invites online participants into class
People who live in rural areas can participate in classroom based teaching through their own device
Issues• Online Students tend to
connect content less to own situation
• Marianne Solberg:– find it difficult to get
students to connect learning to own life, and find their "own voice" in the subject.
• Anna Guðrún Edvardsdóttir:– Students did not question
learning content– did not relate content to
own situation
• Women did not go into new arenas
• "Education is not enough"– "Good life" – Quality of life
• Can technology increase quality of life– Isolation– OTHER people
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Meaning for didactics
• Point ONE: Create and train community
• Point TWO: Connect learning to local life
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Point ONE: "Create community" • Emphasize community in
online courses• Train online skills:
– find– connect – lead– innate– participate
• Join communities– Forums– Communities of
• practice• interest• innovation
– Social networks• Connect people better
together– locally– globally
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Point TWO:
Connect learning to local life• Duty of teachers of distance students:• Help students
– Connect content • Local meaning• Personal consequences
– Root their learning in local• issues• culture• needs
– How• Questions• Learning Projects• Flexibility
• Connect studies to– Local benefit– How can content improve
• local situation• What can I do?
– Quality of life
More information
• On the presenter: Hróbjartur Árnason• On this project • Other presentations from this session