Launching
of the Upper Secondary Distance Education
In
1997 the National Board of Education and the Finnish Broadcasting
Company started, together with 12 educational institutes, a
development project funded by the EU for Upper Secondary Distance
Education. In 2007, there are about 120 upper secondary distance
learning institutes with approximately 4 000 distance students.
The institutes are mostly regular upper secondary schools and
upper secondary schools for adults but include also some vocational
schools.
The
Upper Secondary Distance Education project continued through
till the end of 2004. It was coordinated by the Finnish National
Board of Education and partially funded by the European Social
Fund (ESF). The providers of the cooperating educational institutes
were also committed to partial funding of the development of
the project. Interest groups from the economic life included
the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), publishing companies,
leading suppliers of computer related equipment and network
operators.
The
objectives
The objectives of the Upper Secondary Distance
Education Project were to
-
improve educational equality through extending access to general
upper secondary education
-
increase citizens' abilities to use information and communications
technologies
-
develop distance education by increasing teachers' network-based
pedagogical skills and through the introduction of tutoring
models in distance education
-
meet the challenges presented by lifelong learning by offering
students an open and flexible educational track, thus increasing
their opportunities for further education
-
develop back-up material in support of certificate-oriented
upper secondary school studies in co-operation with the Finnish
Broadcasting Company and publishing houses.
Cooperative
networks
The
development work is based on local aspects. The Finnish National
Board of Education is in close cooperation with the county governments,
provincial federations and local communities. The institutes
form local and national networks. The coordination take place
mainly through telematic communication. In addition, when necessary,
conferences and development seminars are arranged.
Through
the Internet, the distance learning student may choose the institute
which will be responsible for study counseling, tutoring and
receive study attainments. Students are able to choose courses
also from the other institutes of the virtual networks.
Students
General upper secondary distance education
is suitable for
- employed or unemployed adults for flexible
completion of the entire upper secondary school syllabus or
for the study of individual subjects
- upper secondary school students in
support of regular upper secondary school studies and to supplement
course provision
- students at vocational institutions
(such as those taking the upper secondary school matriculation
examination and a vocational qualification in parallel)
- polytechnic students for remedial
and refresher study
- comprehensive school pupils as additional
studies and as an introduction to upper secondary school studies
- adults who wish to update and supplement
their general education
- young people and adults temporarily
residing abroad
Upper
secondary distance education is usually blended learning. The
majority of studies are completed in the form of distance learning
under the supervision of teachers. The average grades of the
distance learners have been close to the average grades of common
classroom upper secondary school students. The age of distance
learning students varies from 18 to 70.
Content production
The
National Board of Education produces, together with the Finnish
Broadcasting Company YLE, materials supporting distance learning
and teaching. The development process involves approximately
100 teachers, editors and producers.
The
basis of the distance learning is formed by textbooks as well
as radio and television programs and adjoining web materials.
The produced material consists of 120 TV-distance learning programs
(30 minutes each), 165 radio distance learning programs (30
minutes each) and dozens of web study modules. The Finnish National
Board of Education is responsible for the planning of development
and coordination as well as for the equivalence of the materials
with the national core curriculum, whereas the Finnish Broadcasting
Company is responsible for the technical matters and the broadcasting.
In addition to this, personal counseling and study materials
are produced by the participating schools and regional networks.
Different
kinds of Web based learning tools are utilized in distance teaching.
Local networks and teachers select the tools to be used. As
home computers have become very common in the finnish households,
students are using their personal computer as a study tool.
In addition, computers available at municipal libraries and
also at work places are utilized. Distance students also have
the right to participate in the regular teaching and counseling
classes of their institute if they wish. Possibilities for face-to-face
interaction are increased by the use of video conferencing.
Experiences
The
local activity of upper secondary distance learning institutes
has strengthened and distance learning has gradually established
itself as one of the educational routes for both young people
and adults. Gradually also regular upper secondary schools for
young people are joining the distance learning networks. Distance
learning is flexible and it is based upon the students' needs
and the time available to them. The implementation of distance
education requires a change in the attitudes and a change in
the traditional working culture of schools toward a more customer
oriented, open and flexible learning culture.
The
future prospects of distance learning are fascinating and they
are linked to the great speed at which information and communications
technologies are developing. Interactive web and digital television
services will increase the possibility of distance learning
students to receive versatile and newest possible information
to support their studies in the coming years. The problem will
be the cost of high quality content production.
The
purchasing and maintenance costs will have an effect on how
distance learning, which is based upon ICT- technologies, will
increase educational equality and how it will enable lifelong
education to all citizens. The implementation and pedagogical
utilization of distance learning also requires a massive process
of further training for the teachers.
The
need for distance learning possibilities in a sparsely populated
country such as Finland is great. The use of information and
communication technologies for studying also increases the potential
for creating distance employment opportunities outside the growth
areas.
Further
information
Finnish
National Board of Education
Brochure
(in English, pdf-file)
Website
(in Finnish) www.oph.fi/etalukio
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