Finland Research

Bridging Insula Europae
Finland
National Research
Bridging Insula Europae

134214-LLP-1-2007-1-IT-COMENIUS-CMP
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for
any use which may be made of the information contained therein
Project Bridging Insula Europae

The task of Euneos was to investigate ODL limitations and barriers. As this was the main step
of the project research phase and for this reason, we formed a focus group of nine teachers to
be held both on-line and in person. Seven teachers were chosen from Vihti upper secondary,
and two from other schools. The selection included teachers of different subjects and with
different ICT skills levels. Those two teachers who were not from Vihti school represented
teachers with more experience of ODL.
The main aim of the focus group was to single out barriers, limitations and negative aspects of
ODL systems. The Vihti upper secondary school was chosen as the main target school of
interviews, because the school represented a mainstream upper secondary school in Finland
with about 550 students, and because it was possible to contact teachers also face-to-face
over there.
Fastwrite interviews in August 2008
The interviews were carried using fastwrite questionnaires especially designed for this purpose.
They were put into practice in late August 2008, after the Finnish teachers came back to
schools from their 10 weeks summer holidays to start the new school-year 2008-09. The
online interviews were complemented with face-to-face and phone contacts.
Various subjects
Eight female teachers and one male teacher were interviewed. The age range of their students
was from 16 to 19 years in 8 cases, and from 7 to 12 years in one case. The subjects included
English (3), French (1), German (1), Swedish (1), chemistry (1), mathematics (1) and physical
education (1). Their experiences with educational ICT were for 0 – 1 year (2), 2 - 3 years (2),
4 – 5 years(1), 6 – 7 years (2) and for 10 or more years (2).
General attitude: positive
Two teachers said that their attitude to eLearning was very positive, one said that her attitude
was neutral and six teachers described their attitudes as positive. Their use of the Internet was
from 0 to 1 hour a week in 6 cases, from 2 to 3 hours a week in one case and from 4 – 5 hours
a week in one
case. One of the interviewed was on her maternity leave, and had currently no lessons.
ODL not involved in curriculum
The eLearning was involved in the curriculum to a large extent only in the case of primary
education (7 – 12 years). The two teachers who had the longest experience of educational ICT
said that eLearning had been integrated into the curriculum of their subject to some extent.
Others said it was integrated to a small or to a very small extent.
Not much utilization of ODL
Two of the teachers said that they adopted eLearning very much or a lot in her teaching. Four
teachers adopted it moderately, or a little, and three teachers had adopted eLearning very
little.
The teachers who adopted eLearning more performed many different kind of activities n the
Internet with their students, such as browsing web pages, searching Internet resources,
making partner projects, having email correspondence, taking part in forum discussions, using
text chat or messaging and participating in live online sessions. Those who only adopted
eLearning a little were mostly satisfied with searching web resources.
Systematic promotion would motivate
The interviewed teachers were asked to choose up to three things that motivated them most in
eLearning. The most active teacher found her best motivation in the following: systematic
promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and internationalization.
Development of materials and facilities was also an important motivating factor for the
teachers who were more active in eLearning. Instead, teacher-in-service training was often
chosen as one of the most motivating things among the teachers who were less active in
eLearning.
More training needed
There was a lot of distribution in opinions of the teachers concerning the equipment, even
inside the same school. Some said there were enough computers, while others thought the
opposite. The more experienced teachers emphasized the need of teacher-in-service training in
their opinions.
Rapid or slow growth of ODL?
Five teachers thought that the future role of eLearning will increase rapidly, whereas three of
them said the development will be slow. One of the teachers thought that eLearning will stay
as it is, not to be decreased or increased.
Supplements
There are more detailed in the answers of the interviewed teachers in supplements of this
summary of investigation.
1) My personal views on eLearning/ODL, 9 answers of Finnish teachers in English,

document in .doc and .rtf
2) Henkilökohtaisia mielipiteitäni e-oppimisesta/verkko-opiskelusta, 9 suomalaisen

opettajan vastaukset suomeksi, asiakirja .doc ja .rtf -muodoissa
3) Summary of the answers of 9 Finnish teachers about their views on eLearning/ODL, .xls
file and .ods files
ODL
Barriers and limitations in Open Distance Learning (e-learning)
Some questions about the availability of hardware

• Does the majority of the students have access to a computer with an internet connection at
home?
• Do students have access to internet sites in some classes at school?
Questions about a content management system (ele / electronic learning environment).
Does your school make use of a content management system (e.g. Moodle, Pedanet, It’s learning)?
In what way do teachers use this system?
• They insert instructions and subject related content
• They present tests
• They present extra exercises
• They use e-learning materials made available by the publishing firms as additional material
to the textbooks
• Otherwise
In what way do students make use of it?

• Students put completed assignments on the site
• Students are able to communicate with each other on the site (forum) and as a peer group
they can see each other’s assignments
• Students work on a project and put the final products on the site
• Students keep a portfolio
Communication between student and teacher / feed back by teacher

Does the teacher make use of e-mail when communicating with students?
Does the teacher use other tools to communicate with students?
What are the most important barriers
Teachers
Insufficient adequate materials are put at their disposal by the publishing firms
The teacher has a lack of technical know-how as regards the use of the environment
The teacher doesn’t have enough time to attend training sessions
The teacher doesn’t have enough time nor the required experience to develop materials himself
There isn’t enough time during classes
The command of the use of ele is not assessed in exams
Only a few teachers make use of the environment
The school management does not support it
Students
The students have no technical training
The students prefer face-to-face instructions to e-learning
The students don’t see the extra value
My comments in general:
- didactical issues first, because they are the real stumbling stone!
- technological issues second; e.g. the ICT capacity of Finnish schools is not used to its full
potential, possibly 10 % of it has been taken into real use
Some comments on details. Please take or leave ;-):

- is there a critical mass of teachers in schools to put the reform into effect?
- have female teachers got enough time for didactic training, which they need due to their
double role in families (work in school, work at home)?
- do teachers/schools get active support or guidance in educational ICT from the universit-
ies?
- do teachers/schools get active support in educational ICT from the maintainer of the
school?
- are the maintainer of the school competent enough in the matters of educational ICT?
- is eLearning integrated in a really functional way into curricula?
- do teachers/students consider eLearning an important component of teaching?
- is there anyone who motivates teachers to implement eLearning into their teaching?
- is there any systematic promotion of eLearning in school?
- are teachers able to see eLearning in a larger context of global development?
-putting international dimension into teaching
- parents, school and homes
- net connections
- vastaajatiedot
ODL
Barriers and limitations in Open Distance Learning (e-learning)
A. Didactic challenges of teachers concerning your own school
1) the attitudes to educational ICT and to eLearning are positive

2) eLearning is integrated in a really functional way into curricula
3) project-based eLearning is implemented in teaching and learning processes
4) the command of the use of eLearning is assessed and evaluated in exams
5) there is enough time for training in educational ICT and in eLearning
6) female teachers have enough time for changing over to eLearning in spite of their double
work load at school and at home
7) teachers get active support and guidance in eLearning from the school management
8) there is systematic promotion and development of educational ICT and eLearning
9) there is a crucial number of teachers in schools to put eLearning into effect
10) international dimension is implemented in schools by means of eLearning
11) there is more interaction between schools and families thanks to educational ICT
12) authorities and school boards know how to stimulate teachers in matters of educational ICT
and eLearning
13) teachers know how to use multimedia applications of WWW
14) teachers have enough time and experience to develop materials of their own;
adequate materials are put at their disposal by the publishing houses
15) there is enough time for eLearning during classes
B. Technological challenges concerning your own school
I Technological opportunities :
1) teachers have sufficient technical know-how as regards the use of the Internet
2) teachers make use of learning environments
teachers make use of e-mail when communicating with students and homes
3) teachers use other tools (learning environment, SMS, skype etc.) to communicate with stu-
dents and families
4) teachers have access to a computer with an Internet connection at home
5) students have sufficient knowledge about educational ICT and eLearning
II Network of school:
6) teachers have access to computers in their lessons

7) the school network is open to all applications needed in teaching and learning
8) the school network provides sufficient user rights for teachers
9) enough computers are available to teachers
10) enough computers are available to students
11) there are enough computers in class-rooms
12) there are enough video projectors for class-rooms
13) the Internet connections are good enough
III Teachers’ use of learning platforms:
14) teachers can use a learning platform (e.g. Moodle, OPIT, Fronter, Pedanet etc. )
15) teachers insert instructions and subject related content
16) teachers present tests
17) teachers present extra exercises
18) teachers use eLearning material of publishing houses as additional material to the books
19) teachers use eLearning materials replacing books
IV Students’ use of learning platforms:
20) students put completed assignments on the site

21) students are able to communicate with each other on the site (forum) and as a peer group
they can see each other’s assignments
22) students work on a project and put the final products on the site
23) students keep a portfolio
Henkilökohtaisia mielipiteitä verkko-oppimisesta (eLearning)

My personal views on eLearning
01 Name: Pirjo Saarinen (my name must not be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Vihti upper secondary school
04 Email: pirjo.saarinen@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: chemistry
06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 2- 3 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive. eLearning
has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject only a little. I have adopted opportunities of
educational ICT very little in my own teaching. I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week
with my students. The Internet activity I have included in my teaching is searching Internet
resources.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are teacher-in-service training,
support and encouragement of the school management and development of materials and facilities.
There is really little of ICT training, or no money for training.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: There are
enough computers with Internet access in my school. The school network allows me to do all I want
to do on the Internet, and the equipment of my school favors introducing eLearning. I think the
future role of eLearning will stay as it is today when the entire learning processes are concerned.
Henkilökohtaisesti olen käyttänyt verkkoa 2-3 vuotta. Oma

suhtautumiseni verkko-oppimiseen on myönteinen. Verkko-oppiminen on
otettu vähäisessä määrin huomioon ensisijaisesti opettamani
aineen opetussuunnitelmassa. Omassa opetuksessani käytän
verkko-oppimisen mahdollisuuksia erittäin vähän. Työskentelen
oppilaideni kanssa viikottain keskimäärin 0-1 oppitunnilla verkossa.
Aktiviteetteja, joita teemme verkossa, ovat tiedonhaku internetistä.
Eniten minua kannustavat verkko-oppimiseen seuraavat tekijät:
opettajien täydennyskoulutus, koulun johdon tuki ja kannustus,
materiaalien ja välineistön kehitys. Koulutusta on todella heikosti
tai siihen ei ole varaa. Kouluni varustelusta verkko-oppimista
ajatellen voin todeta seuraavia asioita: Koulussani on riittävästi
verkkoyhteyksin varustettuja tietokoneita. Kouluni verkko mahdollistaa
kaiken, minkä haluan tehdä verkossa. Kouluni varustelu suosii
verkko-oppimista. Uskoakseni verkko-oppimisen osuus koko oppimisessa
pysyy nykyisellään. Nimeäni ei saa mainita haastattelujen tuloksia
julkaistaessa.
01 Name: Tuula Jantunen (my name must not be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: tuula.jantunen@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: English
Personally, I have used the Internet for 10 years or more. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to some extent. I have adopted
opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching a little.
I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The activities I have included in
my teaching is making grammar and other online exercises.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows: eLearning is
assessed and evaluated in exams, teacher-in-service training and more time for adopting eLearning.
There is not enough time to do everything.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: The school
network allows me to do all I want to do on the Internet, but there are not enough computers so as
to take them easily into use. There are enough computers with Internet access in my school. I think
the future role of eLearning will increase slowly.
.
Olen naisopettaja ja kouluni on Vihdin lukio. Ensisijainen
opetusaineeni on englanti. Oppilaani ovat iältään 16-19.
Henkilökohtaisesti olen käyttänyt verkkoa 10 vuotta tai enemmän.
Oma suhtautumiseni verkko-oppimiseen on myönteinen. Verkko-oppiminen
on otettu jossakin määrin huomioon ensisijaisesti opettamani aineen
opetussuunnitelmassa. Omassa opetuksessani käytän verkko-oppimisen
mahdollisuuksia vähän. Työskentelen oppilaideni kanssa viikottain
keskimäärin 0-1 oppitunnilla verkossa. Aktiviteetteja, joita teemme
verkossa, ovat kielioppi- ym harjoituksia verkossa. Eniten minua
kannustavat verkko-oppimiseen seuraavat tekijät: verkko-oppimista
arvioidaan kokeissa ja siitä annetaan numero, opettajien
täydennyskoulutus, enemmän aikaa verkko-oppimiselle. Aika ei riitä
kaikkeen. Kouluni varustelusta verkko-oppimista ajatellen voin todeta
seuraavia asioita: Kouluni verkko mahdollistaa kaiken, minkä haluan
tehdä verkossa. Tietokoneita ei ole tarpeeksi, jotta niiden
käyttöönotto olisi vaivatonta. Uskoakseni verkko-oppimisen osuus
koko oppimisessa kasvaa hitaasti. Nimeäni ei saa mainita
haastattelujen tuloksia julkaistaessa
01 Name: Iina Levàn (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: iina.levan@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: French
Personally, I have used the Internet for 10 years or more. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to some extent. I have adopted
opportunities of educational ICT moderately in my own teaching. I work in the Internet for about 0-
1 hour a week with my students. The Internet activities I have included in my teaching are browsing
web pages, searching Internet resources and email correspondence.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are teacher-in-service training,
systematic promotion of eLearning at school and putting the international dimension into learning
processes.
I think the future role of eLearning will increase rapidly.
Nimeni on Iina Leván.

opetusaineeni on ranska. Oppilaani ovat iältään 16-19.
Henkilökohtaisesti olen käyttänyt verkkoa 10 vuotta tai enemmän.
Oma suhtautumiseni verkko-oppimiseen on myönteinen. Verkko-oppiminen
on otettu jossakin määrin huomioon ensisijaisesti opettamani aineen
opetussuunnitelmassa. Omassa opetuksessani käytän verkko-oppimisen
mahdollisuuksia jonkin verran. Työskentelen oppilaideni kanssa
viikottain keskimäärin 0-1 oppitunnilla verkossa. Aktiviteetteja,
joita teemme verkossa, ovat verkkosivujen selaaminen, tiedonhaku
internetistä, sähköpostikirjeenvaihto. Eniten minua kannustavat
verkko-oppimiseen seuraavat tekijät: opettajien täydennyskoulutus,
koulussa edistetään verkko-oppimista systemaattisesti,
kansainvälistyminen. Uskoakseni verkko-oppimisen osuus koko
oppimisessa kasvaa nopeasti. Nimeni saa mainita haastattelujen
tuloksia julkaistaessa.
Nimeni on Marjo Yliluoma.
01 Name: Marjo Yliluoma (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Kantin koulu (Kant school)
04 Email: marjo.yliluoma@karvia.fi
06 Age range of my main student groups: 7 - 12 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 6 - 7 years. My attitude to eLearning is very positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a large extent. I have adopted
opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching a lot.
I work in the Internet for about 4 - 5 hours a week with my students. The activities I have included
in my teaching browsing web pages, searching Internet resources, partner projects, email
correspondence, forum discussions, text chat or messaging and live online sessions.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows: systematic
promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and internationalization. eLearning is not
interpreted as a method of learning by the school management of the municipality.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: There is
sufficient technical know-how and support. The equipment of my school favors introducing
eLearning, and there are enough computers with Internet access available. I think eLearning will
have a rapidly increasing role in school in future.
Olen naisopettaja ja kouluni on Kantin koulu. Ensisijainen

opetusaineeni on [ei tietoa]. Oppilaani ovat iältään 7-12.
suhtautumiseni verkko-oppimiseen on erittäin myönteinen.
Verkko-oppiminen on otettu suuressa määrin huomioon ensisijaisesti
opettamani aineen opetussuunnitelmassa. Omassa opetuksessani käytän
verkko-oppimisen mahdollisuuksia paljon. Työskentelen oppilaideni
kanssa viikottain keskimäärin 4-5 oppitunnilla verkossa.
Aktiviteetteja, joita teemme verkossa, ovat verkkosivujen selaaminen,
tiedonhaku internetistä, verkkokumppanuushankkeet,
sähköpostikirjeenvaihto, keskustelu foorumeilla, tekstichatti tai
pikaviestintä, ajantasaisistunnot. Eniten minua kannustavat
verkko-oppimiseen seuraavat tekijät: koulussa edistetään
verkko-oppimista systemaattisesti, innostuneet oppilaat,
kansainvälistyminen. Verkko-oppimista ei ymmärretä kouutoimen
johdossa oppimismenetelmäksi Kouluni varustelusta verkko-oppimista
ajatellen voin todeta seuraavia asioita: Teknistä osaamista ja tukea
on tarpeeksi. Koulussani on riittävästi verkkoyhteyksin varustettuja
tietokoneita. Kouluni varustelu suosii verkko-oppimista. Uskoakseni
verkko-oppimisen osuus koko oppimisessa kasvaa nopeasti. Nimeni saa
mainita haastattelujen tuloksia julkaistaessa.
Henkilökohtaisia mielipiteitä verkko-oppimisesta (eLearning)
Nimeni on Laura Pihkala-Posti.
01 Name: Laura Pihkala-Posti(my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Hervanta upper seconday school Tampere Finland
04 Email: laura.pihkala-posti@koulut.tampere.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: German
06 Age range of my main student groups: 16-19 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 6 - 7 years. My attitude to eLearning is very positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject only to a small extent. I have
adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching very much.
I work in the Internet for about 0 - 1 hour a week with my students. Activities I have included in
my teaching browsing web pages, searching Internet resources, partner projects, email
correspondence, forum discussions and tutoring courses.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are development of materials
and facilities and internationalization. My own interest has also been crucial. Unfortunately, there
is not sufficiently teacher-in-service training with good quality. More time and technical support is
needed for eLearning.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: My students
have a learning platform at their disposal. Technical support does not work properly. There is need
for even more computers.
I think eLearning will have a rapidly increasing role in school in future.
Olen naisopettaja ja kouluni on Hervannan lukio. Ensisijainen

opetusaineeni on saksa. Oppilaani ovat iältään 16-19.
suhtautumiseni verkko-oppimiseen on erittäin myönteinen.
Verkko-oppiminen on otettu vähäisessä määrin huomioon
ensisijaisesti opettamani aineen opetussuunnitelmassa. Omassa
opetuksessani käytän verkko-oppimisen mahdollisuuksia erittäin
paljon. Työskentelen oppilaideni kanssa viikottain keskimäärin 0-1
oppitunnilla verkossa. Aktiviteetteja, joita teemme verkossa, ovat
verkkosivujen selaaminen, tiedonhaku internetistä,
verkkokumppanuushankkeet, sähköpostikirjeenvaihto, keskustelu
foorumeilla, kurssien ohjaaminen. Eniten minua kannustavat
verkko-oppimiseen seuraavat tekijät: materiaalien ja välineistön
kehitys, kansainvälistyminen. Lisään vielä seuraavaa: oma
kiinnostusTasokasta opettajien täydennyskoulutusta ei ole
riittävästi saatavilla. Verkko-oppimimiselle tarvittaisiin myös
enemmän aikaa ja teknistä tukea. Kouluni varustelusta
verkko-oppimista ajatellen voin todeta seuraavia asioita: Oppilaillani
on käytössään oppimisalusta. Tekninen tuki takkuaa. Koneita saisi
olla vieläkin enemmän. Uskoakseni verkko-oppimisen osuus koko
oppimisessa kasvaa nopeasti. Nimeni saa mainita haastattelujen
01 Name: Ossi Mauno (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: male
04 Email: ossi.mauno@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: mathematics
Personally, I have used the Internet for 2 - 3 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive. eLearning
has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a small extent. I have adopted opportunities
of educational ICT in my own teaching moderately. I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a
week with my students. The Internet activities I have included in my teaching are browsing web
pages, searching Internet resources, publishing online products and guiding courses of students.
I think it is more reasonable to do some matters online, especially when teaching ICT.
Olen miesopettaja ja kouluni on Vihdin lukio. Ensisijainen

opetusaineeni on matematiikka. Oppilaani ovat iältään 16-19.
verkko-oppimisen mahdollisuuksia vähän. Työskentelen oppilaideni
kanssa viikottain keskimäärin 0-1 oppitunnilla verkossa.
tiedonhaku internetistä, verkkotuotoksien julkaiseminen, kurssien
ohjaaminen. Eniten minua kannustavat verkko-oppimiseen seuraavat
tekijät: . Lisään vielä seuraavaa: Jotkin asiat on järkevämpää
tehdä verkossa, näin etenkin tietotekniikan opetuksessa.Uskoakseni
verkko-oppimisen osuus koko oppimisessa kasvaa nopeasti. Nimeni saa
mainita haastattelujen tuloksia julkaistaessa.
Nimeni on Minna Vainionpää.

01 Name: Minna Vainionpää. (my name must not be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: minna.vainionpaa@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: Swedish
Personally, I have used the Internet for 0 – 1 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive. eLearning
has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a minor extent. I have adopted
opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching very little.
I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The activity I have included in
my teaching is searching Internet resources.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows: systematic
promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and development of materials and
facilities. There seems to be not enough time to learn new things, even if I had interest in it.
Computers should function without friction, as I have no skills myself to mend broken devices.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: The school
network allows me to do all I want to do on the Internet, but computers are out of order, from time
to time.
I know about this topic so little that my answers are deplorably scarce. Maybe I will some day know
more if my hectic life as the mother of two small children allows me that.
I think the future role of eLearning will increase slowly.
.
opetusaineeni on ruotsi. Oppilaani ovat iältään 16-19.
Aktiviteetteja, joita teemme verkossa, ovat tiedonhaku internetistä.
Eniten minua kannustavat verkko-oppimiseen seuraavat tekijät:
koulussa edistetään verkko-oppimista systemaattisesti, innostuneet
oppilaat, materiaalien ja välineistön kehitys. Aika ei tunnu
riittävän uuden opetteluun, vaikka kiinnostusta olisi. Koneiden
pitäisi myös toimia aukottomasti kun itsellä ei ole taitoa
selvittää jumiutuvia laitteita. Kouluni varustelusta
verkko-oppimista ajatellen voin todeta seuraavia asioita: Kouluni
verkko mahdollistaa kaiken, minkä haluan tehdä verkossa. Tietokoneet
jumiutuvat joskus pahasti.
Uskoakseni verkko-oppimisen osuus koko
oppimisessa kasvaa hitaasti.
Tiedän aiheesta niin vähän, että vastaukset ovat valitetttavan laihoja, en tiedä hyödytkö
niistä mitään ;-). Ehkä jonain päivänä olen asiasta paremmin perillä jos kahden viipottajan
äidillä kiire ikinä hellittää...
Nimeäni ei saa mainita haastattelujen

Nimeni on Pirjo Orkovaara.
01 Name: Pirjo Orkovaara (my name must not be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: pirjo.orkovaara@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: physical education
Personally, I have used the Internet for 4 - 5 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive. eLearning
has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a small extent. I have adopted opportunities
of educational ICT moderately in my own teaching. I work in the Internet for about 2 - 3 hours a
week with my students. Activities I have included in my teaching are browsing web pages,
searching Internet resources and forum discussions.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning is the development of materials
and facilities. There will be online courses for students in future. Teacher-in-service and systematic
promotion of eLearning is lacking. There is no real support for users.
There is some know how in school, but the municipality that maintains the school sets too many
bids and restrictions, which slow down and disturb development. The increase of the work load of
teachers is not taken into account in salaries.
I think there will be a rapid growth in the role of eLearning as a whole.

opetusaineeni on terveystieto ja liikunta. Oppilaani ovat iältään
16-19. Henkilökohtaisesti olen käyttänyt verkkoa 4-5 vuotta. Oma
verkko-oppimisen mahdollisuuksia jonkin verran. Työskentelen
tiedonhaku internetistä, keskustelu foorumeilla. Eniten minua
kannustavat verkko-oppimiseen seuraavat tekijät: materiaalien ja
välineistön kehitys. Lisään vielä seuraavaa: opiskelijoiden
tulevaisuuttaverkko-kurssit , täydennyskoulutus , koulussa ei edistetä systemaattisesti verkko-
oppimista Käyttäjien tuki puuttuu. Koulussa osaamista, mutta kunnan kiellot ja rajoitukset
hidastavat jahaittaavat. Opettajien työmäärän kasvua ei ole huomioitu palkkauksessa.
Koneita edelleen liian vähän. Uskoakseni verkko-oppimisen osuus koko
oppimisessa kasvaa nopeasti. Nimeäni ei saa mainita haastattelujen
Nimeni on Saarinen, Tuija.

opetusaineeni on englanti. Oppilaani ovat iältään 16-19.
suhtautumiseni verkko-oppimiseen on neutraali. Verkko-oppiminen on
otettu erittäin vähäisessä määrin huomioon ensisijaisesti
opettamani aineen opetussuunnitelmassa. Omassa opetuksessani käytän
Aktiviteetteja, joita teemme verkossa, ovat tiedonhaku internetistä,
katsomme uutisia . Eniten minua kannustavat verkko-oppimiseen
seuraavat tekijät: innostuneet oppilaat. Koulutukseen ei ole
määrärahoja (omalla vapaa-ajalla ei itsellä tarpeeksi intoa
opetella kaikkea, mitä voisi), verkko-oppimiseen suhtaudutaan melko
kielteisesti työyhteisössäni, itseni mukaanlukien :-( Kouluni
varustelusta verkko-oppimista ajatellen voin todeta seuraavia asioita:
Koulussani on riittävästi verkkoyhteyksin varustettuja tietokoneita.
Uskoakseni verkko-oppimisen osuus koko oppimisessa kasvaa hitaasti.
Nimeäni ei saa mainita haastattelujen tuloksia julkaistaessa.
Videoconferencing
Several research projects were set up to study the use of videoconferencing in education
Research project: Learning intercultural competency in the workplace

Level of education: Adult education, other than certificate-oriented
This project aimed at creating circumstances for successful intercultural learning processes in daily
work and at investigating the attainment of intercultural competences by follow-up studies. The
research also entailed the training of the people involved in collaboration with work communities,
two Equal projects, institutes for higher education, the Finnish Work Environment Fund, the Finnish
Ministry of Labour, employers’ and employees’ organizations, as well as regional councils and
Employment and Economic Development Centres in Eastern Finland.
In order to clarify in what ways intercultural competences can be fostered in everyday work, the
empirical studies will focus on (1) human resources management issues; (2) intercultural
professional training issues; and (3) intercultural interaction and communication issues. Both
qualitative and quantitative research methods will be used to gather data on selected samples of
private enterprises and those in the public sector.
Examinations are taken by both immigrant employees and their co-workers and supervisors
belonging to the ethnic majority.
On the basis of the project results personnel training materials and an intercultural learning model
will be developed and eLearning materials on issues of diversity will be produced on CD-Rom.
Research Project: Collaborative distance learning in post secondary adult education

Researcher: Marko SusimetsäResearch Unit:University of Tampere
PL 229, 13101 HÄMEENLINNA, tel.+358 3 355 111, fax.+358 3 3551 3611
Research date: 01.01.2001 - 17.08.2006Level of Education:Universities
Field of Science:Adult education
Keyword(s):adult education
collaborative learning
web-based learning
distance study
learning environment
Abstract:The aim of the study is to study the factors explaining the efficiency of collaborative
learning in a virtual learning environment and to build a model of this learning from the learners'
point of view.
The material for the research is gathered from students taking part in the basic studies of education
at the University of Tampere's Research Centre for Vocational Education. A group of adult students
who work in the field of adult education take part in this study program during 2003. The studies
are arranged according to the principles of collaborative learning and most of the study assignments
are carried out in a virtual learning environment.
The methodology of the research is mainly qualitative and concentrates on the study journals that
the students write about their learning experiences. The research material consists mainly of the
study journals that the students have written over the course of their studies, as well as a
quantitative questionnaire.
The research is carried out at the University of Tampere's Research Centre for Vocational
Education.
Publications:
• Susimetsä, Marko 2006 Motivated and Self-Regulated Learning of Adult Learners in a
Collective Online Environment Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 1160 Tampereen yliopisto ISBN
951-44-6666-7 ISSN 1455-1616
Research Project:Domestic interactive telematic education & learning Researcher:Kari Mikkelä

(kari.mikkelä@hut.fi) Research Unit:Helsinki University of Technology / Center for Educational
Technologies
PL 8000
02015
TKK
tel.+358 9 4511
Research date:01.01.1996 - 31.12.1998Level of Education:Field of Science:Engineering, industry
and transport
Educational science
Keyword(s):learning environment
distance study
educational technology
interactive learning
cable TV
Abstract:HUT Dipoli is a sponsoring partner in the project and acts also through HUT's Centre for
Educational Technologies (HUT CET) and Dipoli's unit TechNet Finland. DOMITEL aims to
develop and to demonstrate a supporting telematic learning environment for home learners, using
interactive cable television (ICATV), The demonstrator that will be developed will use two-way
cable television as the basic infrastructure in conjunction with other technologies and infrastructures
offering range of interactivity from one-way video with interactive teletext through fully two-way
video allowing for multimedia applications and videophony.
The main results of the project will be a) the realisation on the application sites os home distance
learning via ICATV that will be continued and extended after the project's duration, and that can be
disseminated to other places, and b) a 'blue-print', in the form of aspecifications manual, for
planning and implementing home learning via ICATV. HUT CET has a specific responsibility of
work package WP08 'DOMITEL Implementation' including an exploitation plan.Publications:
Research Project:LIVE - Learning in Virtual School Environments Researcher:Seppo Tella

(seppo.tella@helsinki.fi) Research Unit:University of Helsinki
PL 9
00014
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research date:01.09.1996 - 12.01.2000Level of Education:Comprehensive schools
Field of Science:Educational science
Keyword(s):open learning environment
distance education
teacher education
Abstract:LIVE was a three-year colaboprative action research project. The key objectives were to
investigate and develop: a) educational networking models in virtual school environments for
teacher education nad b) working methods and practices for cooperative learning in open learning
environments supported by modern information and commuication technologies. The principles and
results of the project are reported in Media Education Publications 6 & 8. Cf.
http://www.helsinki.fi/~tella/mepo6.html http://www.helsinki.fi/~tella/mepo8.html.
Research Project: Development of adult learning skills in the open university

Researcher: Matti Lappalainen (matti.lappalainen@utu.fi)
Research Unit: University of Helsinki / Lahti Research and Training Centre
Kirkkokatu 16, 15140 LAHTI, tel.+358 3 892265, fax.+358 3 892219
Research date:01.01.1992 - 31.12.1995Level of Education: Universities
Field of Science: Adult education
Keyword(s): higher education
learning strategy
distance study
self-directed learning
adult education
open university
Abstract:
Publications:
• Kaukiainen, A., Lappalainen, M. & Lindberg, J. 1995 Kasvokkain. Palautteen antaminen
oppijalle Turun yliopisto. Täydennyskoulutuskeskus. Sarja A:34 Turku: Painosalama Oy ISBN 951-
29-0415-2
• Lappalainen, M. & Olkinuora, E. 1995 Challenges for learning skills now and in the future.
In M. Ukkola (toim.) Access to open learning. Developing open university studies in Finland
University of Helsinki. Lahti Research and Training Centre Helsinki Hakapaino 29-37
• Lindberg, J. & Kaukiainen, A. 1995 Toward self-direction in learning - but how? In M.
Ukkola (toim.) Access to open learning. Developing open university studies in Finland University
of Helsinki. Lahti Research and Training Centre Helsinki Hakapaino 38-46
Search word: ?
Research Evaluation of online use of INION databases at the Tampere University

Project: Library
Researcher: Maria Forsman
University of Tampere
Kalevantie 4
Research 33014
Unit: TAMPEREEN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 3 215 6111
fax.+358 3 213 4473
Research
01.01.1989 - 31.12.1990
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of Computer sciences and computer technology
Science:
evaluation
humanities
library
Keyword(s):
USSR
data base
social sciences
Abstract:
• Forsman Maria 1987 Olisiko INIONin tietokannoilla käyttöä
Suomessa Korkeakoulutieto 14 5 37-38
• Forsman Maria 1990 Yhteiskuntatieteilijät ja humanistit löysivät INIONin
tietokannat Signum 23 5 160-161
• Forsman Maria 1991 Online use of INION databases at the Tampere
Publications:
University Library Tampereen yliopiston kirjaston julkaisuja. Sarja A, 2
• Forsman Maria. D.I. Raitt 1990 Evaluation of online use of INION databases
at the Tampere University Library. Teoksessa Online Information 90. 14th
international Online Information Meeting Psoceedings. London
Research Finnish Air Force cadets in network - experience in use of online learning
Project: environment in basic studies of mathematics
Researcher: Mika Nieminen
University of Jyväskylä
Research PL 35
Unit: 40014
JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO
Research
01.01.2003 - 31.12.2007
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of Mathematics and statistics
Science: Natural sciences
online teaching
mathematics
Keyword(s): distance teaching
air force
cadets
Abstract: In recent years a large number of studies dealing with teaching of natural
science and mathematics, like this one, have been made in Finland and
abroad. Many of them are based on pragmatism enabling to evolve various
approaches (development research, design research, educational
reconstruction). In the Finnish Defence Forces an increasing need for online
teaching resulted in the creation of the AVOT programme, and as a part of
the programme this research focused on the possibilities to use online
teaching in the Air Force.
The present study was conducted during the years 2003 to 2007 with the aim
to examine the effect of online teaching model, developed in the context of
the design research for the use in the basic studies of Mathematics for Air
Force cadets, on the results of the Cadet Courses 90, 91 and 92. One of the
objectives of the study was also to survey the usability of the Defence
Forces' online training portal in teaching mathematics for Air Force cadets.
This is a design research on the basis of which online courses were evolved
cyclically. The most important parts subject to development were online
discussions and tutor diaries the substance of which was analysed. The
usability of the training portal was surveyed by using the applied SUS
question series. A comparison of course results was made by covariance
analysis: the scores of the final tests were scaled to correspond to one another
by means of the item response theory.
It appears from this research that the results of the Cadet Course 92 that
studied using online courses are not statistically very different compared to
the results of the Cadet Course 90 that was given conventional lecture based
teaching. The training portal proved to be unsuitable for study of
mathematics but, on the other hand, the results achieved by online learning
were comparable with the results achieved by lecture based teaching. As this
study shows the use of online teaching can be increased justifiably in aircraft
maintenance training ensuring more flexible and diversified teaching.
• Nieminen, Mika 2008 Ilmavoimien kadetit verkossa - kokemuksia
verkkopohjaisen oppimisympäristön käytöstä matematiikan perusopetuksessa.
Finnish Air Force Cadets in network - experience in use of online learning
Publications: environment in basic studies of Mathematics Department of physics
university of Jyväskylä, Research report No. 3/2008 Jyväskylän yliopisto 192
s. ISBN 978-951-39-3117-9 ISSN 0075-465 x
Research Interaction in Online Learning Environments: How to Support Collaborative

Project: Activities in Higher Education Settings
Researcher: Kati Mäkitalo (kati.makitalo@ktl.jyu.fi)
PL 35
Research 40014
Unit: JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 14 260 3200
fax.+358 14 260 3201
Research
01.02.2001 - 10.02.2006
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
collaborative activity
computer-supported learning
Keyword(s): interaction
higher education
uncertainty
Abstract: This study explored interaction and learning in computer-supported
collaborative learning environments. It involved three different research
projects based in higher education settings. The aim was to study, in
particular, learner interaction and the way in which learners built and
maintained common ground so as to enable themselves to collaborate and
learn together. Another aim was to explore the effects of scripting interaction
in online learning environments with a view to finding out how scripting can
enhance or hamper collaborative interaction.
The five substudies were carried out as parts of three projects involving
higher education courses. The main data collected and analysed in all five
substudies consisted of the record of the students' online discussions. The
different documents produced by the individuals or groups and data on their
learning outcomes were also exploited in analysing the materials. Substudies
I, II and V were based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative
methods. Substudies III and IV explored the activities of the small groups by
using a qualitative approach.
All the five substudies indicated that interaction and collaboration in online
learning environments are complex phenomena. In order to work together
and interact successfully participants must engage in teamwork, making an
equal personal contribution to the team's collaborative activities and freely
sharing their prior knowledge, beliefs, assumptions and feelings. Here the
mechanisms of the grounding process are basic elements which can enhance
learners' ability to work as a team and reach shared understanding in
knowledge building activities or whose absence can, on the other hand,
hamper teamwork and the construction of knowledge (Substudies I-IV). The
grounding process enabled the learners to face up, as they went about
building and maintaining common ground, to a dual-problem space
consisting of a content space and a relational space. Learners must focus on
the content space in order to understand what their fellow learners are saying
and, at the same time, give thought to what they should themselves say to the
other learners and how they should say it so as to ensure that their learning
partners grasp what they are themselves saying. On the other hand, they must
understand the relational space of group work, representing what their fellow
learners are willing and able do and what they all can do as a group together
and how their work will go forward efficiently. Besides this, individuals must
attend to whether their fellow learners are willing and able to make contact,
recognise the ideas and suggestions that are important, and willing to listen,
react and respond. Further, participants must also know how to be present in
the online learning environment and how to signal their presence in a suitable
way. The research results indicate that both individual learners and learner
teams must put more effort into building and maintaining common ground.
In online learning courses where participants do not know each other,

uncertainty among learners can influence collaboration in a number of ways.
Learners' collaborative learning activities can be specified and sequenced by
using scripts. The findings of Substudy V support the idea that epistemic
(content-related) scripts reduce uncertainty. However, the results on student
learning outcomes revealed that the learners in the unscripted condition had
gained better learning outcomes than those in the epistemic script condition.
It is possible that uncertainty promotes beneficial interaction patterns,
including information-seeking processes. On the other hand, the members of
the successful group might have excelled because they were willing to put in
more effort to build and maintain common ground as they went about their
collaborative activities.
Learning to collaborate is already being consciously promoted in higher

education through the design of various tools or scripts supposed to help
learners to interact and work together. However, learners may not be able to
put such tools to appropriate and successful uses or do this without guidance
if they are unclear about the basic rules of collaborative activities. As a result,
even well-designed tools might fail to reach the goals set by their designers
and by the educators who have taken them up. Further, the nature of
collaborative learning suggests that its assessment should be based also on
the interactive learning process itself (Chan & Van Aalst, 2004). In other
words, assessment should focus not only on the individual group members
and their final product but also on the group processes. Moreover, account
should be taken of both individual and group learning because different
groups and different individuals inside one and the same group learn different
things.
To obtain a more detailed presentation of the different (cognitive, socio-

emotional, contextual) features of common ground and the processes of
shared understanding, we could apply and modify the model of the Johari
Window (Luft 1984; Chapman 1995-2005). The Johari Window captures
behaviour, empathy, cooperation, inter-group development and interpersonal
development more precisely than other descriptions. It would make possible
an integration of the theories of common ground and uncertainty reduction
with the outcomes of the substudies, producing a more comprehensive picture
of the significant areas of the grounding process as it operates in computer-
supported collaborative learning environments. The four perspectives are the
area of common ground, the blind area, the hidden and avoided area and the
unknown area (or, as it could also be termed, the area of no common ground).
This model of areas of the grounding process could help not only educators to
support learners but also designers to create environments and scripts that
enable learners to move to the area of common ground. It can help also
researchers to explore interaction and learning in online learning
environments; in particular, it can help them to focus on the hidden areas of
grounding processes, research of a kind that is lacking in the field of
computer-supported collaborative learning.
• Mäkitalo, Kati 2006 Interaction in Online Learning Environments: How to
Support Collaborative Activities in Higher Education Settings Vuorovaikutus
verkko-oppimisympäristöissä: Yhteisöllisen toiminnan tukeminen
Publications: korkeakoulukonteksteissa Jyväskylän yliopiston Koulutuksen
tutkimuslaitoksen Tutkimuksia - sarja, numero 18 Jyväskylä Jyväskylän
yliopisto 97 ISBN 951-39-2416-5 ISSN 1455-447X
Research
LIVE - Learning in Virtual School Environments
Project:
Researcher: Seppo Tella (seppo.tella@helsinki.fi)
Research University of Helsinki
Unit: PL 9
00014
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research
01.09.1996 - 12.01.2000
date:
Level of
Comprehensive schools
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
open learning environment
Keyword(s): distance education
teacher education
LIVE was a three-year colaboprative action research project. The key
objectives were to investigate and develop: a) educational networking
models in virtual school environments for teacher education nad b) working
methods and practices for cooperative learning in open learning
Abstract:
environments supported by modern information and commuication
technologies. The principles and results of the project are reported in Media
Education Publications 6 & 8. Cf. http://www.helsinki.fi/~tella/mepo6.html
http://www.helsinki.fi/~tella/mepo8.html.
Publications:
Research
Mukava-project: integrated school day
Project:
Researcher: Lea Pulkkinen
Agora
Research
40014
Unit:
tel.+358 14 260 1211
Research
01.09.2002 - 13.01.2003
date:
Level of Preprimary education
Education: Comprehensive schools
Field of Psychology, educational psychology
Science: Educational science
interpersonal relations
social success
affective development
Keyword(s):
school-community relationship
parent-school relation
information society
Abstract: This technology assessment focuses, on the one hand, on considering how to
gain greater benefit and pleasure from the information and communication
technologies (ICT), and how to eliminate a number of specific risks, on the
other. The emphasis is placed on the children's and young people's initial
social capital that has an essential role to play with respect to people's
subsequent welfare and the future of our society. It is also important that
Finland, as a pioneer of ICT development, could gain credence as a
vanguardist of socially and ethically sustainable technological development
in accordance with people's needs. What this presupposes is increased
resource provision for research, content production, consumer education, as
well as ICT and media education.
Day care and school have vital roles to play as providers of ICT education
and support to the individuals' initial social capital. Day care, school, and the
family may also function as co-educators promoting the socialisation process
in an information society. With regard to the promotion of initial social
capital, it is vital to diminish the digital divide and increase social equality in
other respects. Here we shall focus on the means and methods of supporting
children and their parents through school and other societal functions, in
order to alleviate the current regional, economic, and socio-economic
differences in the availability and accessibility of ICT.
ICT has changed families' daily lives and children's educational environment
to an essential degree. Considerably more time is spent on ICT-related
activities while families spend less time together. The possibility of parental
control over children's media use is decreasing, with the family members
being increasingly exposed to other impulses and external influence. This
means that the accumulation of initial social capital has been partly overtaken
by other socialisers, increasingly by the media and young people's peer
groups.
Most methods that expand the social dimension in the use of ICT also
increase the initial social capital and decrease the risks. In particular, social
interaction is required to achieve morals, overall trust and confidence. The
installation of equipment in joint facilities, provided with software allowing
teamwork and games, are practical means of expanding the social dimension.
It would be extremely important to restore to parents their supervising role,
even regarding the use of ICT and the media.
Being encouraged in the informative use of ICT will increase the individual's
social capital, to an even greater extent than its social uses. Interaction, online
availability, and the strength of multimedia experiences help make ICT
applications extremely attractive. This means that they offer almost unlimited
opportunities to learning at school, leisure-time information retrieval, other
practical uses, and networking. ICT can be used effectively to promote
communal and discovery learning, creative problem solving, and learning
motivation. Challenges will be seen in individual media skills and knowledge
interpretation skills, which enable a young person to distinguish the required
material in the information deluge and to critically assess whether the net-
based information in question is reliable.
Most ICT development risks pertain to the areas of social and emotional
development. Net-based communication will not provide the social skills that
are required by real-life human contacts and relations. Since ICT is attractive
and interactive (rewarding social contacts), it is applied by certain media,
which can lead to addiction situations that are entirely different from those
caused by conventional media. The black and white nature of values and
norms, strong emotional experiences, and attractiveness, make ICT
applications especially challenging with respect to emotional life. Numbed
emotions, withering compassion, and increasing aggressiveness are particular
risks prevailing among large-scale consumers of ICT-based entertainment.
Failure and disappointment in social relations are the most prominent

indicators that predict problematic development in an individual's use of ICT.
The young with social problems are prone to using computers to escape
reality, with virtual interaction becoming increasingly more rewarding than
real-life contacts and relations. Net-based, anonymous interaction can, not
only replace friendship, but tends to generate distrust, or selective trust,
exclusively in the direction of a particular in-group. This will generate a
vicious circle of influence that tests people's interdependency, values, norms,
mutual support networks, and compassion.
In addition to those battered in human relations, another risk group is

constituted by aggressive children and young people who get an additional
boost to their own aggressiveness from the violent world of computer games
and the media - or those who fail to learn aggression control. The third risk
group consists of young people with a low self-esteem or identity, who are
more gullible than others to take for granted the media's messages on success,
happiness, slim appearance, or sexuality. If a person's life situation is difficult
in other respects, this may lead to self-esteem problems, depression, or eating
disorders.
What is required to exploit the opportunities of ICT, and to avoid the risks, is
to provide parents and consumers with more effective education. The Internet
can be used to produce versatile parental support forms, based on support
provided by peers or experts. Applicable solutions include chat sites and
bulletin boards used for networking by parents, day-care workers and
teachers. One possibility to control children's use of the media, computer
games, and the Internet, can be provided by various classification systems,
which are becoming a standard requirement for several conventional image
processing programs. A functional classification system would also inform
the parents with regard to the quality of the services and programs in
question.
The best means and methods to ensure children's well being in a developing
ICT environment are those obtained through education and media-related
instruction. These will generate the media skills that not only increase the
pleasure and satisfaction obtained from the media but also "vaccinate" people
against the ICT-induced emotional, social and behavioural risks. This
education is geared towards teaching the child to use the media actively
(implemental skill) and selectively, and to critically assess the experiences
gained (media reading skills), even when an adult is not present. From the
ICT and media perspective, important arenas include homes, day-care
centres, schools, religious communities, and leisure-time groups.
One of the challenges encountered in ICT development is the preservation of

the balance between the genders, in relation to users, technology providers,
and content providers. In order to make computers attractive to girls, we must
analyse and comprehend the elements that could make girls as interested in
computers as are boys. And, more importantly, we must produce contents that
girls find interesting and attractive. This, in turn, will fail without girls' and
women's participation in ICT production.
Publications: • Pulkkinen, L. 2002 Mukavaa yhdessä - sosiaalinen alkupääoma ja lapsen
sosiaalinen kehitys Jyväskylä PS-Kustannus 312 ISBN 952-451-059-6
• Pekonen, O. & Pulkkinen, L. 2002 Sosiaalinen pääoma ja tieto-ja
viestintätekniikan kehitys (esiselvitys) Tulevaisuusvaliokunta, teknologian
arviointeja II. Eduskunnan kanslian julkaisu 5/2002 Helsinki Edita
OYJ 139 ISBN 951-53-2425-4 ISSN 1239-1638
• Mustonen, A. & Pulkkinen, L. 2003 Sosiaalinen alkupääoma ja tietotekniikka
(loppuraportti). Tulevaisuuusvaliokunta, teknologian arviointeja 14.
Eduskunnan kanslian julkaisu 1/2003 Helsinki Edita Prima Oy 134 ISBN
951-53-2486-6 ISSN 1239-1638
• Launonen, Leevi Pulkkinen, Lea (toim.) 2004 Koulu kasvuyhteisönä. Kohti
uutta toimintakulttuuria 220 ISBN 052-451-093-6
Research Project: Quality of Web-based teaching and learning in higher education

Researcher: Anne Nevgi (anne.nevgi@helsinki.fi) Research Unit: University
of Helsinki / University of Helsinki, Department of Education/ Centre

PL 9
00014
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+ 358 9 1912 0623
Research date: 01.01.2004 - 31.12.2006 Level of Education: Universities
Field of Science: Educational science
Adult education
Keyword(s): web-based teaching
distance learning
web-based course
quality
quality management
higher education
Abstract: Quality of Web-based teaching and learning project focused on developing
and assessing quality management in web-based teaching. Its objectives were to
increase the quality awareness of teachers and other staff involved in web-based
teaching at the University of Helsinki, to identify and analyse first-rate practices in
online teaching using research methods, as well as to produce material based on
research results to support teachers. The project had steering group chaired by Kauko
Hämäläinen (up to 31 August 2006) and Anne Nevgi (as of 1 September 2006). The
project was jointly carried out by the Centre for Research and Development of
Higher Education (Department of Education), the Department of Psychology, and
with the Educational Centre for ICT at the University of Helsinki.
The first project publications include a collection of articles dealing with quality in
university web-based teaching. The collection (in Finnish) is available online:
http://www.helsinki.fi/ktl/julkaisut/laadukkaastiverkossa.pdf (Nevgi, Löfström &
Evälä 2005). During 2005 the data from web-based courses were collected, analysed
and the results presented as paper presentations in the conferences and as articles in
scientific journals (see publications).
The final publication of the project is the Quality Teaching in Web-based

Environments ¿ Handbook for University Teachers (Löfström, Kanerva, Tuuttila,
Lehtinen, Nevgi 2006), also available online in Finnish
(http://www.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/aineisto/hallinnon_julkaisuja_33_2006.pdf), in
Swedish
(http://www.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/aineisto/hallinnon_julkaisuja_35_2007.pdf), and in
English (http://www.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/aineisto/hallinnon_julkaisuja_34_2006.pdf).
The content of the handbook is based on the research data reported in the article
collection, research in web-based teaching and learning, the authors¿ experiences of
web-based teaching and the Programme for the Development of Teaching and Studies
2007-2007. The objects of the project were fulfilled.
Publications:
• Löfström, E. & Nevgi, A. 2007 University teaching staff as learners of the

pedagogical use of ICT. Interactive Learning Environments
• Löfström, E. & Nevgi, A. 2007 University Teachers: Pedagogical Awareness
in Web-based teaching Seminar.net - International journal of media,
technology and lifelong learning 3 1 ISSN 1504-4831
• Löfström, E. & Nevgi, A. 2007 From strategic planning to meaningful
learning: Diverse perspectives on the development of Web-based teaching and
learning in Higher Education British Journal of Educational
Technology 38 2 312-324
• Löfström, E., Kanerva, K., Tuuttila, L., Lehtinen, A., & Nevgi,
A. 2006 Laadukkaasti verkossa: Verkko-opetuksen käsikirja yliopisto-
opettajalle Helsingin yliopiston hallinnon julkaisuja 33, Raportit ja
selvitykset Helsingin yliopisto ISBN 952-10-3571-4 ISSN 1795-5416
• Löfström, E., Kanerva, K., Tuuttila, L., Lehtinen, A., & Nevgi,
A. 2006 Quality Teaching in Web-based Environments: Handbook for
University Teachers University of Helsinki, Administrative publications 34,
Reports ISBN 952-10-3624-9 ISSN 1795-5416
• Löfström, E., Kanerva, K., Tuuttila, L., Lehtinen, A., & Nevgi, A. 2006 Med
Hög Kvalitet på nätet: Handbok i nätbaserad undervisining för
universitetslärare Helsingfors Universitetsförvaltnings publikationer,
Rapporter och utredningar 35 ISBN 978-952-10-3628-6 ISSN 1795-5416
• Nevgi, A., & Löfström, E. 2007 Opettaja verkko-oppimisympäristössä ¿
mielekkään oppimisen mahdollistaja. (Teacher in Web-based learning
environment ¿ facilitator of meaningful learning. Published in Finnish.)
Teoksessa Heljä Haapamäki-Niemi ja Sari Noponen (toim.) Elämään bittien
kanssa ¿ opiskelu verkossa ja Internetin mahdollisuudet Äidinkielen
opettajain liiton vuosikirja Helsinki Äidinkielen opettajainliitto 15-33
• Kanerva, K., Kivikangas, M., Kalakoski, V. ja Puttonen S. 2006 Kognitiivinen
kuormitus ja affektit verkko-oppimisessa Psykologia, 4 252-259
• Kanerva, K. 2006 Verkko-opetuksen tutkimuspohjainen suunnittelu ihmisen
tiedonkäsittelyn näkökulmasta Peda-Forum, 1 18-20
• Nevgi, A. & Löfström, E. & Evälä, A. 2005 Laadukkaasti verkossa -
Yliopistollisen verkko-opetuksen ulottuvuudet. (Quality Online ¿ Dimensions
of Virtual Learning in Higher Education ¿ English Summary by Erika
Löfström and Anne Nevgi) Helsinki: Yliopistopaino
Research
Role of the media in the lives of Finnish, British and German children
Project:
Researcher: Raisa Koivusalo-Kuusivaara
University of Helsinki
PL 54
Research
00014
Unit:
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
Research
01.01.2003 - 18.05.2007
date:
Level of
Preprimary education
Education:
Field of
Communication and information sciences
Science:
media
child
Keyword(s):
international comparison
communication
Abstract: Characteristic of today's media environment is intensity and constant
presence. The media also play a significant role in the lives of small children
since they, on average, start regular following of media at the age of three.
The contents, tools and social relations linked to the media do form an
environment for the children by means of which they form their concepts of
culture, society, social relations and build their identities.
The research explains the interpretation of audiovisual media and the role of
the media in the lives of Finnish, British and German children between four
to six years of age. The aim of the research is to deepen the scientific
knowledge on what kind of significance socially and culturally the media
have in the lives of small children and how they interpret the media contents.
In the study, the relationship between children and the media has been
observed as a tool, as a social, symbolic and cultural interpretation
environment. Additionally, the possibilities what the Theory of Symbolic
Interactionism which is rarely used in communication research can offer in
the observance of children's media relationship.
Based on the international material collected in Finland, UK and Germany,

also the cultural differences connected to the media between the comparison
groups are examined. In spite of the relatively similar media environments
between the countries compared, the study suggests cultural differences in
the media interpretations.
The media enable the development of a child's various skills and can thus
create social, symbolic and cultural resources which have a significance in a
child's development. The relation between a child and media is a two-way
interrelationship and in the interpretation of media information, the earlier
intellectual and social experiences are included. In his or her active media
relationship, a child develops his or her vocabulary, perceptions, thinking and
emotional life. Using the media as a social event, the social readiness of a
child is, for its part, developed. Thus, for example, the rules and regulations
concerning media uses guide how the family functions and define the
position of a child within the family. The contents of the media and different
supplementary products form, for their part, a child's cultural codes and
categorizations.
The study also demonstrates that the Theory of Symbolic Interactionism

offers a rather interdisciplinary research reference setting for the study of
children and the media and facilitates the studying and understanding of
children's media relation as a proportion of different factors.
• Koivusalo-Kuusivaara, Raisa 2007 Lapset, media ja symbolinen
vuorovaikutus : Suomalaisten, englantilaisten ja saksalaisten lasten
Publications: mediasuhteen tarkastelua Helsingin yliopisto. Valtiotieteellinen tiedekunta.
Viestinnän laitos
Research
Sence of communality in virtual environments
Project:
Researcher: Ulla Heinonen
University of Turku
Research PL 124
Unit: 28101
PORI
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
Level of
Adult education, other than certificate-oriented
Education:
Field of Educational science
Science: Cultural studies
online communities
technological change
Keyword(s):
communality
virtual teams
Abstract: This research project is part of the large research program 'Life as learning'
(LEARN), which is coordinated by the Finnish Academy. It belongs to the
project ' Models and methods for future knowledge construction:
Interdisciplinary implementations with mobile technologies (MOMENTS
project).
The aim of the MOMENTS consortium is to model the future education

needs and methods, with a special emphasis on network-based education
(NBE), and mobile technologies. During the research project the model will
also be applied and evaluated in selected case studies with company partners,
aiming at novel applications in the field.
The consortium represents several fields of science and education, providing

a wide knowledge base for the research task of the consortium. The research
foci of the partners include the use of mobile technologies (Tampere
University of Technology), learning in the light of the historico-cultural
perspective and digital culture (University of Turku), pedagogical
applications and models of network-based education, and designing and
assessing technologically-mediated environments (Universities of Helsinki
and Lapland).
The research will be carried out through jointly conducted work packages, in
which each partner has responsibility areas of their own. The research
methods consist of both quantitative and qualitative data gathering
techniques, including questionnaires, interviews, content analysis as well as
theoretical and computer-assisted modeling. The case studies geared towards
mobile technologies (especially PCAs) and mobile communication will be
conducted in different learning institutions and work places. The ultimate
objective is a new integrated learning model that can be utilized in designing
the future curricula and implementing formal and informal training, both in
schools and in work places.
The international UK-based partners are expected to give additional value to

the project, particularly on knowledge construction processes, knowledge
codification and management, the impact of ICT on education, and
collaborative and communal learning. In addition, the international partners
will run high-quality workshops for the researchers and strengthen the impact
of the project, facilitating the continuous exchange of ideas, learning
experiences and outcomes.
• Heinonen, U. 2004 Sähköistyvä yhteisöllisyys - kotia kodittomille vai kodin
jatke. Teoksessa Granö, Päivi, Suominen, Jaakko & Tuomi-Nikula, Outi
(toim.): Koti - kaiho, paikka, muutos Kulttuurituotannon ja
maisematutkimuksen laitoksen julkaisuja 4 Pori Turun yliopisto
• Koskimaa, Raine & Heinonen, Ulla 2005 Teknologiavälitteinen
vuorovaikutus verkko-opetuksessa. Teoreettisen mallin tarkastelua
tapaustutkimusten valossa. Teoksessa Tella, Seppo, Ruokamo, Heli,
Multisilta, Jari & Smeds, Riitta (toim.): Opetus, opiskelu, oppiminen. Tieto-
ja viestintätekniikka tiederajat ylittävissä konteksteissa Lapin yliopiston
Publications:
kasvatustieteellisiä julkaisuja 12 Rovaniemi Lapin yliopisto
• Koskimaa, R., Lehtonen, M., Heinonen, U., Ruokamo, H., Tella, S., Tissari,
V. & Vahtivuori-Hänninen, S. 2005 Cultural discourses and network-based
mobile education Journal of Educational Research: Culture and Learning
• Heinonen, Ulla 2005 Tässä ja nyt - mutta tuhansien mailien päässä.
Työskentely ja opiskelu hajautetussa organisaatiossa. Teoksessa Levonen, J.,
Järvinen, T. & Kaupinmäki, S. (toim.): TUOVI 2: ITK'04 tutkijatapaamisen
artikkelit Tampereen yliopiston hypermedialaboratorion verkkojulkaisuja 8
Research Work-based leaming from the viewpoint of quality, self-evaluation and

development in the field of social and health care vocational upper secondary
Project:
education
Researcher: Kirsti Hulkari (kirsti.hulkari@kopteri.net)
PL 229
Research 13101
Unit: HÄMEENLINNA
tel.+358 3 355 111
fax.+358 3 3551 3611
Research
01.01.2001 - 29.08.2006
date:
Level of
Vocational institutions
Education:
Science: Social and health care
work-based learning
quality
Keyword(s):
evaluation
vocational education
In this research, work-based leaming is studied from the viewpoint of quality.
The study is a qualitative, participatory evaluation research and the purpose
is to analyse the concept of work-based leaming quality and evaluate various
methods used in developing the quality of work-based leaming together with
other actors of the work-based leaming network.
The research approach is pragmatic. It has been carried out as an action

research process and the material has been gathered in the Karkku College
for Home Economics and Social Services in 2001-2005 in three projects
funded by the
European Social Fund. A 12-part quality concepts used in the evaluation of
work-based leaming quality has been constituted based on material gathered
with a roleplaying method from students, workplace instructors and teachers.
Abstract:
The chosen methodological approach to quality follows the general
principles of material-based grounded theory. The evaluation of quality has
been implemented with the indicators that the research participants,
especially students, themselves regarded important. Quality concepts have
been specified through student focus group interviews and
analysis of online discussion materials. The research results are based on
workbased leaming quality evaluation data gathered from students and
workplace instructors through 360-degree assessment and WWW-based
questionnaire, as well as evalution reports of the various evaluation methods
written by the actors. The focus of the quality work is on self-assessment and
using networks to develop the quality ofwork-based leaming.
The concept of work-based leaming quality in the field of social and health
care emphasises communalism and interactionin compliance with the nature
of the work on the field and the predominant leaming theory. Quality
concepts vary between the various actors in the network.The students
connected quality strongly to the process of leaming a professional skill and
possibility to leam in a workplace.The teachers emphasised structures and
creating the settings for leaming. On the other hand, workplace instructors
emphasised results and vocational proficiency shown by the
students.
AlI the methods tested in the research have their limitations and strengths
that must be understood when choosing one of them. Commitment to one
method limits the usability of the results. Jn the evaluation of the suitabilityof
a method it is essential to consider the purpose of use; what kind of data
gathering is useful for the developmentof quality.
The suitability of 360-degree assessment for evaluating work-based leaming

quality is supported especially by the included pedagogical dimension. A
360-degree assessment is a way to introduce and familiarise the contents of
quality concepts to the various parties. A common discussion about the
evaluation results is important for the awareness of different expectations,
viewpoints and quality concepts. The use of the method is limited by the
difficulty of the follow-up of the development results.
Online discussion makes the work-based learning process visible and gives
teachers the chance to follow the quality of the process in real time.
Situations can be interfered when problems are still acute.The problem with
web discussion regarding quality work is the lack of a systematic
approach.That is why online discussion is a supplementary method in quality
work.
The problem with focus group interview in quality work is its detachment
from the leaming process, pedagogy and development. In spite of the
participatory and empowering nature of the method, it is difficultto evaluate
the extent or frequency of a problem or receive suitable follow-up
information through focus groups. A WWW-based questionnaire makes
available the many advantages generally connected with information
technology. Evaluation is fast, accurate, flexible, economical, independent of
time and place and almost real time. The method is suitable for temporal
follow-up and comparison. Human communication, which is important in
quality development, is lost in evaluation done in information networks.
This cannot be replaced with numeric summaries. The results of the analysis
of the materials gathered with the various methods strengthen the conception
of high-quality work-based leaming environments in the social and health
care educational institutes that participated in the research. Both the students'
and workplace instructors' subjective evaluations of the work-based leaming
quality were positive.
• Hulkari, Kirsti 2006 Työssäoppimisen laadun käsite, itsearviointi ja
kehittäminen sosiaali- ja terveysalan ammatillisessa peruskoulutuksessa Acta
Publications: Universitatis Tamperensis 1163 Tampere: Tampere University Press ISBN
951-44-6683-7
Research DEDICATE - Distance Education Information Courses with Access through
Project: Networks
Researcher: Irma Pasanen-Tuomainen (irma.pasanen@hut.fi)
Helsinki University of Technology / Library
Research PL 7000 (Otaniementie 9)
Unit: 02015
TKK
Research
15.05.1998 - 31.12.1999
date:
Level of
Adult education
Education:
Field of
Science:
library
training of trainers
The aim of the DEDICATE project is to develop distance education courses
in information literacy. The distance education courses which train the
trainers initially in libraries will be demonstrated and tested at four library
sites in Technological Universities in Estonia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania
Abstract:
and at the Nicholas Copernikus University in Poland. The support required in
distance education is surveyed from both the learners as well as from the
instructors point of view. Support in the form of document delivery is also
examined.
Publications:
Research
Distant education at school and in teacher education
Project:
Researcher: Eila Jeronen
University of Oulu
PL 2000
Research 90014
Unit: Oulun yliopisto
tel.+358 8 553 3702
fax.+358 8 553 3744
Research
01.01.2004 -
date:
Level of
Upper secondary schools
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
multiform teaching
Keyword(s): network based education
geography
Abstract: During the last decade, there have been large changes in the society and the
school system in Finland. This article briefly describes the curriculum for
upper secondary school geography, to be introduced by the 1st of August
2005. In the new curriculum, communication, media skills and technology
are listed as important teaching methods. The article also offers a specific set
of pedagogical and assessment strategies found to be successful in distance
education in Geography. Distance education offers students an opportunity to
have upper secondary level education also in small rural village schools,
which do not have teachers in all the required subjects.
• Jeronen, E. & Anttila-Muilu, S. 2005 Effective Practices in Distance
Education in Upper Secondary Level Geography in Finland. In K. Donert &
P. Charzynski (Eds.): Changing Horizons in Geography Education.
2.Geography in European higher education. Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Torun, Poland 146-150
Publications: • Jeronen, E. & Anttila-Muilu, S. 2005 Effective Practices in Distance
Education in Upper Secondary Level Geography in Finland. In K. Donert &
P. Charzynski (eds.) Changing Horizons in Geography Education. 2
Geography in European higher education. Nicolaus Copernicus University,
Torun, Poland 146-150
Search word : Etäopetus (distant learning)
Research Indicators of the learning process for the intervention in the virtual
Project: programming courses
Researcher: Sirpa Torvinen (sirpa.torvinen@joensuu.fi)
University of Joensuu
PL 111
Research 80101
Unit: JOENSUU
tel.+358 13 251 7928
fax.+358 13 251 7955
Research
01.01.2001 -
date:
Level of Upper secondary schools
Education: Universities
Field of
Computer sciences and computer technology
Science:
distance study
web-based learning
Keyword(s): programming
dropout
learning difficulty
Abstract: Problems in learning programming among regular Computer Science
students are very common. University of Joensuu, Department of Computer
Science, started in fall 2000 to offer first year's university level studies to the
high school students in surrounding rural area of Joensuu. In fall 2001 we
expanded to the neighboring province, South-Savolax as well. Almost half of
the content in this distant curriculum, called Virtual Approbatur, consist
programming.
Our interest towards problems within learning programming break out when
we noticed that main part of students who drop out, leave off the study
process during the first programming course or right after it during the
second programming course. Any way main part of dropouts is possible to
avoid based on the information by interviews or questionnaires, if the
students could get help immediately when they encounter problems in their
study process. The threshold to dropout in virtual courses are clearly lower
than in contact lessons so the need for intervention in virtual programming
courses is obvious.
In this study we are going to find out the indicators in the virtual
programming courses that will tell both to the supervisors and to the students
when there is need for some extra material or additional guidance in order to
help the study process. We have improved our materials in very quick tempo
based on the analysis of questionnaires, interviews and feedback given by
students.
Aim of this study is not only the improvements to the course materials and
arrangements but more about finding the solutions to the dropout
phenomenon. Our goal is that after this study we know what kind of
indicators will tell us when student is going to be dropped out, and based on
these signals we could develop an adaptive learning environment that could
help students over the troubles in distant learning process. This system will
intervene to the distant study process already before the problems are coming
too hard to overcome for students. In Virtual Approbatur program students
study independently over the Web so the needs for supervising and supports
for learning are even more challenging than in traditional learning. When
there is need for intervention in Web-based courses? How we can intervene
in Web-based courses?
Publications:
Research
Modern learning environments, continuity of higher education
Project:
Researcher: Sirpa Kantola-Pakkanen
University of Oulu / Economics and Business Administration
PL 4600
Research 90014
tel.+358 8 553 2905
fax.+358 8 553 2906
Research
15.11.2001 -
date:
Level of Universities
Education: Polytechnics (AMK) institutions
Adult education
Field of
Business administration, economic geography
Science:
higher education
distance education
Keyword(s):
economics of education
Abstract: Modern Learning Environments -research area is a part of research and
development co-operation program between Naturpolis Kuusamo Education
and Development Service unit (owned by Kuusamo Town) and University of
Oulu. The co-operation program (2001-2003) is financed by EU, Regional
Council of Northern Ostrobothnia and Kuusamo Town.
The head subject of the year 2002 "The Continuity of Higher Education" in
the Modern Learning Environments - research area is approached by the
customer's point of view and the organiser's point of view. Modern Learning
Environment -research area is carried out by Faculty of Economics and
Business Administartion.
1) The Customer Satisfaction and Development Needs of the Distance and
Multiform Education / Mr. Juha Väisänen
2) The Support Services of Distance and Multiform Education / Ms. Maria
Murtoniemi
3) The Costs and Cost Structure of the Distance and Multiform Education /
Mr. Henry Kilpivaara
4) Investments and Cost Allocation in the Area of Distance and Multiform
Education / Ms. Tea Kauhanen
The case organisation of the research is the Education and Development
Service unit and the distance and multiform education realised by the unit.
This research examine the carrying out of higher education by using distance
and multiform education methods in the area without own University or
Polytechnic.
Distance and multiform education was initiated in Kuusamo in 1990 and
since then higher education has been transferred and carried out in the area.
At the moment there are ca. 220-260 higher education students using
distance and multiform education methods. The results of this research will
be utilised in order to strengthen the continuity of higher education in the
area.
The research of distance and multiform education is quite rare and new in
the area of economics and business administration in Finland. The earlier
research has been carried out mainly in USA, England and Australia.
Publications:
Research MustLearnIT: Using ICT for special subject distance learning in multigrade
Project: schools
Researcher: Ilkka Luoto (ilkka.luoto@chydenius.fi)
Pitkänsillankatu 1-3
Research 67701
Unit: KOKKOLA
tel.+358 6 8294111
fax.+358 6 8294202
Research
01.10.2005 -
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
multigrade education
distance education
information technology
Keyword(s):
small school
comprehensive education
evaluation
Abstract: The MuStLearnIT project targets primary schools in different European
countries operating under special conditions such as multigrade and remote
schools, where a few teachers (or even a single teacher) are responsible for
teaching a small number of pupils of different ages and grades a variety of
lessons and where often there are no 'subject specific expert' teachers for a
number of lessons, as opposed to larger 'standard' primary schools where
several teachers of various specialisations cater for classes, each of which
consists of pupils of the same age and abilities. The Research Department of
the Chydenius Institute will contribute their experience and interest in
evaluating the interim and final results of the project.
Publications:
Research Paired student work in distance education based on network and video
Project: conferencing connections
Researcher: Kaarina Laine (kaarina.laine@utu.fi)
University of Turku
Assistentinkatu 5
Research
20014
Unit:
TURUN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 2 33351
Research
01.01.1998 - 31.01.1999
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Science: Communication and information sciences
distance education
Keyword(s): didactic use of computer
computer network
The intention based on this small-scale test was to discover if it was possible
to develop interaction between the distance education groups using video
conferencing and network by making use of paired student work and
alternately placing the teacher in both locations.
The experiment was carried out in the Departments of Teacher Training of

Rauma and Turku of the University of Turku. The subjects were six students
training to be kindergarten and class teachers, who were paired off. All were
women. The teaching environments in both locations were multimedia
laboratories in which distance education assistants took care of the video
Abstract:
conferencing connections. The teacher alternated between locations. In the
location that was without teacher, the assistant functioned as a tutor. The
students were asked, with the aid of the network, both open and structured
questions on their opinions on how they felt about the teaching. The answers
to the open questions were interpretated qualitatively by the content analysis
to form answer categories. All the answers and answer categories were
examined through frequential distribution. In this experiment the pair work
was a successful solution and through its use students also feel that the
interaction between distant groups is good. Also, the alternate presence of the
teacher in each location seems to have been a good practice.
Publications:
Research Pilot experiment on the use by novices of networking and videonet meeting
Project: study methods in university teaching
Researcher: Kaarina Laine (kaarina.laine@utu.fi)
University of Turku
Assistentinkatu 5
Research
20014
Unit:
TURUN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 2 33351
Research
01.09.1997 - 30.11.1998
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
didactic use of computer
university studies
In this experiment our aim was to discover the reactions of a teacher and two
groups of students to multimethod teaching where, in a distance learning
context, they were making use, for the first time, of networking and net-
meeting teaching technology in their studies. The purpose of the teaching
was to support and further the students' skills in information processing,
reflection, discussion and networking.
The subjects in the research were two groups of education students. One
group was working in the Department of Education in Turku (n=3); the other
was in the Department of Teacher Education in Rauma (n=7). Of the ten
participants six were women anf five were men. The teacher was in Turku.
There was a tutor in Rauma who dirested networking studies in particular. In
both places lessons took place in multimedia classrooms where distance
learninig assistants looked after the video connections. The students were
presented, via the net, with both open and structured questions on their
Abstract: opinions as to how the teaching had succeeded. The teacher wrote feedback
papers evaluating the success based on her observations and on the video
tapes recorded. The answers to the open questions were interpretated
qualitatively by the content analysis to form answer categories. All the
answers and answer categories were examined through frequential
distribution.
In spite of the fact that this was a pilot experiment, it can be seen to indicate
that even teachers and students who are unused to technology in their
teaching and studying can benefit positively from it, when it is used
appropriately. It would seem that a technological learning environment can
be planned in such a way that it offers students facilities for self-directed
study, while at the same time developing the skills necessary for deep
learning, and for communication and computer skills. In this experiment the
biggest problem was achieving natural interaction between the distance
groups.
Publications:
Research Sokrates Fetiche project. The University of Helsinki experiment

Project:
University of Helsinki / Vantaa Institute for Continuing Education
Lummetie 2 A
Research 01300
Unit: VANTAA
tel.+358 9 19129003
fax.+358 9 19129000
Research
01.03.1996 - 31.08.1997
date:
Level of
Adult education
Education:
Field of Teacher education
teacher education
in-service training
continuing education
Keyword(s):
information
communication
The focus of the Fetiche project will be communications between the
various partners engaged in teacher education and the effect technology has
upon these communications. The focus of the first Finnish Experiment was
Abstract:
to define user needs in field of Information and Communication
Technologies and Education. The second Experiment focuses are
communicational features.
Publications:
Research
Upper secondary distance learning project
Project:
Researcher: Petra Wager
University of Helsinki / Department of Teacher Education
PL 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 20)
Research 00014
Unit: HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 19129611
Research
01.01.1998 - 31.12.1999
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Science:
distance education
Keyword(s):
upper secondary
Abstract:
Publications: • Ollikainen Raila 1999 Opiskelun ohjaus etälukiossa Helsingin yliopisto.
Kasvatustieteen laitos
• Nurminen Outi 1999 Itseohjautuva toiminta avoimessa opiskeluympäristössä.
Tapaustutkimus etälukiosta Helsingin yliopisto. Kasvatustieteen laitos
• Aalto Markus 1999 Aikuisen etälukiolaisen opiskelu rankkaa, mutta
motivoivaa työtä julkaisussa Kokemuksia, tuntemuksia & ajatuksia
etäopiskelusta Etäuutiset 1/1999
• Kynäslahti H., Wager P. 1999 New Roles of the Teacher. ComNEd'99
-seminar 13.-18.6.1999, Aulanko, Hämeenlinna
• Kynäslahti H., Wager P. 1999 Changing Roles of the Teacher in Inter-
institutional Networks of Schools. Husita-seminar 29.8.-1-9-1999, Budapest,
Hungary
• Wager P., Aalto M. 1998 Impact. Opetus- ja opiskeluprosessit avoimissa
etäopiskeluympäristöissä. Opetushallituksen etäopetusprojektin tutkimuksen
väliraportti 13.10.1998
• Wager P., Kynäslahti H. 1999 Roles of the Teacher in an Open and Distance
Teaching Environment. The 19th ICDE Conference on Open Learning and
Distance Education: The New Educational Frontier: Teaching and Learning
in a Networked World 20.-24.6.1999, Vienna, Austria
• Wager P., Vahtivuori S., Passi A. 1999 "Opettaja, opettaja, teletiimi Tellus
kutsuu..." Yhteisölliseen Opiskeluun Tähtäävän Virtuaalikoulumaisen
Opiskeluympäristön Edellytyksiä Kasvatus 30 (3)
• Wager Petra, Aalto Markus 2000 Etälukiolla eteenpäin. Opetuksen ja
opiskelun uudet etätuulet. IMPACT-tutkimuksen
loppuraportti. ESR/Kehittyvä koulutus 1/2000 Helsinki Opetushallitus ISBN
952-13-0830-3 ISSN 1238-1462
Avoin oppimisympäristö 1
Research Adult eLearner. Orientations and learning experiences in network learning

Project: environment
Researcher: Vesa Korhonen (kaveko@uta.fi)
Ratapihankatu 55
Research 33014
tel.+358 3 215 6550
fax.+358 3 215 7502
Research
01.10.1999 - 24.03.2003
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Science: Computer sciences and computer technology
learning
learning experience
Keyword(s):
learning goals
learning strategies
Abstract: The purpose of the study was to explore patterns of learning among adult
students in a web-based learning environment over the study period of
approximately one year. The main research population comprised 23 adult
students who had completed the web-based study programme in nursing
science in the Open University. The learning environment varied from
traditional face-to-face small group sessions to web-based sessions. The
learning environment was goal-oriented in nature and focused on self-
assessment of learning. Data were collected during the web-based
programme in the form of qualitative textual material (essays, learning
diaries). In addition, quantitative survey data were collected to make
comparisons between different learning environments. The comparison
groups consisted of Open University students completing the last web-based
module (N=32) and academic degree students (N=49) who were majoring in
nursing science and followed traditional learning methods.
Learning has been researched from the perspectives of general approach to

learning and learning experiences. As for the general approach to learning,
the examination focused both on more general orientation factors underlying
the studies and on strategies related to the regulation of action and
performance of learning tasks, which had a more concrete effect in the
learning environment.
The general approach to learning was analyzed through the perspectives of

learning goals, general study orientation and contextual orientation.
Metacognitive regulation strategies of learning, learning strategies, and
epistemological beliefs were the focus of attention especially in the
quantitative part of the research. Learning experiences were examined in
relation to the question of how reflective self-assessment of learning occurred
and what kinds of contexts were connected with the experiences in the
learning environment.
The qualitative part of the research was based on a modification of the

grounded theory analysis. The qualitative analysis demonstrated two
contextual orientations in the web-based learning environment: meaningful
and accommodative learning. In the orientation pattern of meaningful
learning, the learning intentions are constructed around understanding or
application of knowledge. The general study orientation to learning varies
between content or applicationfocused orientation. Learning is mainly an
active and self-regulatory effort in the learning environment. Similarly,
metacognitive capabilities develop as a result of active reflection. Learners
are active subjects in the learning environment and seek to construct
meanings either on their own or together with other learners, and are capable
of identifying and assessing their own perceptions and learning processes in a
versatile manner. In the orientation pattern of accommodative learning, the
learner's action and performance, that is, carrying out and completing the
tasks, and action in learning situations, emerge as the main features.
The predominant general approach to learning can primarily be referred to as

an action orientation. The personal search for the meaning of learning and
reflection on one's own learning receive less attention. Learners either
perceived the learning environment to be challenging, or their life
circumstances presented a number of rival demands which made them adjust
to the environment and cope with its requirements. In the quantitative data,
there also emerged the orientation pattern of appreciation of practical
knowledge, which was found to be the predominant pattern in the
comparison groups of academic degree students. This indicates that the
learning interests were constructed through the usability and applicability of
knowledge.
The study showed that the web-based learning environment with its ways of
organization was more supportive of meaningful learning than was the
traditional learning environment at university. As concluded from the
learning experiences of adult students, one of the most important features in
the web-based learning environment was the collaborative context,
constructed jointly by students, which opened up a dialogical space in the
learning environment where learners felt they were connected to a wider
knowledge transfer context in addition to the substance of learning. The
learning environment cannot thus be described exhaustively as one of the
contexts underlying learning, but is composed in the interaction between
different contexts of knowledge construction.
Publications:
Research
Advantages and disadvantages of web-based learning
Project:
Researcher: Kirsi Tirri (kirsi.tirri@helsinki.fi)
Unit: PL 9
00014
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 191 20555
fax.+358 9 191 20561
Research
01.08.1999 -
date:
Level of
Adult education
Education:
Science: Computer sciences and computer technology
Keyword(s):
computer network
learning
The purpose of the study is to investigate the advantages and disadvantages
of web-based learning. The view of teachers and students are compared to
find out the possible differenees in their perspectives in web-based leaming,
Abstract: studying and teaching. The data is gathered by questionnaires and interviews
from those students and teachers who have studied and taught in the Open
Virtual University of Helsinki (HEVI) and Apaja internet-services during the
years 1995-1999.
• Tirri, Kirsi 2000 Tendances actuelles de l'édition pédagogique en
Finlande L'edition pedagogique en Europe Nice Idées Nouvelles
Éditions 104-113 ISBN 2-9-13022-02-2
• Tirri, K. & Tella, S. 2001 Creating a virtual based learning environment for
the Finnish school International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education
and Life-Long Learning 11 4/5/6 343-355
• Tirri, K. & Nevgi, A. 2001 Students' views on learning in virtual
Publications: university Resources in Education, ED 448121
• Tirri, K. & Nevgi, A. 2001 In search of a good virtual teacher Resources in
Education, ED 448122
• Nokelainen, P., Silander, T., Tirri, H., Nevgi, A. & Tirri, K. 2001 Modeling
Students' Views on the Advantages of Web-Based Learning with Bayesian
Networks Proceedings of The 10th International PEG2001
Conference,Tampere, June 2001 202-211
Research
Calibrating eLearning in Schools (CALIBRATE)
Project:
Researcher: Teemu Leinonen (teemu.leinonen (at) uiah.fi)
Research
University of Art and Design
Unit:
Research
03.10.2005 -
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Science:
school
Keyword(s): learning environment
digital application
The CALIBRATE (Calibrating eLearning in Schools) project (October 2005
- March 2008) brings together eight Ministries of Education, (including six
Abstract: MoEs from new member states), to carry out a multi-level project designed
to support the collaborative use and exchange of learning resources in
schools.
Research
Collaborative distance learning in post secondary adult education
Project:
Researcher: Marko Susimetsä
PL 229
Research 13101
Unit: HÄMEENLINNA
tel.+358 3 355 111
fax.+358 3 3551 3611
Research
01.01.2001 - 17.08.2006
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Adult education
Science:
adult education
Keyword(s): web-based learning
distance study
The aim of the study is to study the factors explaining the efficiency of
collaborative learning in a virtual learning environment and to build a model
of this learning from the learners' point of view.
The material for the research is gathered from students taking part in the
basic studies of education at the University of Tampere's Research Centre for
Vocational Education. A group of adult students who work in the field of
adult education take part in this study program during 2003. The studies are
arranged according to the principles of collaborative learning and most of the
Abstract: study assignments are carried out in a virtual learning environment.
The methodology of the research is mainly qualitative and concentrates on

the study journals that the students write about their learning experiences.
The research material consists mainly of the study journals that the students
have written over the course of their studies, as well as a quantitative
questionnaire.
The research is carried out at the University of Tampere's Research Centre

for Vocational Education.
Publications: • Susimetsä, Marko 2006 Motivated and Self-Regulated Learning of Adult
Learners in a Collective Online Environment Acta Universitatis Tamperensis
1160 Tampereen yliopisto ISBN 951-44-6666-7 ISSN 1455-1616
Research Critical points that effect the process of creating a team learning environment
Project: into a polytechnic school
Researcher: Leena Varis
Research
Jyväskylä Polytechnic / Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences
Unit:
Research
01.01.2004 - 20.11.2007
date:
Level of
Polytechnics (AMK) institutions
Education:
Field of
Business administration, economic geography
Science:
polytechnic education
Keyword(s): team
The aim of this paper is to find out the critical points that are confronted
when creating a team learning process according to Team Academy¿s
methods into a polytechnic school. Timeline is the first year of the team
learning pilot. The subject has been observed in this paper from the point of
view of the coordinator of a pilot. This person is also the coach for the first
team and he/ she is leading the new process.
Team Academy¿s learning methods have been developed since the year
1993, when the first Team Academy was founded in Jyväskylä. After this the
learning methods have been expended in several polytechnic schools. The
people that have been interviewed for the paper are from these schools. They
are the head coach of Team Academy in Jämsänkoski, the founder of
Proakatemia in Tampere, the coordinator of Oiva-Akatemia in Kymeenlaakso
Abstract:
polytechnic and the founder of Bisens-Akatemia in Lahti.
The interviews were done with main themes, not with strict question papers.
Through interviews there were defined four critical points during the first
year of team learning process: the collaboration between the coordinator and
the school board, the coach¿s skills and motivation, well planned
communications and using the learning methods based in the tools that are
used in Team Academy. Research results of this paper can be used in
programmes of creating team learning processes into polytechnic school.
With the help of these results the coordinator can be reminded of the critical
points and take them into consideration. The theoretical references of the
paper are books about change management, team learning and
communications.
• Varis, Leena & Veripää, Sari 2007 Kriittiset tekijät tiimioppimisympäristön
Publications: perustamisessa ammattikorkeakouluun Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu
Research Developing tutoring in the teaching of Open University. The action research
Project: study
Researcher: Päivikki Jääskelä (paivikki.jaaskela@avoin.jyu.fi)
Pitkänsillankatu 1-3
Research 67701
Unit: KOKKOLA
tel.+358 6 8294111
fax.+358 6 8294202
Research
01.01.2000 - 16.04.2005
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
university studies
open university
Keyword(s):
guidance
tutor
Abstract: This study focuses on the nature and the role of tutoring with the aim of
developing tutoring through two action research-based interventions among
the multiform (classroom teaching, distance education and self-study)
teaching methods used in Open University in Jyväskylä.
The first intervention was to develop basic studies and tutoring in Education
in the Chydenius Institute Open University. In the project a five credit study
unit, which was offered as an alternative to more traditional study tasks, was
planned and put into practice. This alternative study method was
characterised by exploratory and problem-based learning, by the construction
of knowledge in the tutoring group, and by the students reflecting on their
activities and thinking as well as by a clearer role for tutors as supervisors
and evaluators. The theoretical framework of the project was formed from
considerations regarding the nature of educational knowledge and thinking as
well as a focus on the constructivist-pragmatist approach to learning and
student guidance.
The second intervention was a project to develop tutor training in Jyväskylä

Open University. A curriculum for piloting tutor training was developed in
the project. The aim was, on the basic of the knowledge thus gained, to plan
training which would give the professional university tutoring skills for work
as a tutor in the university and which would enable wider testing of the
results obtained in the first intervention.
Following the action research approach, the research task was modified
during the research process: The first task was the development of tutoring
and the description and evaluation of this process. As the research progressed
the task changed into one of investigating the nature and the role of tutoring
in the Open University and the development of curriculum for a new tutor
training.
The methodological approaches used in the study were interpretivity,
qualitative evaluation of the developed activity and the formation of
constructivist knowledge. The data consisted of documents written by
students, a study diary kept by the researcher, discussions at meetings of
tutors, evaluation discussions after working in tutoring groups, and
documents describing the development project, such as working papers and
meeting memos.
The nature and role of tutoring are defined by the Open University¿s own
working culture and by the academic nature of university studies as well as
by the various starting points and prerequisites for study of the students.
Working in these contexts places the tutors in the middle of conflicting
expectations. The results show that the implementation of multiform teaching
needs to be evaluated more critically than hitherto. The position of tutors in
the Open University and as a part of the university¿s dialogic learning
community should be strengthened by developing means of cooperation and
tutor training.
• Jääskelä, Päiviki 2005 Tuutorointi avoimen yliopiston opetuksessa.
Tuutoroinnin kehittämistä koskeva toimintatutkimus Chydenius-instituutin
Publications:
tutkimuksia nro 1/2005 Kokkola ISBN 951-39-2102-6. ISSN 0789-0710
Research Cognitive tools for computer-supported collaborative learning and design

Project: work
Researcher: Esko Kuittinen (esko.kuittinen@helsinki.fi)
University of Helsinki / ICT Learning Centre
Lummetie 2 A
Research Unit:
01300
VANTAA
Research date: 02.01.2001 - 31.12.2003
Level of
Education:
Social psychology
Field of Psychology, educational psychology
Adult education
learning process
creation of teaching aids
The study is related to the R&D project Verkkosalkku, which aims at
developing a web based environment for collaborative learning and
working. The study focuses on:
Abstract: - evaluating the afforded cognitive tools for collaborative learning, learning
material planning, and industrial design work
- analyzing the progress of teachers' pedagogical thinking during the
project
Publications:
Research
Employees¿ experiences with e-learning in Loisto in Säästöpankki Optia
Project:
Researcher: Marja-Leena Jauhiainen
Research
Unit:
Research
01.01.2006 - 25.05.2007
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Adult education
Science:
eLearning
working life
E-learning has become an important part of employees' learning and training.
With the help of elearning methods employees can be familiarized and
trained extensively regardless of time and place. The employer of this
research, Savings Bank Optia, has used e-learning as a part of employees'
training since 2005. Earlier researches on this topic have not been made.
The aim of the research was to find out how employees experience usability
and suitability with elearning in Loisto in Savings Bank Optia. Another aim
of this research was to find out what employees find important in using e-
learning. A further aim was to search for suggestions to develop the usage of
e-learning.The research methods were quantitative survey examination and
qualitative theme interview. The survey examination was carried out with a
Abstract: control inquiry. The data was collected with a structured questionnaire which
was delivered to 39 people. 20 employees responded to the questionnaire.
The response rate reached 51,3 percent. Six employees were interviewed for
this research.
According to the research results, employees are generally satisfied with e-

learning in Loisto. Employees are satisfied with the good functioning of e-
learning, material suitability for e-learning purposes, independency of time,
fluency in operating the e-learning package as well as with individual
progress. Employees' suggestions to develop the usage of e-learning include
training for using elearning platform, to have more study material and clarify
the use. On the basis of the results Savings Bank Optia can improve the
clarity and diversity of the e-learning process Loisto.
Publications:
Research Evaluation and development project of www-based learning

Project: environments
Researcher: Jyri Manninen (jyri.manninen@helsinki.fi)
Research University of Helsinki / Lahti Research and Training Centre
Unit: PL 12 (Vuorikatu 20)
00014
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 191 23609
fax.+358 9 191 23602
Research
01.01.1998 - 31.12.2000
date:
Level of
Adult education
Education:
Field of Communication and information sciences
Science: Adult education
adult education
Keyword(s):
Internet
action research
Abstract:
• Pesonen, Senja 1998 Www-pohjaisten oppimisympäristöjen didaktisia
periaatteita - toimintatutkimusprojektin teoreettisen pohjan
rakentaminen Helsingin yliopisto. Kasvatustieteen laitos. Pro gradu
-tutkielma
Publications: • Matikainen, Janne & Manninen, Jyri (toim.) 2000 Aikuiskoulutus verkossa:
verkkopohjaisten oppimisympäristöjen teoriaa ja käytäntöä Helsingin
yliopiston Lahden tutkimus- ja koulutuskeskus.Oppimateriaaleja 93 ISBN
951-45-8764-2
Research From open studies to know-how. Everyday experiences of students at the

Project: experimental Provincial University in the Kemi-Tornio area
Researcher: Marja-Liisa Vaara (marja-liisa.vaara@ulapland)
University of Lapland
PL 122
Research 96101
Unit: ROVANIEMI
tel.+358 16 341 2430
fax.+358 16 341 2401
Research
01.01.2001 - 07.10.2005
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Adult education
Science:
open education
Keyword(s): educational equality
adult education
Abstract: The aim of the study was to examine the experimental Provincial University
in the Kemi-Tornio area from the perspective of mature students. The study
focused on the everyday experiences of students taking part in the
experimental Provincial University and the significance they gave to their
studies.
The target group in this study were mature students (N=319) who took part in
the experimental Provincial University in the Kemi-Tornio area. Under the
working name of Masters from the Province, the implementation of the
experimental Provincial University as part of a national pilot project comes
under the provincial University of Lapland. This is one example of the
operational model at the Provincial University.
The research material comprised interviews and questionnaires which were

conducted from 2001-2004. My research was shaped by the following
questions: the way in which the experimental Provincial University was
implemented in the Kemi-Tornio area, the experiences mature students had of
the University as a promoter of educational equality in the area, the factors
that restricted studies and that appeared in the students¿ discourses at the
Provincial University.
The study was set in the fields of adult education, family and education¬al
sociology and university policy. The study took a fundamental
ethnomethodological approach. Founded by Garfinkel in the 1950s,
ethnomethodology describes the everyday lives of ordinary people and the
methods and flows of thought by which ordinary members of society make
sense of their living conditions, function within them and influence them. In
other words, it describes the way in which people handle their daily work,
their studies and day-to-day life at home. In different contexts, the subject
may perform in different positions. Ethnomethodological research also
emphasizes that the researcher¿s role need not be eliminated; rather, personal
opinions about matters reveal familiar and unfamiliar areas of social reality.
The empiric material for the study comprised experiences from the subjects¿
day-to-day lives and the significance they gave to their actions. Discourse
analysis was used as the method of approach for this material. Constructions
of events form the core of discourse analysis. Speech is seen as broader
linguistic practices that bring about social reality. Social texts, which are the
focus of discourse analysis, include both spoken and written material.
The results drew attention to the need for decentralized university education.
Guidance systems showed a dear need for development and the students¿
experiences underlined the necessity for coordinating the courses arranged in
the area. From the perspective of the research area, the network-like
Provincial University is unclear and shaky. The results indicated inadequate
cooperation at the practical level between educational organizations as well
as with economic life. Several regional strategies and plans have been drawn
up in recent years, the concrete implementation of which is still at the early
stage.
• Vaara, Marja-Liisa 2005 Avoimista opinnoista osaamiseksi
Maakuntakorkeakoulukokeilun arkea opiskelijoiden kokemana Kemi-Tornion
Publications: seutukunnassa Acta Universitatis Lapponiensis 90 Rovaniemi Lapin
yliopisto 166 s. ISBN 951-634-993-5 ISSN 0788-7604
Research How to support productive collaboration? - Developing Resources for

Project: Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (STRUCTURE)
Researcher: Päivi Häkkinen (paivi.hakkinen@ktl.jyu.fi)
Research University of Jyväskylä
PL 35
40014
tel.+358 14 260 3200
fax.+358 14 260 3201
Research
01.01.2008 -
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
collaboration
computer-supported learning
Keyword(s):
open university
Abstract: When learners are left on their own, they rarely engage in knowledge-
generative activities such as explaining and justifying their opinions or
articulating their reasoning (Kobbe et al., 2007). Therefore, collaboration
scripts as instructional support have been presented as a promising method to
trigger these activities and to provide structure for learning environments
(Dillenbourg, 2002). Although different research groups have designed
learning environments for single studies with specific scripts (Dillenbourg &
Jermann, 2006; Hämäläinen, 2006; Stegmann et al., 2005), there is no
systematic empirical research on the effects scripts in authentic large-scale
settings. What is needed is a profound understanding of the process of
productive collaboration and its relation to learning outcomes in scripted
learning environments.
The aims of this project are twofold. First, we focus on theoretical

elaboration on the concept of productive collaboration (Research task 1).
Second, we will design instructional support for productive collaboration
based on flexible scripts and study the effects of these scripts (Research task
2). In this study, we lean on design-based research approach, which
integrates traditional instructional design and research on learning processes
in a way in which different types of expertise enable reciprocal development
of theory, implementation of the virtual environments and practice in the
education field (Brown, 1992; Wang & Hannafin, 2005).
The subjects (N = 300) of the study are higher education students. The
empirical part of this research project consists of two phases. In the first
phase, we design and explore instructional support based on flexible
collaboration scripts. In the second phase, we study the effects of these
scripts in terms of both learning processes and outcomes. The intervention
conditions will vary between different groups. The aim is to design scripts
that allow teachers and students to modify the script (e.g. modifications on
task or available resources). Scripts are designed for supporting collaboration
among learners who are at some points working at distance and at some
points face-to-face, and whose interaction is (at least partially) mediated by a
computer (Dillenbourg & Jermann, 2006).
In this research project, we aim to take these demands into account by

conducting long-term follow-up studies with the same groups of students.
The data from multiple sources will be utilized to enable a mixed method
approach (cf. Hmelo-Silver, 2003; Winne & Perry, 2000). With the aid of
multi-method approach, we aim to understand what constitutes productive
collaboration in terms of both processes and outcomes of learning. The
results of this research will advance our theoretical understanding on the
processes and outcomes of productive collaboration as well as help in
designing scripts aimed at increasing the effectiveness of learning
environments, with and without technology will be developed.
Publications:
Research Impact of LEGO/Logo learning environment on children's problem solving

Project: skills
Researcher: Jyrki Suomala (jyrki.suomala@utu.fi)
University of Turku
PL 175
Research 26101
Unit: RAUMA
tel.+358 2 837801
fax.+358 2 83780447
Research
01.01.1992 - 21.05.1999
date:
Level of
Comprehensive schools, lower stage
Education:
Educational science
Field of
Psychology, educational psychology
Science:
primary school
problem solving
teaching method
Keyword(s):
educational psychology
Abstract: The study examines fifth-grade Finnish students' problem-solving in the
LEGO/Logo learning environment. LEGO/Logo integrates Lego building
blocks with the Logo programming language. The study analyses Seymour
Papert's theoretical ideas underlying Logo and relates these ideas to current
discussion of problem solving.
The subjects were students attending three primary schools (N=198). The
study consists of two parts. Part One studies the influence of LEGO/Logo
learning on students' performance in tests that was built on Piagetian
schemata, i.e., conserving of displaced volume, propositional reasoning,
probabilistic reasoning, and mastering of permutation. The test arranged was
a classroom test (Enkenberg 1989). Two research groups underwent different
instructional procedures. The LEGO/Logo group (n = 103) participated in a
20-hour teaching phase, whereas the ordinary group (n = 95) participated in
conventional teaching without the use of computers. Pre- to post test changes
in testscores were compared for the LEGO/Logo group and the ordinary
group. In this way it was possible to assess the influence of LEGO/Logo on
the students' general, context-independent problem-solving skills.
Part Two studies the LEGO/Logo group's problem-solving processes. The

LEGO/Logo group was divided into two learning groups. The mediated
group (n = 48) received teaching according to the mediated model, whereas
the discovery group (n = 56) was taught according to the discovery model.
The 20-hour-long teaching programme consisted of the merry-go-round - and
the robot projects. After the teaching period a section of the students in the
mediated LEGO/Logo group (n = 42) and in the discovery LEGO/Logo
group (n = 46) participated in the experiment phase, which consisted of an
open LEGO/Logo problem-solving task. The task involved programming the
Lego robot to follow a certain route. The students' problem-solving processes
were videotaped and the subsequent analysis was based on measures
developed by Clements and Nastasi (1988).
This analysis focuses on the occurrence of cognitive conflict solving,

cooperation with teacher and explicit planning. In addition, the relationship
of problem solving to prior experiences of Logo and to the students' school
achievement and gender was studied.
The study also reports on the analyses of the Logo programs developed by
the students during the experimental phase and their relationship to the
students' problem solving. The development of Piagetian thinking was
independent of the instructional model, gender and school achievement.
However, the results of the study indicated that learning model, gender, and
thinking level, as well as interaction between the learning model and prior
experience, accounted for group differences in LEGO/Logo problem solving
among students. Overall the results were interpreted as supporting the
validity of the discovery learning model, when students are solving problems
in a progressive learning environment. The student's role as an active learner
during progressive problem solving should be respected by the teacher but, at
the same time, the teacher should provide appropriate support in those
situations where students encounter insuperable problems during problem
solving.
Publications: • Suomala, Jyrki 1996 Eight-year-old pupils' problem solving process within a
LOGO learning environment Scandinavian Journal of Educational
Research 40 4 209-309
• Suomala, Jyrki 1997 Kognitiiviset ristiriidat ongelmanratkaisun aikana
LEGO/Logo oppimisympäristössä. Teoksessa Teknologiakasvatuksen
tulevaisuuden näköaloja. J. Kajanoja, J. Kari & M. Parikka (toim.) Jyväskylän
yliopiston opettajankoulutuslaitos. Opetuksen perusteita ja käytänteitä 30 53-
59
• Suomala, Jyrki 1995 Spontaani oppiminen LEGO/Logo
-oppimisympäristöissä. Teoksessa Rajanylityksiä: monipuolistuva
kasvatustutkimus tieteiden kentässä. J. Jussila & R. Rajala (toim.) XVI
Kasvatustieteen päivät Rovaniemellä 24. - 26.11.1994. Lapin yliopiston
kasvatustieteellisiä Julkaisuja C. Katsauksia ja puheenvuoroja 10 409-423
• Suomala, Jyrki 1996 Effect of Teaching Method on Children's conflicts in a
LEGO/Logo Learning Environment. Proceedings. Fifth European Logo
Conference, Birmingham, England, 21-23 July 1995. Aston university,
Birmingham 45-49
• Suomala, Jyrki 1993 Natural learning in a Lego-Logo learning environment.
In Proceedings the fourth European logo conference University of Athens,
Department of Informatics 28-31 August 1993. Athens, Greece: Douras
School 69-74
• Suomala, Jyrki 1999 Students' problem solving in the LEGO/Logo learning
environment Jyväskylä studies in education, psychology and social research
152 ISBN 951-39-0384-2 ISSN 0075-4625
Research Learning at work as an interplay between individual's point of departure and

Project: learning environments
Researcher: Kirsi Heikkilä (ankihe@uta.fi)
Ratapihankatu 55
Research 33014
tel.+358 3 215 6550
fax.+358 3 215 7502
Research
01.01.1999 - 18.02.2006
date:
Level of
Adult education
Education:
Field of
Adult education
Science:
on-the-job learning
ethnography
Abstract: The object of this research is learning at work occurring at the workplace and
in connection with work. The point of departure was to examine learning at
work from various perspectives: how the workers themselves feel about
learning, what the individual's points of departure are for learning at work
and what the learning environment is like with regard to the technical-
organisational and socio-cultural learning environment. The research began in
the form of case studies in a metal company, a department store, a new media
enterprise, a hospice and progressed to the theatre. The research makes use of
learning theories and especially of views of the relationship between the
individual and the environment. The individual is contemplated from the
perspective of motivation and identity through four workers (a metalworker, a
salesperson, a copywriter and a nurse), the technical-organisational learning
environment is contemplated through an examination of the nature of the
work, likewise in four workplaces (in metal company, the department store,
the new media enterprise and the hospice) and the socio-cultural learning
environment is contemplated from the perspective of social theory of learning
and creation of knowledge in theatre work.
The research problems are: How do people feel about learning in the various
workplaces, in work environments which are organised in different ways?
What kind of learning environment is the workplace? How does learning at
work appear as a part of the wider sphere of the individual's life? What is the
nature of the views people hold of their workplaces and developing there?
What are the workers' point of departure with regard to learning? How does
learning ocuur in group work, and of what kind? What kind of a learning
environment is a project group engaged on creative work?
The research was accomplished using qualitative research methods in the

case research in the first stage data were gathered mostly by interviewing and
observing workers. Workers' background information was elicited by
questionnaire and background information on the workplaces was gathered
from documents pertaining to them. In thesecond stage the research on the
work of the theatre workgroup was accomplished ethnographically, the
research data being unstructured interviews, individual interviews, group
discussion, monitoring the work process, observation and work diaries.
The research findings reveal how workers from different points of departure
accomplish their work and learn at work. The nature of the work and the way
in which it is organised have a significant effect on the opportunities arising
for learning at work. The Tayloristic way of organising work continues to
dominate many workplaces; this was seen in the metal company and the
department store. The metal company was low in stimuli as a learning
environment, likewise to some extent the department store. However, the
employer did endeavour, among other things through varying tasks, to
expand the scope for learning and the preconditions for feeling good at work.
In the department store the workers did not themselves perceive opportunities
for learning, although there would indeed appear to be some. The new media
enterprise on the other hand represents a work organisation with a flat
hierarchy based on project work and responsibility for the individual. There
were ample opportunities for learning. Regarding this workplace the essential
question, however, concerns the nature of learning. In the hectic pace of work
there were no opportunities for gaining a command ofthe entity. In the
hospice the work appeared to be compelling in its pace and relatively simple
basic nursing. However, such work demands a profound understanding of the
care of the patient. Each of the workplaces differed from the others
withcregard to the nature of the work and the way in which it was organised.
The ways of learning also differed significantly. For learning the point of
departure is generally experience, but in some workplaces learning was based
on trial and error, on others on independent information acquisition,
combining theory and experience and solving problems together.
Examination of the points of departure of individuals revealed the

significance of age and gender in accomplishing work and orientatingto
learning new things. The metal worker was interested in broadening his job
description and in learning new things. A female metalworker wished to
achieve an autonomous position as a worker in a male-dominatedfield in
which women do simple repetitive tasks. In the female-dominated retail
organisation, as career prospects dimished with increasing age, interest in
lifelong learning likewise diminished. Life was felt to be somewhere outside
of work. The new media worker perceived her career path to be horizontal.
What mattered was to take constant care of one's own professional skill and
development. The great desire of the nurse to learn emerged from coping with
heavy work and the need to pull through. Through continuous study and
learning the nurse can take distance from her work and take on board new
conceptual tools to mange her work better than before. All four workers felt
that their positions in their respective jobs were in a constant state of change.
Motivation to accomplish the work ranged from earning money and making a
living to the fulfilment of values important to the individual concerned.
Commitment to the work varied in relation to this.
The activities of the theatre group provided an opportunity to see what the
prerequisities for creative group work are, and on the other hand what
barriers occur in project-type group work. What emerged especially through
the theatre work was the significance of physical space and the possibilities
as a means of promoting learning and the creation of something new. Work in
the theatre requires continuous learning and creating something new, which
occurs through various experiments and cooperation in the group. With
regard to the requirements of the social theory of learning and the creation of
something new the thetre group was virtually "exemplary". At atmosphere
was deliberately engendered that was conducive to learning and the creation
of something new. Through ethnographic research, however, questions
emerged in the activity of the group the solution of which in working life will
be a great future challenge of the mode of working based on a project-type
organisation is applied more widely. Such challenges are pressures on
activities of an economic nature and also pertaining to the rest of the
members' lives. The very prominent role played by emotions in the theatre
workers' descriptions of work was significant. Emotions are part and parcel
of theatrical work;the people concerned are very aware of them and operate
with them consciously. in theactivities of the group the significance of
emotions is important in maintaining the working atmosphere. contructive
resolution of conflicts was one major part of processing emotions in the
group. Another main theme was sustaining a positive atmosphere in the
group. Confidence in the members, respect for yhem as professionals and
artists were essential components in the creation of the working atmosphere.
The research started out from learning environment thinking pertaining to

theories of learning. In the course of the work this changed to become a view
of the condition of learning with various questions pertaining to the
individual on motivation and the creation of identity; the workplace as a
physical environment, the encounter of the nature of work and the social
activity of the organisation. In the best case learning promoting the actions of
both the individual and the organisation becomes possible. But this is not
always the case. The research shows the importance of different perspectives
in the conception of the opportunities for learning.
• Heikkilä, Kirsi 2006 Työssä oppiminen yksilön lähtökohtien ja
oppimisympäristöjen välisenä vuorovaikutuksena Tampere: Tampere
Publications:
University Press Tampereen yliopisto ISBN 951-44-6548-2
Research Learning new, experimenting and considering. Individual and social learning
Project: paths in the cooperation of pre-primary and primary education
Researcher: Pirjo Forss-Pennanen (pirjo.forss-pennanen@cou.fi)
Research University of Jyväskylä
Unit: Pitkänsillankatu 1-3
67701
KOKKOLA
tel.+358 6 8294111
fax.+358 6 8294202
Research
01.01.1993 - 08.09.2006
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
primary education
Keyword(s):
professional growth
cooperation
This study is based on a local development project for pre-primary and
primary education. Its purpose is to describe the development that has taken
place along with the project in the working culture of schools and day-care
centres and in the educators' interaction, as well as how the educators see
their own path of professional growth and how important the development
project has been to their path of professional growth. The theoretical
approach to the study is ecological.
In the ecological model, the development and learning environments are

regarded as participating factors in the child's entire development. As the
child matures, the immediate interaction relationships expand and become
more complicated. This movement within the environmental space is called
ecological transition. In the ecological transition process, the coming into
existence of reciprocal communication between different environments is
essential, because this communication affects a child's development. The
day-care centres and schools are complex social communities within a
cultural context and, thus, a part of contextual change. Typical for the post-
modern age, the study concentrates on the culture of organization and on
Abstract: studying the interaction between its parts, as well as making visible the paths
to professional growth of the educators through their narratives.
The study uses an interpretative qualitative approach and its aim is to

approach real context by means of a hermeneutic circle. In this study, this
means studying the working culture of educational organizations, interaction
between educators and the professional growth of educators. The study
material consists of the information collected from the Kokkola development
project of local pre-primary and primary education in 1993-2003. In the light
of the development project, it would be seen that changes in the working
culture of pre-primary and primary education and in the interaction between
educators are possible.
Learning takes place on many levels. Building cooperation and interaction in

practical everyday work takes time but, on the other hand, there seems to be
no time for this in this fast-changing world. Time is, however, the
prerequisite for innovations, because a work community's path of change
proceeds step by step from meetings to common events, and further to
cooperation which develops through planning together. Time is also needed
for realizing the educators - in this study, kindergarten teachers' and class
teachers' - individual paths of change; getting to know each other as people,
getting to know the other person's work, planning together and learning to
share collegial responsibility.
Through these paths of change, a functioning cooperation and interaction is

built in pre-primary and primary education. Its aim is to guarantee an
individual learner's path of a good quality from pre-primary to primary
education, so that a child has the possibility to advance individually on
her/his path. A network of educators that provides versatile knowledge
ensures this continuance of development and learning in a transition phase.
The paths of the educators' professional growth manifest as wave-formed
paths of change, along which the educators have experienced that they have
obtained support from collegial discussions about the contents of work,
education and development.
The development project has enabled a social and individual growth process,
which is related to the educators' professional growth. As a method the path
descriptions of professional growth is practicable especially for professionals
who already have work experience, for reflecting experiences related to their
work. At its best, the method creates new perspectives when observing
personal work history and at the same time the method advances the
unlearning of bad practice and is relieving as the individual goes through
experiences related to her/his career, draws and interprets points of change
and key events.
• Forss-Pennanen, Pirjo 2006 Uuden oppimista, kokeilua ja pohtimista.
Publications: Yksilöllisiä ja yhteisöllisiä oppimispolkuja esi- ja alkuopetuksen yhteistyössä
Avoin oppimisympäristö 2
Research
Meaningful and significant learning in Eastern Finland Virtual University
Project:
Researcher: Raimo Silkelä (raimo.silkela@joensuu.fi)
PL 86
Research 57101
Unit: SAVONLINNA
tel.+358 15 51170
fax.+358 15 531060
Research
01.01.2002 - 31.12.2003
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
web-based learning
learning
Abstract: The purpose of the study is to investigate
1. how meaningful and significant the students participating in the internet
courses of Eastern Finland Virtual University find their studies, and
2. what kind of were the learning styles during these courses.
Among the criteria of meaningful learning are the following student

attributes:
1. Commitment. The students commit themselves to their studies.
2. Reflectivity. The students are able and willing to understand and evaluate
their learning processes and their results, and to supervise and modify these
processes.
3. Constructiveness of learning. The students are able and willing to fit new
information in the existing structures of knowledge.
4. Communality. The learner constructs new knowledge in a learning
community.
5. Intentionality. Learning is goal-oriented and "makes sense" to the student;
the learners aim actively and eagerly at accomplishing something.
6. Interactivity. Learning is a social and dialogical process.
7. Contextuality. Learning tasks are based on a meaningful real-life situation
or a real problem.
8. Transferability. The learners can transfer what they have learned to another
situation or use their knowledge in new situations.
Meaningful learning has a quality of personal involvement - to make sense

logically learning must involve man's whole personality in both its affective
and cognitive aspects. Meaningful learning is self-initiated. Even when the
impetus or stimulus comes from the outside, the sense of discovery, of
reaching out, of grasping and comprehending comes from within.
Meaningful learning is pervasive. It makes a difference in the behaviour, the
attitudes, perhaps even in the personality of the learner. It is constantly
evaluated by the learner himself. Its essence is meaning. When such learning
takes place, the element of meaning to the learner is built into the whole
experience.
Personally significant learning experiences are such positive or negative,

personal and unique experiences which mould a person's identity, personality
and self, and influence his/her world-view, values and growth. Significant
experiences have more than temporary value: they mould a person's
cognitive schema and so become part of his/her personality structure.
For learning to be meaningful, significant and profound presupposes that

learners be conscious of their beliefs and ideas about learning. Reflection of
these spontaneous ideas makes it possible to revise and restructure them.
The theoretical framework of the study comprises constructivism, situational

learning and the theory of experiential learning. By investigating students'
experiences, attitudes and ideas, it aims at improving network-based learning
and developing better learning environments.
The data for the study will be collected from the students of Eastern Finland
Virtual University through questionnaires and half-structured thematic
interviews in March and April 2002. The questionnaire data will be analysed
using the SPSS 10 program and the interview data will be submitted to a
phenomenographical analysis during summer and autumn 2003.
Publications:
Research Models and methods for future knowledge construction: Interdisciplinary

Project: implementations with mobile technologies (MOMENTS)
PL 9
Research 00014
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research
01.10.2002 - 31.12.2005
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
network based education
Keyword(s): technology
Abstract: The main aims of the consortium are - to draw from an interdisciplinary
perspective (e.g., technological, educational, and societal) and research
traditions in order to gain thorough comprehension regarding future
challenges of learning and knowledge construction; - to design and assess a
new integrated model that is based on an analysis of existing methods and
models as well as future learning needs.
This model is planned to combine a number of teaching and learning

theories, understanding of the culture, society, and modern technologies in a
novel way. Special focus will be paid to the cultural changes vis-à-vis the use
of mobile technologies and mobile communication - to find and test
technological solutions, which lead to a new integrated model based on
future teaching, studying and learning needs. Implementing the model is
directly related to experimenting certain mobile technologies in the
framework of lifelong learning.
Publications:
Research
Multilingual learning environments and the needs of working life
Project:
Researcher: Aini-Kristiina Jäppinen (jappinen@ktl.jyu.fi)
PL 35
Research 40014
tel.+358 14 260 3200
fax.+358 14 260 3201
Research
01.08.2004 -
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
multiculturalism
Keyword(s): multilingualism
lifelong learning
working life
Abstract: The firts part of the study (2003-2004) focused on foreign language,
plurilingual, and multicultural learning environments in higher and
vocational education and in working life. The aim was to study how these
kinds of learning environments met the requirements of the working life of
the future as to the depth of understanding, knowledge creation and enabling,
and life long learning. In higher education, three multicultural Master
Programs in the University of Jyväskylä were included that were realized in
English, not in the mother tongue of the learners. Teaching through English
in the Finnish Kuopio vocational school represented the vocational sector.
The part of the working life was studied in Metso Paper, a big Finnish
international enterprise of paper machines. The planning of the second part
of the study has started. It will concern the devevopment of expertise in
Metso Paper as an international and multilingual working environment in
terms of informal and formal learning.
Publications:
Research
Path of Open University - the road to university
Project:
Researcher: Anna-Liisa Hyvärinen
PL 111
Research
80101
Unit:
JOENSUU
tel.+358 13 251111
Research
01.01.2003 - 31.12.2006
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Sociology, educational sociology
Science:
open university
university
Keyword(s):
higher education
recruitment
The road to university takes increasingly varied educational paths. The path
through open university is the most popular choice, and it has an effect in
part on the expansion of university studies to a larger group of students.
The study examines the path of open university and the possibility of
transition from open university to university from the point of view of those
who have made the transition.
Abstract: The study concentrates on examining the choice of university from the path
of open university. The study examines the age, educational base, sex and
social position of those choosing this path. The study takes a look at the
formation of student¿s educational selection of university from open
university and the consequences of this transition.
The study material has been collected with a questionnaire, and the method
used is quantitative. The subject group is formed by students of open
university who have been admitted to universities of East Finland.
• Hyvärinen, Anna-Liisa 2006 Avoimen yliopiston väylä - koulutuspolku
yliopistoon Lisensiaatintutkimus. Joensuun yliopisto. Yhteiskuntatieteiden
Publications:
tiedekunta. Sosiologian laitos
Real-life-oriented pedagogical action process as a method of work to

Research
intervene in exclusion from education from the viewpoints of the teacher,
Project:
pupils and various interest groups
Researcher: Tuomo Vilppola
University of Oulu
PL 2000
Research 90014
tel.+358 8 553 3702
fax.+358 8 553 3744
Research
01.01.1991 - 15.06.2007
date:
Level of
Comprehensive schools, upper stage
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
primary school
lower secondary
dropout
Keyword(s):
school failure
special education
Abstract: The study describes and analyses the implementation and development of the
real-life-oriented pedagogical action process as a method of work to
intervene in exclusion from education from the viewpoints of the teacher,
pupils and various interest groups.
The actual group of subjects consisted of 74 Oulu pupils in the Tuomontupa

class in the years 1992-1998. The pupils aged 15 to 17 had dropped out or
were about to do so and had been moved to a special class for education for
the maladjusted. 23 of the students were girls and 51 were boys. The number
of boys was more than double that of girls. The research site was the
Tuomontupa class that functioned in a learning environment that was not
school-like in the town's work training centre.
The actual purpose of the study was to describe the RLO pedagogical action
process implemented in special class teaching among young people aged 15-
17 who were threatened by exclusion from education. In addition to this, the
realization and development of real-life-oriented pedagogical action in the
case of young people near exclusion was also studied. From the theoretical
and educational philosophical points of view, the research analysed the
connections of the real-life-oriented pedagogical action process to social
pedagogical thinking and tradition of action and to reform pedagogy.
The study was carried out as a social pedagogical action study in which the
data was gathered using various research methods. The methods included
ethnographic observation and interpretation as well as social pedagogical
participatory action research. Field data consisted of interview data, pupil
transfer documents and other documents, participatory observation, pupils'
essays, meeting memoranda and comparative statistical data on the pupils'
school performance. Triangulation was used in an attempt to observe the
research object in a comprehensive manner.
The research results show that a real-life-oriented pedagogical action process

can have an impact on young people's exclusion from education. The real-
life-oriented process helped to produce educational and pedagogical
experiences that were felt to be positive by the young people, reinforcing the
subjects' ability to think and act in the same way in similar situations in the
future. The pupils' absences were reduced remarkably, and their grade
averages improved. 63 pupils out of 74 in the research sample managed to
complete the targets set for lower secondary education in one year, while 11
needed a longer time to complete school. Out of the 63 pupils who completed
lower secondary education, 46 or 73% were subsequently selected to a senior
secondary program. The research data also reveals the three critical phases
when to intervene in exclusion from education. The first critical phase was
attachment to education, while the second phase was the corrective phase and
the third phase was constituted by the linking phase. It was also possible to
fail in any of these phases of intervention.
The research showed that it is possible to intervene in exclusion from

education, and it does not require an enormous amount of special resources,
provided that the various administrative units are called together to co-
operate in a tangible way. Pupils in need of special support need flexible,
comprehensive and individual opportunities to meet the school's
requirements. Diversified and developing special class teaching still has a
well-justified position in this work as one of the ways in which the school
works. The study shows that a comprehensive real-life-oriented pedagogical
action process is connected with social pedagogical working practices as a
form of interventive action against exclusion from education.
• Vilppola, Tuomo 2007 Reaalipedagoginen
toimintaprosessi¿sosiaalipedagogisen työn sovellus koulutuksesta
syrjäytymässä olevien nuorten kokonaisvaltaisessa
Publications:
tukemisessa Kasvatustieteiden tiedekunta, Oulun yliopisto ISBN
9789514284670 ISSN 1796-2242
Research
Research team on ICT in learning and working environments
Project:
PL 35
Research 40014
tel.+358 14 260 3200
fax.+358 14 260 3201
Research
01.01.1999 - 31.12.2003
date:
Level of Comprehensive schools, upper stage
Field of Communication and information sciences
computer network
university
learning through work
enterprise
The task of the research team is to exploit the potential of ICT in developing
and evaluating learning environments with a view to developing teaching and
learning. Attention will be paid particularly to the construction of meaningful
knowledge from the perspective of individuals, groups and the learning
community as a whole. In this context, the team will focus especially on
analyzing cognitive and social processes, as well as contextual features
related to learning in virtual environments. The theoretical background is
anchored into socio-constructivist (Palincsar, 1998) and socio-cultural
theories of learning (Säljö, 2000).
Abstract:
Particular focus is on various theories and recent research on collaborative
learning (Baker, 2002; Crook, 2000; Dillenbourg, 1999; Stahl, 2003),
Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL; Koschmann, 1996),
Computer-Supported Co-operative Work; (CSCW; Dourish, 1998) as well as
on the questions of knowledge management (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995).
The contexts of the research conducted in this group and in collaboration
with the relevant bodies vary from childhood education and school learning
to universities and various work organizations.
• Häkkinen, P. 2002 Challenges for design of computer-based learning
environments British Journal of Educational Technology 33 4 465-474
• Häkkinen, P. 2001 Collaborative learning in technology-supported
environments two cases of project-enhanced science learning International
Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long
Learning 11 4/5/6 375-390
• Häkkinen, P., Arvaja, M. & Mäkitalo, K. 2002 Mechanisms of grounding in
co-constructing knowledge. In K. Littleton, D. Faulkner, R. Joiner, D. Miell,
& P. Häkkinen (Eds.) Learning to collaborate and collaborating to learn
• Häkkinen, P., Järvelä, S. & Byman A. 2001 Sharing and making perspectives
in web-based conferencing. In P. Dillenbourg, A. Eurelings & K. Hakkarainen
(Eds.) Proceedings of European Perspectives on Computer-Supported
Collaborative Learning Maastricht Universiteit Maastricht 285-300
• Häkkinen, P. & Arvaja, M. 1999 Kollaboratiivinen oppiminen
teknologiaympäristöissä (Collaborative learning in technology-supported
Publications:
environments). In A. Eteläpelto & P. Tynjälä (Eds.), Asiantuntijaksi
oppiminen (Learning of expertise)
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 2002 Web-based Cases in Teaching and Learning
the Quality of Discussions and a Stage of Perspective Taking in
Asynchronous Communication Interactive Learning Environments 10 1 1-22
• Järvelä, S., Häkkinen, P., Arvaja, M. & Leinonen, P. 2002 Instructional
support in CSCL. In P. Kirschner, R. Martens & J.-W. Strijbos (Eds.) What
we know about CSCL in higher education
• Arvaja, M., Häkkinen, P., Rasku-Puttonen, H. & Eteläpelto, A. 2002 Social
processes and knowledge building during small group interaction in a school
science project Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 46 2 161-179
• Mäkitalo, K., Häkkinen, P., Järvelä, S. & Leinonen, P. 2002 The mechanisms
of common ground in the web-based interaction The Internet and Higher
Education 5 3 247-265
Research
Sharing and constructing perspectives in virtual interaction (SHAPE)
Project:
Researcher: Piritta Salo (piritta.leinonen@oulu.fi)
University of Oulu
PL 2000
Research 90014
tel.+358 8 553 3702
fax.+358 8 553 3744
Research
01.01.2000 -
date:
Education: Adult education
Science: Linguistics
interaction
The SHAPE project, funded by the Academy of Finland, is a joint project by
the Universities of Jyväskylä and Oulu. The cross-disciplinary project
investigates the nature and quality of virtual interaction in higher education
and work place contexts, building on the theories of the role of social
Abstract: interaction in learning as well as on the dynamics of discourse. The three-
year project provides theoretically grounded principles and guidelines for
increasing and evaluating the quality of virtual interaction thus facilitating
the design of more purposeful web-based learning models in formal and
informal education.
Publications: • Häkkinen, P., Järvelä, S. & Dillenbourg, P. 2000 REFLEX- Group Reflection
tools for developing virtual distributed expert community Proceedings of
International conference on Learning Sciences, June 2000, Michigan, USA
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 2000 Levels of Web-Based Discussion: Theory of
Perspective Taking as a Tool for Analysing Interaction. In B. Fishman & S.
O'Connor-Divelbiss (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fourth International
Conference of the Learning Sciences Erlbaum Mahwah, NJ 22-26
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 2000 Web-based cases in teaching and learning -
the quality of discussions and a stage of perspective taking in asynchronous
communication Interactive Learning Environments
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 2000 Levels of Web-based communication. In H.
van Oostendorp (Ed.). Cognition in a digital world
• Järvelä, S., Kuure, L., Saarenkunnas, M., Taalas, P. & Salovaara,
H. 1999 Vierekkäin verkossa: pedagogisia malleja verkkotyöskentelyyn.
Teoksessa Horila, M. (toim.) ITK, Täällä tietoyhteiskunnan alla.
Interaktiivinen teknologia koulutuksessa Hämeen kesäyliopiston julkaisuja,
sarja B 49-51
• Kuure, L., Saarenkunnas, M. & Taalas, P. 2001 Negotiating a New Culture of
Doing Learning? A Study of Interaction in a Web Learning Environment with
Special Focus on Teacher Approaches
• Kuure, L., Saarenkunnas, M. & Taalas, P. 2000 Verkkovälitteisen
tapauskeskustelun mahdollisuuksia kielenopetuksessa ja
opettajankoulutuksessa. Teoksessa Kaikkonen, P. & V. Kohonen (eds) Minne
menet kielikasvatus? Näkökulmia kielipedagogiikkaan Jyväskylän yliopisto
• Kuure, L., Saarenkunnas, M., & Taalas, P. 1999 Teacher roles and interaction
in web-based learning environments. A article for the Trails (Training of
Facilitators by Open Learning Systems) -project Available at http://www-
deis.cit.ie/trails
• Saarenkunnas, M., Järvelä, S., Häkkinen, P., Kuure, L., Taalas, P. & Kunelius,
E. 2000 NINTER - Networked interaction: theory-based cases in teaching and
learning Learning Environments Research
• Saarenkunnas, M., Kuure, L. & Taalas, P. 2000 Towards Equal Discourse in
Web-based Interaction Material for the ICT4LT (Interaction and
Communication Technology for the Language Teacher) -project
Research Stakeholders' conceptions of learning in learning management systems

Project: development
Researcher: Ari Wahlstedt (ari.wahlstedt@jyu.fi)
Research PL 35
Unit: 40014
Research
01.01.2003 - 19.11.2007
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Science:
Keyword(s): learning
conception of learning
Abstract: We receive and send information via communication channels such as
writing. However, our thoughts and conceptions are noticed only at a certain
detailed level when expressed in simpler forms, for example, with words.
The conceptions of learning (CoL), a person's associations, memory content,
ideas and beliefs related to learning, are used to understand learning
management systems development (LMSD). The learning management
systems, considered as information systems, help teachers to manage their
courses and provide possibilities for collaboration in learning.
From a humanistic perspective, LMSD involves continual social and

physical construction of an artifact. LMSD is a change process taken on
object systems in a set of environments by a development group to achieve
or to uphold some objectives. In that participation, LMSD stakeholders as
designers and content producers interactions include CoL.
This research goes beyond the requirement analysis stage in system

development, concentrating on the conceptions which guide people in their
actions. As CoL should be noticed, the research aim was to find out what are
those CoL in the LMSD. For the background, related issues in computer,
educational and cognitive science were studied. With a case study, interviews
and a web-survey with stakeholders, this research gathered their CoL.
Research results were revised categories of CoL, issues related to these
conceptions, a method for gathering conceptions and an agent-technology
based approach to LMSD to support dynamical CoL.
• Wahlstedt, Ari 2007 Stakeholders' conceptions of learning in learning
management systems development Jyväskylä Studies in Computing nr 7 130
Publications:
s. ISBN 978 951 39 2965 7 ISSN 1456 5390
Research Students¿ perception of highly interactive, reflective and process oriented

Project: eLearning courses
Researcher: Matti Haverila
Research
Tampere Polytechnic / Tampere Polytechnic - University of Applies Sciences
Unit:
Research
01.01.2006 - 31.05.2007
date:
Field of
Teacher education
Science:
eLearning
Keyword(s): teacher education
virtual instruction
student
The purpose of this research thesis was to research the perceptions of
students and requirements for a highly interactive and process oriented
virtual learning environment. The participants came from two courses:
Software business course at Tampere Polytechnic, in Tampere Finland and
eLearning Professional course at Open University in United Kingdom. A
Abstract: qualitative research approach was used.
On the basis of the research it is quite obvious, that the pedagogical setting
of the before mentioned courses sets very specific requirements for the
implementation of the courses. Specific recommendations were also made
for the practitioner as well as suggestions for further research.
• Haverila, Matti 2007 Students¿ perception of highly interactive, reflective
and process oriented eLearning courses Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulun
Publications: julkaisuja. Sarja A. Tutkimuksia 11. Tampere ISBN 978-952-5264-61-6 ISSN
1456-0011
Research Study of the impact of information and communication technology on the role
Project: of learners
Unit: PL 9
00014
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research
01.01.1998 - 30.10.1998
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Science:
Keyword(s) communication technology
: learning environment
open environment
The focal objective of the study is the identification and analysis of current
experiments, research and studies that have investigated the impact of
imformation and communication technology (ICT) on the role of the learner.
In order to achieve this objective: 1) an analytic framework has been
developed whicj identifies a profile od roles for the learner; 2) a review of the
use of ICT to support and/or create these learner roles for the learner; 3)
weaknessess and omissions in this profile typically found in 'conventional'
Abstract: teaching and learning environments are identified; 4) recommendations are
given as to how the use of ICT can strengthen or create learner roles.
The framework developed to support this study consists of two

complementary components: i) the adoption of a socio-constructivist view of
knowledge and understanding as a basis for the identification of learning
aims; ii) the adoption of the Kolb Learning Cycle as a theory of learning to
provide a description of how learning occurs.
Research
StuNet- Business possibilities and education : Student Enterprise Network
Project:
Researcher: Pekka Arponen (pekka.arponen@helsinki.fi)
University of Helsinki / University of Helsinki/ Ruralia institute
Research Lönnrotinkatu 7
Unit: 50100
MIKKELI
Research
01.11.2006 -
date:
Level of Vocational institutions
Field of
Science:
student
entrepreneurship
Keyword(s): entrepreneurship education
co-operative
Abstract: The objective of the project is to improve entrepreneurial attitudes and skills
of students who graduate from schools providing vocational and professional
education in South-Savo, Finland. For this purpose we will establish new
student enterprises at schools and these enterprises are also to be integrated
to the teaching. We will also create a student enterprise network for to get
different kind of synergetic benefits.
Publications:
Research Teacher's role in promoting successful collaboration in technology-based

Project: learning environments
Researcher: Helena Rasku-Puttonen (hrasku@edu.jyu.fi)
PL 35
Research
40014
Unit:
tel.+358 14 260 1211
Research
01.08.1999 -
date:
Level of
Comprehensive schools, upper stage
Education:
Educational science
Field of
Science:
Teacher education
Keyword(s):
guidance
learning
The aim of the study is to examine teacher's instructional scaffolding in an
information and communication technology-based learning environment.
Abstract: Further aim is to find out how the instructional scaffolding interact with
students' learning activities and what this implies for the development of the
ICT as a teacher's tool for monitoring students' learning processes.
Publications: • Rasku-Puttonen, H., Eteläpelto, A., Lehtonen, O., Nummila, L. & Häkkinen,
P. 2004 Developing teacher's professional expertise through collaboration in
an innovative ICT-based learning environment
• Rasku-Puttonen, H., Eteläpelto, A., Häkkinen, P. & Arvaja, M. 2000 Opettaja
korkeatasoisen oppimisen edistäjänä tieto- ja viestintätekniikkaa
hyödyntävässä oppimisympäristössä Esitelmä Kasvatustieteen päivillä
25.11.2000, Turku
• Rasku-Puttonen, H., Aravaja, M., Eteläpelto, A. & Häkkinen,
P. 2000 Opettajan ja oppilaiden toiminnan yhteensovittaminen
projektioppimisessa Esitelmä FACEIn seminaarissa 8.12.2000, Jyväskylä
• Rasku-Puttonen, H., Arvaja, M., Eteläpelto, A. & Häkkinen, P. 2002 Teacher's
role in supporting project-based learning in technology-supported
environments. In J. Bopry & A. Eteläpelto (eds.) Collaboration and learning
in virtual
environments http://selene.lib.jyu.fi:8080/julpu/9513914208.pdf 126-133
• Eteläpelto, A. & Rasku-Puttonen, H. 1999 Projektioppimisen haasteet ja
mahdollisuudet. Teoksessa A. Eteläpelto & Tynjälä, P. (toim.) Oppiminen ja
asiantuntijuus Porvoo WSOY 181-205
• Rasku-Puttonen, H., Eteläpelto, A., Arvaja, M. & Häkkinen, P. 2002 Teacher's
instructional scaffolding in an innovative information and communication
technology-based history learning environment Teacher Development 6 /
2. 6 2 269-287
• Rasku-Puttonen, H., Eteläpelto, A., Arvaja, M. & Häkkinen, P. 2003 Is
successful scaffolding an illusion? - Shifting patterns of responsibility and
control in teacher-student interaction during a long-term learning
project Instructional Science 31 377-393
• Rasku-Puttonen, H., Eteläpelto, A., Arvaja, M. & Häkkinen,
P. 2003 Opettajan ja oppilaiden vuorovaikutus korkeatasoisen oppimisen
edistäjänä innovatiivisessa oppimisympäristössä Kasvatus 34/1 34 1 43-55
Research The Internet in guidance or guidance in the Internet? Perceptions of guidance

Project: practitioners on the use of the Internet as a tool in guidance
Researcher: Raimo Vuorinen (raimo.vuorinen@ktl.jyu.fi)
PL 35
Research 40014
tel.+358 14 260 3200
fax.+358 14 260 3201
Research
31.12.2000 - 06.10.2006
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Adult education, certificate-oriented
Field of
Educational science
Science:
information network
internet
guidance
Keyword(s):
working life
work environment
Abstract: International and national educational and labour market policies are
increasingly emphasising quality assurance and more diverse service
delivery in guidance services targeted for adolescents and adults. Rather than
focusing on one single educational or work transition, current policy
statements emphasise that career guidance goals and
services need to be offered from lifelong guidance perspective. Guidance has
been widely viewed in these statements as a key contributor to economic
development and competitiveness. However, access to guidance can be a
major barrier in making lifelong guidance a reality.
The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has the

potential to greatly expand access to career guidance. Beginning with
provision of traditional occupational and career information, ICT in career
guidance has evolved to include a wide variety of information and
assessment resources, as well as facilitating interaction among clients and
guidance professionals. Generic counselling processes have been developed
to help clients make effective use of ICT in career guidance. A consensus has
emerged that both the counsellor and ICT have an important role to play in
the delivery of enhanced career guidance services.
Counsellors vary considerably in their experience in both the use of ICT in

general and the use of the ICT in guidance in particular. The goal of this
study was to understand the perceptions of guidance practitioners regarding
their role and the role of the Internet in meeting guidance goals and
delivering career guidance services. Career guidance services are described
as a multi-layered open system; a combination of structures, mechanisms and
contexts. This study focused on the work of the guidance practitioner, ICT
applications, institutional web-site design and public policies of career
guidance.
This study examined career guidance practise using a phenomenographic

approach. The data was collected in focus groups in 2001-2002 among 46
guidance practitioners representing comprehensive, secondary and higher
education, as well as public employment services. These practitioners
identified themselves either as novice or experienced
Internet users. The analysis was based on a `Combined methods¿ approach
with the aim of analysing how practitioners who were novice and expert in
their use of ICT perceived the role of the practitioner and the role of
technology in the use of Internetbased career services and career information
delivery systems? The analysis also focused on whether or not there were
differences in the perceptions between these groups.
The practitioners in all focus groups identified that information had a crucial
role in promoting opportunity awareness and decision learning. The Internet
had added value especially in obtaining educational and labour market
information. Practitioners used resources an the Internet similarly to the way
they used previous printed resource materials. The Internet was not widely
used in screening client needs or supporting the implementation of individual
action plans. Screening was based mainly on client interviews.
Rather than developing coherent strategies for the use of ICT, the
practitioners were using technical applications in order to solve fragmented
problems. The results also revealed that the emphasis was on delivering
career information rather than promoting career management skills from a
lifelong guidance perspective. Novice and experienced users of the Internet
had similar perceptions of their role in the use of the Internet in different
guidance activities. The practitioners believed that it takes more work to use
the Internet; on the other hand the Internet could be used in routine tasks.
There is still a need for personal support for clients in their use of the
Internet. Guidance expertise is also needed in the design and evaluation of
technical applications in guidance. There are several implications that from
this research. Internet-based services should be developed in co-operation
between ministries responsible for career service delivery. Educational
institutions should provide more flexible access points for guidance services.
In order to use the Internet in a coherent way, a practitioner must be able to
identify the targets for guidance and the theoretical framework used in
service design.
Educational institutions should provide practitioners with opportunities for

sustainable in-service training in the use of the Internet in guidance. A the
very beginning of counsellor training as practitioners, students should have
opportunity to integrate key Internet-based career services and resources
within individual guidance processes and group settings from the very
beginning of their training. Finally, more research is needed to better
understand how practitioners can make cost-effective use of ICT in guidance.
• Vuorinen, Raimo 2006 Internet ohjauksessa vai ohjaus internetissä? Ohjaajien
käsityksiä internetin merkityksestä työvälineenä Jyväskylän yliopisto.
Publications: Koulutuksen tutkimuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 19 ISBN 951-39-2607-9 ISSN
1455-447X
Research Thinking and content learning in teaching through a foreign language. CLIL
Project: or content and language integrated learning
Researcher: Aini-Kristiina Jäppinen (jappinen@ktl.jyu.fi)
PL 35
Research 40014
tel.+358 14 260 3520
fax.+358 14 260 3521
Research
01.08.2001 - 31.12.2003
date:
Level of
Education:
Science: Linguistics
learning
teaching in a foreign language
Keyword(s):
cognition
Abstract: Teaching through a foreign language, that is Content and Language
Integrated Learning (CLIL), refers to all situations, including immersion and
bilingual education, where a foreign language is a medium of instruction of
different subjects. These approaches are increasing in Europe because of the
rapid social change. They benefit foreign language learning in providing
wider choice of languages learned and opportunities for intercultural
communication.
CLIL learners create analogical reasoning systems for content learning. This
process forms the basis for representational thinking and causes cognitional
development of concepts and meaning schemes. This was concretized in
terms of 18 cognitions as combinations of Piagetian mental operations and
Bruner's critical areas of discovery learning.
The study of mathematics and science uncovered development of cognition
of 669 Finnish mainstream learners of 7-15 years of age in the public
comprehensive school in terms of magnitude, ratio, proportion,
denomination, estimation, and climate. The longitudinal study (2001-2003)
was based on a representative sample from 12 schools in three major cities of
Finland. The experimental group of 335 CLIL learners was taught through
English, French, or Swedish and the control group of 334 learners through
Finnish, the mother tongue of all learners in the control group. The selected
topics of mathematics and science were taught in four periods of 3-5 weeks.
After the teaching periods, the learners' cognitional level was tested.
The development of cognition was observed in terms of changes of five

taxonomical levels, grounded from the basis of Biggs' SOLO Taxonomy. The
analyses of cognitional development were done by using categorical
modeling procedures by SPSS in terms of Chi-tests, standardized residuals,
and T-test. The results showed statistically significant differences between
the experimental and the control group.
• Jäppinen, Aini-Kristiina 2003 Ajattelu ja sisältöjen oppiminen vieraskielisessä
opetuksessa Tutkimusraportti 2/3. Jyväskylän yliopisto, Soveltavan
kielentutkimuksen keskus Jyväskylä 45 ISBN 951-39-1592-1
• Jäppinen, Aini-Kristiina 2005 Thinking and Content Learning of Mathematics
Publications:
and Science as Cognitional Development in Content and Language Inegrated
Learning (CLIL): Teaching Through a Foreign Language in Finland Language
and Education, 19:2 148-169
Research Towards primary school physics teaching and learning: Design research
Project: approach
Researcher: Kalle Juuti
PL 9
Research 00014
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research
01.09.2002 - 11.02.2005
date:
Level of
Education:
Science: Physics and chemistry
Keyword(s): physics
teaching
primary school
This thesis describes a project to design a primary school physics learning
environment which takes into account teachers' needs, design procedures,
properties of the learnig environment, and pupil learning outcomes.
The project's design team has wide experience in research and development
work in relation to science education, the use of ICT in education, the way
students think about physics, curriculum and teaching method development,
and the design of instructional materials. This knowledge base was the
starting point for design. The project engaged in design research. Design
research is here considered to be a form of educational research, and offers
opportunities to study unique educational phenomena. It produces artefacts to
be applied directly in an educational setting, and thereby engages the
researcher in the direct improvement of educational practice. Design research
can even offer a strategy for the development and refinement of educational
theory.
The first main research result was a design procedure. The procedure
contained four phases: 1) needs assessment; 2) definition of the objectives
for a design solution; 3) design and production of the material; and 4)
Abstract:
evaluation of the material. The phases apply research literature and empirical
research. Phases three and four are iterative and include three stages: limited
use of the prototype, a pilot test and a field test.
The second main result was a designed learning environment as an example

of a learning environment. The research showed that an environment should
be: 1) concrete and illustrative, offering examples for the classroom; 2)
mentally stimulating, for both study and practical work; 3) physically and
pedagogically meaningful 4) usable; 5) offer peer and expert support for
teachers. In addition, the research uncovered many contextual features that
are important concerning
the usability of the learning environment.
The third main result was that qualitative level models delivered by way of
stories offer much potential for learning primary school physics. From the
Finnish perspective, the designed learning environment offers a novel
phenomenon to investigate primary physics teaching and learning in a new
situation where, from the point of view of this research, rather ambitious new
National Framework Curriculum for physics education has been introduced.
• Juuti, Kalle 2005 Towards Primary School Physics Teaching and Learning:
Design Research Approach University of Helsinki. Department of applied
Publications: sciences of education. Research report 256 Helsinki: Yliopistopaino ISBN
952-10-1992-1 ISSN 1795-2158
ch Project: Two information retrieval learning environments. Their design and evaluation
Researcher: Kai Halttunen (kai.halttunen@uta.fi)
Research 33014
tel.+358 3 2156111
Research
01.01.1999 - 12.05.2004
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Science:
Keyword(s): information retrieval
information skills
Abstract: In this thesis, the design and evaluation of two information retrieval (IR)
learning environments are presented. The design and evaluation took place in
a basic course of IR (6 ECTS credits) at the Department of Information
Studies at the University of Tampere. The course consisted of lectures, web
exercises and tutored search exercises. Tutored exercises were carried out in
two learning environments, in a traditional and in an experimental one. The
participants in the study (n=57), were undergraduate students of information
studies at the university.
The pedagogical design of the experimental learning environment was based

on the ideas from anchored instruction and intentional scaffolding. Anchoring
related the search exercises to a simulated journalistic work-task situation.
Scaffolding, ie. various ways of supporting learners in proceeding with their
task was provided by an instructional tool, the IR Game, or by a teacher. The
IR Game provides query performance feedback to the learner, based on
predefined topics and a recall-base of known relevant documents for the
topics. The pedagogical design of the traditional learning environment
consisted of search exercises on several operational IR systems with
unintentional scaffolding.
The effect of the learning environments on the students' learning experiences,

performance and learning outcomes was evaluated. The evaluation was based
on seven different datasets gathered in the basic course on IR. The datasets
consist of two essays, answers to a questionnaire, results of a learning style
inventory, log-files from two search sessions, stories describing learning
experiences and answers to a course feedback questionnaire. The data were
analyzed by qualitative and quantitative methods.
The results indicate that anchoring and scaffolding are promising strategies in
IR instruction. Participants studying in the experimental learning
environment took the view that anchored instruction increased
meaningfulness of learning tasks. The overall effectiveness of queries in the
search exercises was slightly better in the experimental environment and the
students made far fewer semantic knowledge errors than the students in the
traditional learning environment.
Students from both environments made quite the same number of syntactic
knowledge errors. The change in students' conceptual IR know-how was also
larger in the experimental learning environment. The results of the study, in
terms of the benefits of anchoring and scaffolding, are not categorical
because of the range of intervening variables and the difficulty of setting up a
field experiment which tried to be naturalistic but at the same time tried to
focus on a specific aspect - the differences between the IR learning
environments.
• Halttunen, Kai & Sormunen, Eero 2000 Learning information retrieval

through an educational game : is gaming sufficient for learning Education for
Information 18 4
• Halttunen, Kai 2000 Tiedonhaun peruskurssin opiskelijoiden kokemuksia IR
Game -tiedonhakupelistä osana oppimisympäristöä Aikuiskasvatus 20 3 201-
214
• Halttunen, Kai 2004 Kahden tiedonhaun oppimisympäristön suunnittelu ja
arviointi. Two Information Retrieval Learning Environments, Their Design
and evaluation Acta Universitatis Tamperensis 1020 Tampereen
Yliopistopaino Oy - Juvenes Print 95Tampereen yliopisto 95 ISBN 951-44-
6008-1 ISSN 1455-1616
• Halttunen, Kai & Järvelin, Kalervo 2003 Assessing learning outcomes in two
Publications:
information retrieval learning environments: a design experiment
• Halttunen, Kai 2003 Scaffolding performance in IR instruction: exploring
learning experiences and performance in two learning environments Journal
of Information Science
• Halttunen, Kai 2003 Students' conceptions of information retrieval:
implications for design of learning environments Library and Information
Science Research
• Sormunen, Eero ; Halttunen, Kai ; Keskustalo, Heikki 2002 Query
Performance Analyser - a tool for bridging information retrieval research and
instruction University of Tampere. Department of Information Studies.
Research Notes RN 1/2002
Research
Web portfolio 2. Learning environment
Project:
Researcher: Olli Hatakka (olli.hatakka@joensuu.fi)
University of Joensuu / The Resesarch and Development Center
PL 111
Research
80101
Unit:
JOENSUU
tel.+358 13 251111
Research
01.01.2001 -
date:
Level of
Education:
Science: Teacher education
web-based learning
Keyword(s):
Abstract: The research project aims at producing a working model of using the
environment as basis for virtual polytechnic teaching and learning. To
achieve this the research has several subtopics, which are: The teachers'
learning conceptions and their effects on the use of the web based learning
environment Web portfolio (in planning, designing and utilising the
environment) and how this effects the way teachers work. Secondly we want
to find out the factors that enhance so called dedicated interaction among
students and teachers while using the Web portfolio as learning platform.
Thirdly we want to know how the planned courses can be stored and
recycled easily as models for the other courses. In additon to these three
above mentioned tasks, we want to find the "best practices" concerning the
use of the tools provided in the Web portfolio.
All and all the idea is to combine this collected information to a handbook
like model for polyctechnic and other higher educational institutions that are
virtualising their teaching and learning practices.
(Olli Hatakka ja Teemu Valtonen, 2002)
Publications:
Research
Virtual Environments for the Shared Construction of Teacher Expertise
Project:
PL 35
Research 40014
tel.+358 14 260 3200
fax.+358 14 260 3201
Research
01.01.2000 - 31.12.2001
date:
Level of
Education:
Universities
Science: Pre-school education
Teacher education
teacher education
Keyword(s): learning
The focus of the NINTER (Networked Interaction: Theory-Based Cases in
Teaching and Learning) and Pro Child (Constructing Professional Expertise
in Childhood Education by Networked Discussions) projects is an
exploration of the potentials and constraints of shared virtual environments
in supporting learning and interaction in teacher education.
Abstract: NINTER is a collaborative research and development project launched by

four universities to develop pedagogical models serving the needs of teacher
education that make use of the potential of shared virtual environments.
The Pro Child project seeks to reinforce links between student teachers and
teachers in schools. The aim is to promote the development of the
professional expertise of students and teachers taking part in networked
discussion.
Publications: • Häkkinen, P., Järvela, S., & Dillenbourg, P. 2000 Group Reflection Tools for
Virtual Expert Community - REFLEX Project. In B. Fishman & S. O'Connor-
Divelbiss (Eds.) Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference of the
Learning Sciences Mahwah, NJ Erlbaum 203-204
• Häkkinen, P., Järvelä, S. & Byman, A. 2001 Sharing and making perspectives
in web-based conferencing. In P. Dillenbourg, A. Eurelings & K.
Hakkarainen (Eds.), Proceedings of European Perspectives on Computer-
Supported Collaborative Learning Maastricht Universiteit Maastricht 285-
300
• Häkkinen, P. 1999 Oppimisen ja vuorovaikutuksen laatu virtuaalisissa
oppimisympäristöissä - pedagogisia malleja verkkotyöskentelyyn. In E.
Pantzar (Ed.), Tiedosta tutkittua Suomen Akatemian Tiedon
tutkimusohjelman raportteja, 3 Tampere Tietoyhteiskunnan
tutkimuskeskus 139-144
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 2001 Web-based cases in teaching and learning the
Quality of Discussions and a Stage of Perspective Taking in Asynchronous
Communication Interactive Learning Environments
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 2001 Levels of Web-Based Communication:
Analysing Quality of Interaction and Perspective Taking. In H van
Oostendorp (Ed.), Cognition in Digital World Lawrence Erlbaum
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 2000 Levels of Web-Based Discussion: Theory of
Perspective Taking as a Tool for Analysing Interaction. In B. Fishman & S.
O'Connor-Divelbiss (Eds.), Proceedings of the Fourth International
Conference of the Learning Sciences Mahwah, NJ Erlbaum 22-26
• Järvelä, S. & Häkkinen, P. 1999 Creating pedagogical model for networked
interaction: theoretical review. In S. Järvelä, S. Laukka, J. Pulkkinen & M.
Saarenkunnas (Eds.), Campus Futurus: Education, Learning and Technology
in Higher Education Electronic publications of the Faculty of Education, 2,
University of Oulu 21-33
• Mäkitalo, K. 1999 Yhteisön rakentuminen ja sen ylläpitäminen
verkkoympäristössä. In E. Pantzar (Ed.), Informaatio, tieto ja
yhteiskunta Suomen Akatemian Tiedon tutkimusohjelman raportteja,
4 Tampere Tietoyhteiskunnan tutkimuskeskus 191-200
• Mäkitalo, K., Salo, P., Häkkinen, P. & Järvelä, S. 2001 Analysing the
mechanisms of common ground in collaborative web-based interaction. In P.
Dillenbourg, A. Eurelings & K. Hakkarainen (Eds.), Proceedings of European
Perspectives on Computer-Supported Collaborative
Learning Maastricht Universiteit Maastricht 445-453
Research Work and learning in a car tyre factory. Organizational learning and factors
Project: influencing it in industrial learning environment
Researcher: Pasi Koski (pasi.koski@uta.fi)
Työelämän tutkimuskeskus
Research
33014
Unit:
TAMPEREEN YLIOPISTO
tel.+358 3 215 6111
Research
01.01.2003 - 21.04.2007
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Adult education
Science:
Keyword(s): problem based learning
working life
The study was conducted in the context of a three-year development project
implemented in a Finnish car tyre factory. The business-strategy-related aim
of the project was to create out of the factory a ¿customer-oriented process
organization¿. This development work was done by employing three
methodological means: supervisor training, team-specific training concerning
the norms that guide action as well as inter-departmental training in problem-
based learning (PBL) as a special object of empirical analysis. In the research
project, PBL was understood as a development method that would exploit the
basic ideas of problem-based learning. Methodologically, a case study
strategy was chosen for the purposes of the present research.
The study focused on learning processes taking place in a certain context or

in a certain learning environment. The approach to learning was practice-
based, meaning that learning and knowledge are not separate processes or
events detached from the learning environment but part of the social
practices and related social meanings of it. These practices are fundamentally
attached to work and productions processes. The following research
questions were developed:
1. What kind of learning environment does an industrial production plant

provide and what kind of development trend in organizing work and
production can be observed in it?
2. What kinds of processes of organizational learning were created and
identified in the course of the development project and which factors in the
Abstract: learning environment affected these processes, either by promoting or
hindering them?
3. What kinds of results were gained in the development project and what
kinds of experiences did the participants have of its effect on their own work
and working environment?
The findings of the research and development project under study were
promising from the view-point of developing work process knowledge. The
study indicated that along with increasing work process knowledge, the
personnel understands much better each other¿s tasks and the significance of
all phases from the viewpoint of a whole process. Malfunctions and
disruptions are reacted to and repair works are done faster because
communication channels have improved and knowledge of possible causes is
spread wider in the factory floor.
Workers can also be better prepared for these situations in advance; because
of a better understanding than earlier they are able to make conclusions about
sudden changes in the course of a process. At the same time,
misunderstandings and suspicions among the personnel of what causes the
problems decrease. Blaming the ¿department next door¿ that easily occurs in
a negative atmosphere decreases because due to increased work process
knowledge the causes of malfunctions and mistakes are not blamed on fellow
workers or thought of as having been caused deliberately. This may improve
the working atmosphere significantly.
One of the supporting elements of the development method is also the view
that change can be best generated by creating a positive attitude towards
collective development. A workplace is always a whole that consists of
different ¿communities of practice¿, in which the preconditions for
development are defined by the political settings within and among these
communities and by the nature of the work process.
The study raises an important issue of how organizational politics needs to

taken into account in development work. The basic starting point can be that
the developers need to be informed about the existence of organizational
politics and that the role of the politics can very well be that of either
promoting learning or hindering it. The developers need to know their target
organizations as well as possible and seek to gather information about the
political settings between those involved in the developing work.
Political processes largely define the extent to which an aim can be reached
in a certain organization by means of development work promoted by an
outsider. To a certain extent, understanding micro-politics in a certain context
always requires understanding the specific nature of the context and the often
relatively hidden struggle between different interests. This in turn requires
the ability to go beyond the functional and unitarist view on organization.
Despite being partly autonomous, organizational politics is not born out of
thin air: it is linked with the work and management practices, rewarding and
development systems as well as with the techno-logical, financial and social
dimension of the workplace.
The study also shows that it is not enough to only sketch present
development needs if knowledge of the most significant changes occurred in
an organization in its recent history is not collected at the same time.
Organizational changes can leave behind political tensions which may foil
the plans for introducing new courses of action.
It is characteristic of the problem-based learning method that it seeks to limit

the development needs to small and as concrete as possible problems that can
be solved or that can be relatively easily affected. It is nearly inevitable,
however, that these small problems close by open up linkages with bigger
and more in-depth development needs concerning courses of action,
awareness raising, and in the best possible case, also provide tools for
working on them. Big and small issues can then be easily considered at the
same time. In this way, single-loop learning can pave the way for double-
loop learning.
Publications:
Research
Learning intercultural competency in the workplace
Project:
Researcher: Pirkko Pitkänen (pirkko.pitkanen@joensuu.fi)
PL 111
Research
80101
Unit:
JOENSUU
fax.+358 13 251 3564
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of Adult education
immigrant
working life
Keyword(s): in-plant training
intercultural education
learning
Abstract: The aim of this international and multi-disciplinary research project is to
clarify prerequisites for learning successful intercultural collaboration at
work in both the private and public sectors, and to develop a transformative
learning model for fostering intercultural competency in day-to-day
activities. In Finland, the attainment of intercultural competency is becoming
ever more necessary due to an increase in ethnic and cultural diversity in
workplaces. Despite the increase in immigration, relatively little is known
about how to help people with foreign background to cope within the Finnish
labour market.
In this project, we aim at creating circumstances for successful intercultural

learning processes in daily work and investigate the attainment of
intercultural competency by follow-up studies. The research carried out
within the project will also entail the training of people involved. This will
be done in collaboration with work communities, two Equal projects,
continuing education institutions, the Finnish Work Environment Fund, the
Finnish Ministry of Labour, employers' and employees' organisations, as well
as Regional councils and Employment and Economic Development Centres
of Eastern Finland.
A transformative learning theory and a social theory of learning offer the

general theoretical starting points for the empirical studies. In order to clarify
how intercultural competency can be fostered in everyday work, the
empirical studies will focus on (1) human resource management issues; (2)
intercultural professional training issues; and (3) intercultural interaction and
communication issues. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods
will be used to gather data on selected samples of private and public sector
enterprises.
By means of educational interventions and by creating circumstances under

which transformative intercultural learning can occur, the project researchers
will increase the participants understanding of intercultural collaboration and
diversity issues in general. This will be done from the perspective of the
entire work communities; the examination includes not only immigrant
employees but also their co-workers and supervisors, who belong to the
ethnic majority. In these endeavours, we will utilise the wide experience and
expertise of our British and Dutch project partners (the University of
Manchester and the Anne Frank House).
On the basis of the project results, personnel training material and an

intercultural learning model will be developed and eLearning material
(published on CD-ROM) on diversity issues will be produced.
Publications:
Research
BIC-Blueprint for interactive classrooms
Project:
Researcher: Tuomo Rintamäki (tuomo.rintamaki@hut.fi)
Helsinki University of Technology / Center for Educational Technologies
PL 8000
Research
02015
Unit:
TKK
tel.+358 9 4511
Research
01.01.1996 - 31.12.1997
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Science:
interaction
Keyword(s)
classroom
:
multimedia
The Blueprint for Interactive Classrooms project aims to make university
education and training more accessible to a wide range of learners through
low cost and flexible, user-friendly distance education technology. The project
activity consists of the design and building of five interactive telepresence
classrooms in five of the partner sites. Each classroom will facilitate the
delivery or reception of courses over a variety of telematics networks and will
incorporate various interactive mechanisms (TV, ISDN videoconferencing,
Abstract: telephone, computer conferencing), each one catering for a different
educational scenario.
The project will produce a handbook which will be a complete guide to any
distance education provider on how to build their own telepresence
infrastructure, modelled on the five different scenarios which include sites for
teaching remote learners, teaching remote and local learners, group
presentation and interaction, a single learner, and a learning centre group.
Research Teacher education as multi-mode education

Project:
Researcher: Leena Krokfors (leena.krokfors@helsinki.fi)
PL 9
Research 00014
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
Level of Comprehensive schools
teacher
teacher education
Keyword(s):
virtual university
multiform teaching
The aim of the research project is to investigate how a multimode teacher
education program supports the pedagogical idea of research-based teacher
education. In the program, the students study and work as teachers
simultaneously. This kind of learning at workplace enables the integration of
theory and practice. The multimode program is an application of flexible
learning. Another pedagogical feature is learning in the workplace which is
an increasing trend in higher education. The pedagogical use of information
Abstract:
and communication is treated as a media educational phenomenon including
network-based recorded lectures and the use of videoconferencing in
supervision of students when they practice in their own class. The research
project continues the research and development work that was established in
the 1990s. It is a part of the wider research activities of the Centre for
Research on Teaching, located in the Department of Applied Sciences of
Education.
• Kynäslahti, Heikki, Jyrhämä, Riitta, Maaranen, Katriina, Krokfors, Leena,
Toom, Auli & Kansanen, Pertti 2005 Työn ja koulutuksen suhde [Elektroninen
aineisto ]: opettajana työskentelyn yhteydestä opettajaksi
opiskeluun Aikuiskasvatus 25 2 4
• Krokfors, Leena, Jyrhämä, Riitta, Kynäslahti, Heikki, Toom, Auli, Maaranen,
Katriina & Kansanen, Pertti 2006 Working while teaching, learning while
Publications: working: students teaching in their own class Journal of education for
teaching : Routledge Iso-Britannia 32 1 s. 21-36
• Kynäslahti, Heikki, Kansanen, Pertti, Jyrhämä, Riitta, Krokfors, Leena,
Maaranen, Katriina & Toom, Auli 2006 The multimode programme as a
variation of research-based teacher education Teaching and teacher
education Iso-Britannia 22 2 s. 246-256
Research Interaction of remote classrooms: Distance education project using video

Project: conferencing
Researcher: Heikki Kynäslahti (heikki.kynaslahti@helsinki.fi)
Research 00014
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 19129611
Research
01.01.1994 - 31.12.1997
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
Engineering, industry and transport
distance education
Abstract: The background of the research project was a series of experiments and
research on distance education, carried out at our Department. In these the
suitability of audiographichs and video conference for distance teaching in
primary and secondary schools was explored. In 1994 the parents in the little
village of Kilpisjärvi in Finnish Lapland wanted to start a local lower
secondary school for their children. Since there is a biological research
station of the University of Helsinki in Kilpisjärvi, it was natural that the
Teacher Training School of our Department would offer pedagogical support
to the beginning school, making use of distance education.
The aim of the research and development project is to create and describe a
distance learning environment where video conference and audiographics are
used simultaneously in two classrooms, one in Helsinki, the other in
Kilpisjärvi. This kind of distance education we call classroom focused
distance education. The main object of interest is the symbiosis of
conventional and distance education, and its impact on the instructional
processes. An important area of the research is to study how the networking
of the schools makes it possible to share professional knowledge and
resources. Our aim is also to study how the this way of organizing school
instruction affects educational aquality. Methodologically, we try develop
research tools suitable for etnographic study of the problem area.
Observation, videotapes of lessons, methods of interaction analysis,
interwievs, field notes, documents; meetings of teachers and researchers.
The main result is that the Kilpisjärvi project has succeeded in creating
satisfactory ways of carrying out, and also theoretically analysing, classroom
focused distance education. The Kilpisjärvi pupils have been able to studdy
in teir local school, and achieve learning results equal to the results of the
pupils in the Helsinki School. The common factor uniting the participant is
that they all have learning as their aim. Otherwise this kind of instructional
approach does not compensate enough for the segregation of the two groups
of pupils. The interaction with the teacher is intensive for both groups, but
the interaction between the groups is scanty. As a result the role of the teacher
is emphasized, he/she brings together the different classrooms for common
activities.
No particular new characteristics in the instructional process have been

observed in the participating classrooms when compared to what we know of
classroom instruction in general. Use of experts is typical of distance
education, and teaching of subject experts is what Kilpisjärvi school gets
from the training School. However, the role the local Kilpisjärvi teachers is
very important, because more than half of the lessons are taught by them. The
distance education project is a supporting element in the work of these
teachers, thus having features of inservice education.
The present results show that the shared teaching resources in classroom
focused distance education make possible flexible instructional and
organizational arrangements, such as differentiation of groups of pupils. The
sharing of expert knowledge of subject teachers contributes to educational
equality, and opens new perspectives for the development of rural schools.
Distance education has proved to be great importance to the village
community: the children need not leave their homes at an early age to go to
school, and adult people have got a new channel of adult education.
Publications: • Rönkä A. 1995 Kilpisjärvi-projekti - luokkamuotoista etäopetusta
kehittämässä. Teoksessa ITK-95. Interaktiivinen teknologia
koulutuksessa Konferenssi Hämeenlinnassa Aulangolla 21.-22.4.95 113-119
• Rönkä A. 1995 Luokkamuotoista etäopetusta kehittämässä: Kilpisjärvi-
projektin ensimmäisen lukukauden kokemuksia. Teoksessa S. Tella (toim.)
Juuret ja arvot. Etnisyys ja eettisyys - aineenopettaminen monikulturaalisessa
oppimisympäristössä Ainedidaktiikan symposiumi Helsingissä 3.2.1995.
Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 150 411-423
• Salminen J. 1995 The evaluation of the ISDN-based Video Conferencing in
Classroom Focused Distance Education Paper presentation in online Educa
Berlin, an International Conference on Distance Education, November 24-
25.1995, Berlin
• Salonen M. 1995 Aspects of Classroom Interaction in Two-Way
Videoconferencing Paper presentation in Open Classroom Conference:
Distance Learning and New Technologies in School Level Education and
Training. Oslo. Norway
• Sariola J. 1995 Vuorovaikutteinen video-opetus ala-asteella Esitelmä
kasvatustieteen päivillä Jyväskylässä 24.11.1995
• Säntti J. 1996 Itseohjautuvuus ja itseohjattu oppiminen luokkamuotoisessa
etäopetuksessa Tutkielma. Heelsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos
• Falck A-K., Husu J., Kronlund T., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo
V. 1995 Luokanopettajaksi opiskelevien etäopetuksesta koulun etäopetukseen.
Teoksessa H. Kynäslahti, A. Lauriala & M. Suortamo (toim.) Kokeileva poko:
Luokanopettajan poikkeuskoulutus opettajankoulutuksen
kehittäjänä Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia
147 209-220
• Husu J., Salminen J., Falck A-K., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo
V. 1994 Luokkamuotoisen etäopetuksen lähtökohtia: Kilpisjärvi-projektin
alkuraportti Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 135
• Husu J. 1995 The Helsinki - Kilpisjärvi Project: A Collaborative Action
Research of Distance Education in Classroom Environment. In D. Seawart
(ed.) One World, Many Voices: Quality in Open and Distance
Learning London: Open University 2 7-8
• Kaskinen A. 1995 Luokkamuotoisen etäopetuksen koulutustaloudellisia
näkökulmia: Tapaustutkimus Helsingin II Normaalikoulun ja Kilpisjärven
yläasteen välisestä etäopetuskokeilusta Opinnäytetyö, Jyväskylän
palvelualojen ammattikorkeakoulu
• Kronlund T. 1995 New Learning Perspectives For Remote Classrooms Using
Training. Oslo, Norway
• Kronlund T., Kynäslahti H. & Meisalo V. 1995 Modern Distance Education
Technology and the Problem of Small Rural Schools in Finland Life and
Education in Finland 4 43-49
• Kynäslahti H. & Salminen J. 1995 Integration of Remote Classrooms:
Technical and Local Perspectives. In F. Nouwens (Ed.) Distance Education -
Crossing Frontiers Rockhampton: Central Queensland University 151-154
• Nummi T. 1995 Opettajan rooli ala-asteen luokkamuotoisessa
etäopetuksessa Tutkielma. Helsingin yliopisto. Opettajankoulutuslaitos
• Kynäslahti H. & Stevens K. 1996 Mediating Local and Global knowledge:
The Emergence of the Virtual Classroom in Finland and New Zealand. In B.
Glastonbury (Ed.) Dreams and Realities: Information Technology in the
Human Services Helsinki. National Research and Development Centre for
Welfare and Health 205-214
• Kynäslahti H. 1995 Experiencing virtual classroom as a translocal field A
paper presentation at the 8th Conference of Society for Information
Technology and teacher Education. April 1-5, 1997, Orlando, Florida, USA
• Meisalo Veijo (ed.) 1996 The Integration of the Remote Classrooms: A
distance Education Project using Video Conferencing University of Helsinki.
Department of Teacher Education. Research Report 160
• Salonen, M. & Kynäslahti H. 1996 Pupil Experiences of Classroom Focused
Distance Education Using Two-Way Video Conferencing Paper presentation
in 'The link that brings us together'. the 12 th Canadian Association for
Distance Education Conference. May 22-25, 1996, Moncton, Canada
• Stevens, K., Kynäslahti, H., Salminen J. 1996 Alustavia tuloksia
verkottumisesta Suomessa ja uudessa Seelannissa Kasvatus 27 2 196-205
• Sariola J. 1995 Kuuleeko Vihti? Kokemuksia etäopetusharjoittelusta.
Teoksessa S. Tella (toim.) Juuret ja arvot. Etnisyys ja eettisyys -
aineenopettaminen monikulturaalisessa oppimisympäristössä Ainedidaktiikan
symposiumi Helsingissä 3.2.1995. Helsingin yliopisto.
Opettajankoulutuslaitos. Tutkimuksia 150 425-434
Research
Project:
PL 111
Research
80101
Unit:
JOENSUU
fax.+358 13 251 3564
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
Level of
Education:
immigrant
working life
learning
labour market.

of Eastern Finland.

enterprises.


Publications:
Research
Project:
PL 8000
Research
02015
Unit:
TKK
tel.+358 9 4511
Research
01.01.1996 - 31.12.1997
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Science:
interaction
Keyword(s)
classroom
:
multimedia
The Blueprint for Interactive Classrooms project aims to make university
Abstract: telephone, computer conferencing), each one catering for a different
Research Teacher education as multi-mode education

Project:
PL 9
Research 00014
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
teacher
teacher education
Keyword(s):
virtual university
multiform teaching
Abstract:
Education.

Research 00014
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 19129611
Research
01.01.1994 - 31.12.1997
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
distance education
activities.

Publications: • Rönkä A. 1995 Kilpisjärvi-projekti - luokkamuotoista etäopetusta
25.1995, Berlin
147 209-220
Search word: Videoconferencing
Research
Project:
PL 111
Research
80101
Unit:
JOENSUU
fax.+358 13 251 3564
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
Level of
Education:
immigrant
working life
learning
labour market.

of Eastern Finland.

enterprises.


Publications:
Research
Project:
PL 8000
Research
02015
Unit:
TKK
tel.+358 9 4511
Research
01.01.1996 - 31.12.1997
date:
Level of
Education:
Field of
Science:
interaction
Keyword(s)
classroom
:
multimedia
Abstract: The Blueprint for Interactive Classrooms project aims to make university
telephone, computer conferencing), each one catering for a different
Research
Teacher education as multi-mode education
Project:
PL 9
Research 00014
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 191 29611
Research
01.01.2003 -
date:
teacher
teacher education
Keyword(s):
virtual university
multiform teaching
Abstract:
Education.
Research 00014
tel.+358 9 1911
fax.+358 9 19129611
Research
01.01.1994 - 31.12.1997
date:
Level of
Universities
Education:
Field of
Educational science
Science:
distance education
activities.

• Rönkä A. 1995 Kilpisjärvi-projekti - luokkamuotoista etäopetusta
25.1995, Berlin
Publications:
147 209-220
Project Bridging Insula Europae
The task of Euneos was to investigate ODL limitations and barriers. As this was the main step of the
project research phase and for this reason, we formed a focus group of nine teachers to be held both
on-line and in person. Seven teachers were chosen from Vihti upper secondary, and two from other
schools. The selection included teachers of different subjects and with different ICT skills levels.
Those two teachers who were not from Vihti school represented teachers with more experience of
ODL.
The main aim of the focus group was to single out barriers, limitations and negative aspects of ODL
systems. The Vihti upper secondary school was chosen as the main target school of interviews,
because the school represented a mainstream upper secondary school in Finland with about 550
students, and because it was possible to contact teachers also face-to-face over there.
Fastwrite interviews in August 2008
The interviews were carried using fastwrite questionnaires especially designed for this purpose.
They were put into practice in late August 2008, after the Finnish teachers came back to schools
from their 10 weeks summer holidays to start the new school-year 2008-09. The online interviews
were complemented with face-to-face and phone contacts.
Various subjects
Eight female teachers and one male teacher were interviewed. The age range of their students was
from 16 to 19 years in 8 cases, and from 7 to 12 years in one case. The subjects included English
(3), French (1), German (1), Swedish (1), chemistry (1), mathematics (1) and physical education
(1). Their experiences with educational ICT were for 0 – 1 year (2), 2 - 3 years (2), 4 – 5 years(1), 6
– 7 years (2) and for 10 or more years (2).
General attitude: positive
Two teachers said that their attitude to eLearning was very positive, one said that her attitude was
neutral and six teachers described their attitudes as positive. Their use of the Internet was from 0 to
1 hour a week in 6 cases, from 2 to 3 hours a week in one case and from 4 – 5 hours a week in one
case. One of the interviewed was on her maternity leave, and had currently no lessons.
ODL not involved in curriculum
The eLearning was involved in the curriculum to a large extent only in the case of primary
education (7 – 12 years). The two teachers who had the longest experience of educational ICT said
that eLearning had been integrated into the curriculum of their subject to some extent. Others said it
was integrated to a small or to a very small extent.
Not much utilization of ODL
Two of the teachers said that they adopted eLearning very much or a lot in her teaching. Four
teachers adopted it moderately, or a little, and three teachers had adopted eLearning very little.
The teachers who adopted eLearning more performed many different kind of activities n the
Internet with their students, such as browsing web pages, searching Internet resources, making
partner projects, having email correspondence, taking part in forum discussions, using text chat or
messaging and participating in live online sessions. Those who only adopted eLearning a little were
mostly satisfied with searching web resources.
Systematic promotion would motivate
The interviewed teachers were asked to choose up to three things that motivated them most in
eLearning. The most active teacher found her best motivation in the following: systematic
promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and internationalization. Development of
materials and facilities was also an important motivating factor for the teachers who were more
active in eLearning. Instead, teacher-in-service training was often chosen as one of the most
motivating things among the teachers who were less active in eLearning.
More training needed
There was a lot of distribution in opinions of the teachers concerning the equipment, even inside the
same school. Some said there were enough computers, while others thought the opposite. The more
experienced teachers emphasized the need of teacher-in-service training in their opinions.
Rapid or slow growth of ODL?
Five teachers thought that the future role of eLearning will increase rapidly, whereas three of them
said the development will be slow. One of the teachers thought that eLearning will stay as it is, not
to be decreased or increased.
Supplements
There are more detailed in the answers of the interviewed teachers in supplements of this summary
of investigation.
4) My personal views on eLearning/ODL, 9 answers of Finnish teachers in English, document

in .doc and .rtf
5) Henkilökohtaisia mielipiteitäni e-oppimisesta/verkko-opiskelusta, 9 suomalaisen opettajan

vastaukset suomeksi, asiakirja .doc ja .rtf -muodoissa
6) Summary of the answers of 9 Finnish teachers about their views on eLearning/ODL, .xls file
and .ods files
01 Name: Marjo Yliluoma (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Kantin koulu (Kant school)
04 Email: marjo.yliluoma@karvia.fi
06 Age range of my main student groups: 7 - 12 yrs
Personally, I have used the Internet for 6 - 7 years. My attitude to eLearning is very posit-
ive. eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a large extent. I
have adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching a lot.
I work in the Internet for about 4 - 5 hours a week with my students.
The activities I have included in my teaching browsing web pages, searching Internet re-
sources, partner projects, email correspondence, forum discussions, text chat or mes-
saging and live online sessions.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows: sys-
tematic promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and internationalization.
eLearning is not interpreted as a method of learning by the school management of the mu-
nicipality.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: There
is sufficient technical know-how and support. The equipment of my school favors introdu-
cing eLearning, and there are enough computers with Internet access available. I think
eLearning will have a rapidly increasing role in school in future.
01 Name: Laura Pihkala-Posti (my name can be mentioned when publishing

results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Hervanta upper seconday school Tampere Finland
04 Email: laura.pihkala-posti@koulut.tampere.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: German
Personally, I have used the Internet for 6 - 7 years. My attitude to eLearning is very posit-
ive. eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject only to a small ex-
tent. I have adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching very much.
I work in the Internet for about 0 - 1 hour a week with my students.
Activities I have included in my teaching browsing web pages, searching Internet re-
sources, partner projects, email correspondence, forum discussions and tutoring courses.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are development of
materials and facilities and internationalization. My own interest has also been crucial. Un-
fortunately, there is not sufficiently teacher-in-service training with good quality. More time
and technical support is needed for eLearning.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: My
students have a learning platform at their disposal.
Technical support does not work properly. There is need for even more computers.
I think eLearning will have a rapidly increasing role in school in future.
01 Name: Pirjo Orkovaara (my name must not be mentioned when publishing
results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: pirjo.orkovaara@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: physical education
Personally, I have used the Internet for 4 - 5 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a small extent. I have
adopted opportunities of educational ICT moderately in my own teaching. I work in the In-
ternet for about 2 - 3 hours a week with my students. Activities I have included in my
teaching are browsing web pages, searching Internet resources and forum discussions.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning is the development of
materials and facilities. There will be online courses for students in future. Teacher-in-ser-
vice and systematic promotion of eLearning is lacking. There is no real support for users.
There is some know how in school, but the municipality that maintains the school sets too
many bids and restrictions, which slow down and disturb development. The increase of the
work load of teachers is not taken into account in salaries.
I think there will be a rapid growth in the role of eLearning as a whole.
01 Name: Ossi Mauno (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: male
04 Email: ossi.mauno@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: mathematics
Personally, I have used the Internet for 2 - 3 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a small extent. I have
adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching moderately. I work in the In-
ternet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The Internet activities I have included
in my teaching are browsing web pages, searching Internet resources, publishing online
products and guiding courses of students.
I think it is more reasonable to do some matters online, especially when teaching ICT.
01 Name: Pirjo Saarinen (my name must not be mentioned when publishing
results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: pirjo.saarinen@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: chemistry
Personally, I have used the Internet for 2- 3 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject only a little. I have adop-
ted opportunities of educational ICT very little in my own teaching. I work in the Internet
for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The Internet activity I have included in my
teaching is searching Internet resources.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are teacher-in-service
training, support and encouragement of the school management and development of ma-
terials and facilities. There is really little of ICT training, or no money for training.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: There
are enough computers with Internet access in my school.
The school network allows me to do all I want to do on the Internet, and the equipment of
my school favors introducing eLearning. I think the future role of eLearning will stay as it is
today when the entire learning processes are concerned.
01 Name: Tuula Jantunen (my name must not be mentioned when publishing
results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: tuula.jantunen@vihti.fi
Personally, I have used the Internet for 10 years or more. My attitude to eLearning is posit-
ive. eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to some extent. I
have adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching a little.
I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The activities I have in-
cluded in my teaching is making grammar and other online exercises.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows:
eLearning is assessed and evaluated in exams, teacher-in-service training and more time
for adopting eLearning. There is not enough time to do everything.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: The
school network allows me to do all I want to do on the Internet, but there are not enough
computers so as to take them easily into use. I think the future role of eLearning will in-
crease slowly.
01 Name: Iina Levàn (my name can be mentioned when publishing results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: iina.levan@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: French
Personally, I have used the Internet for 10 years or more. My attitude to eLearning is posit-
ive. eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to some extent. I
have adopted opportunities of educational ICT moderately in my own teaching. I work in
the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The Internet activities I have in-
cluded in my teaching are browsing web pages, searching Internet resources and email
correspondence.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are teacher-in-service
training, systematic promotion of eLearning at school and putting the international dimen-
sion into learning processes.
01 Name: Minna Vainionpää (my name must not be mentioned when publishing
results)
02 Gender: female
04 Email: minna.vainionpaa@vihti.fi
05 Subject(s) I teach: Swedish
Personally, I have used the Internet for 0 – 1 years. My attitude to eLearning is positive.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject to a minor extent. I have
adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching very little.
I work in the Internet for about 0-1 hour a week with my students. The activity I have in-
cluded in my teaching is searching Internet resources.
The matters that give me the best motivation for my own eLearning are, as follows: sys-
tematic promotion of eLearning at school, enthusiasm of students and development of ma-
terials and facilities. There seems to be not enough time to learn new things, even if I had
interest in it.
Computers should function without friction, as I have no skills myself to mend broken
devices.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: The
school network allows me to do all I want to do on the Internet, but computers are out of
order, from time to time.
I know about this topic so little that my answers are deplorably scarce.
Maybe I will some day know more if my hectic life as the mother of two small children al-
lows me that.
I think the future role of eLearning will increase slowly.
01 Name: Tuija Saarinen (my name must not be mentioned when publishing
results)
02 Gender: female
03 School: Vihti upper seconday school Tampere Finland
04 Email: tuija.saarinen@vihti.fi
Personally, I have used the Internet for 0 - 1 year. My attitude to eLearning is neutral.
eLearning has been integrated into the curriculum of my subject only to a very small ex-
tent. I have adopted opportunities of educational ICT in my own teaching very little.
I work in the Internet for about 0 - 1 hour a week with my students.
Activities I have included in my teaching are searching Internet resources and watching
news in English on WWW.
The matter that gives me the best motivation for my own eLearning is the enthusiasm of
students. There is no budget for training of educational ICT. I have not enough motivation
to learn all that is possible to learn in my own free time. The attitudes to eLearning are
fairly negative in my working community, including myself.
This is what I can say about learning technology made available to me in my school: My
school has enough computers with Internet access.
I think eLearning will have a slowly increasing role in school in future.
LIP 6 Live Online
- the course for live cooperation
LIP 6 Live Online was the latest course of teacher-in-service training "Learn Internet Projects by
Doing". The three on-site seminars of the course took place in the school-year 2007-2008, and the
international partner projects were also carried out in 2007-08. The course was organised in
cooperation of OPEKO, the National Center for Professional Development in Education, and the
Comenius 3 network COMP@CT.
The on-site seminars of LIP 6 Live Online were held at OPEKO in Tampere September 27-28,
2007, November 21, 2007 and January 28-29, 2008.
The course was coached by Ilpo Halonen, senior lecturer, M.A. The new aspect of the course was
the use of live online sessions as part of the partner projects performed with foreign colleagues and
with their student groups. LIP 6 Live Online was the 6th course with an e-journalistic approach to
project-based eLearning PBeL. The LIP 1 was organised in 2002-03.
There was a live online room for 50 participants integrated into eJournals where LIP 6 LION
participants worked. Live sessions proved to be very useful. They were used e.g. in contacts with
teachers in St Peter's School in Panchgani India. Visits of Finnish and Dutch teachers to India were
prepared in the live online room of eJournals. The LIP 6 Live Online course contributed a lot to the
development of Finn-India network, which was initiated by COMP@CT in the autumn 2007.
The course LIP 6 Live Online had the ambitious objective to train some teachers as moderators of
live online sessions.
What, where, when?
LIP 6 LION was the first LIP training for teachers consisting not only of asynchronous
collaboration but also of live online sessions, live speech and possibly video by web cameras. The
content of the course was eJournalism, i.e. creative journalistic activities of children and teenagers
on the web. They had opportunities to write, draw, sing, take photos and videos, and publish their
products, using eJournals, either on Intranet or in public on the Internet. The children worked under
guidance of their teachers. Teams of two or more teachers were free to cooperate in the Internet on
their own.
Who and how?
The Finnish course participants learned to make international projects in LIP 6 Live Online
seminars in Tampere Finland, and they helped their colleagues abroad in project making. There
were live online sessions of teachers and students in addition to asynchronous collaboration. The
course, like other LIP courses, was arranged by the Finnish National Centre of Professional
Development in Education OPEKO, and it belonged to projects of the COMP@CT network. The
course was free of charge for both the Finnish participants and their foreign partners.
The course included only virtual collaboration on the Internet, and there was no travelling for the
foreign partners in the context of LIP projects.
LIP courses 2002 - 2008
Teacher-in-service courses having this same concept of training have been organized between 2002
– 2008 followingly:
Learn Internet Projects by Doing LIP 1 for language teachers, 2002-2003

Learn Internet Projects by Doing LIP 2, regional in Savonlinna 2003
Learn Internet Projects by Doing LIP 3, OPEKO Tampere 2004
Learn Internet Projects LIP 4 Enterprise, OPEKO Tampere 2004-05
Learn Internet Projects LIP 5 Primary, OPEKO Tampere 2005 -2006
Learn Internet Projects LIP 6 Live Online, OPEKO Tampere 2007 -2008
The first three LIP courses were targeted mostly at teachers of languages.
LIP 4 Enterprise was organized for teachers interested in active citizenship and entrepreneurship in
2004-05, in collaboration with Dr Liisa Remes, an expert of the topic.
LIP 5 Primary in 2005-06 was a training course for teachers of basic comprehensive schools, grades
1-9.
Applying
Teachers in Finland filled in the application form in the Internet. Foreign partners who liked to
attend to the LIP course filled in another form in the Internet, the content of which was submitted to
the course leader.
Those who liked to be partners in the LIP 6 Live Online course attended to pilot sessions in the
school-year 2006-2007 where the use of live online rooms was shown to them in a practical way.
The course participants were introduced in the eJournal LIP 6 Live Online, which was the common
tool of information and communication between attendants, as well as the gateway to live online
rooms. The same eJournal was the central tool of information and communication when the course
LIP 6 Live Online started in the autumn 2007.
Objectives of the course?
The LIP training format was part of eJournalism, a holistic approach to project-based eLearning
PbeL. Teachers engaged in methods of networked collaboration and of international partner projects
in order to improve their own teaching and to make learning processes more and more
communicative. The e-journalistic approach has many advantages. The authenticity of
communication adds motivation. One learns a lot beside the foreign language: pupils learn cross-
cultural understanding, better skills of information and communication technology (ICT) and of
distant learning in written and oral environments both synchronously and asynchronously.
How did one work in the seminars?
In the first f2f seminar the Finnish participants were instructed to use the eJournal, a most adequate
tool for partner projects in the Internet. At the same time they started their partner projects.
Participants learned to know about project making in the Internet and about working in the net with
their pupils. They participated in live online sessions between the seminars. The further seminars,
either one or two, included checking how projects were proceeding. More advice was given to the
participants how to continue their international project work. Completing the project and its
evaluation were new topics treated in the last f2f seminar. The participants discussed the project
method and learned more about it. They also evaluated how the LIP course had been run and what it
had meant for their own work. Foreign partners were informed and instructed by the Finnish
participants, which strengthened their adopting project methods.
What did one do in the Internet?
Partner projects were carried out mostly in an asynchronous collaboration. The Finnish colleagues
worked in teams in eJournals, and they had one or more foreign partners in each journal. Partners
organized their lessons so that there was enough time for pupils to write and publish their articles in
the eJournal. In the beginning, participants instructed their students to work in an independent way
in the eJournal. Online sessions in the computer lab were needed, at least at the beginning of the
project work, for giving pupils and students instructions.
After pupils knew how to work in the eJournal they were able to go on working in an asynchronous
way, carrying out their assignments. Drafts of texts were also written and corrected on paper. After
that pupils turned their texts and images digital off-line. Only some online time was needed for their
publishing in the Internet. Knowing how to publish articles pupils were able to work ubiquitously
doing their project tasks whenever they had time.
Fastwrite questionnaires of eJournals were introduced into project work of pupils and students, and
it accelerated the speed of writing texts enormously.
Live online sessions were organised for teachers involved in projects, and for groups of students
who collaborated in the Internet. Group sessions were arranged either in computer labs, classrooms
or at homes respectively, noticing the time zones of different countries.
When were the projects made?
Partner projects were started in the first seminar, and the projects were carried out during the course
and after that. In addition to live online meetings participants used email and the internal messaging
tool of the eJournals - both for internal messages and for e-mail - to communicate to each other. The
LIP course was tutored by the course leader who was available for the participants and for their
partners by email, and also in live online sessions organized on a regular basis. Anna Airikkala, an
experienced language teacher from Nurmijärvi Finland, assisted in training moderators for live
sessions during the LIP 6 Live Online course.
Who were the partners?
The Finnish participants of LIP 6 Live Online carried out their own partner project each, together
with one or more foreign colleagues. There were groups of pupils or students included in every
partner project. The teacher colleagues of the Finns came from many EU countries, Norway and
Russia. In addition to that there were 8 partnerships in the context of the Finn-India network.
What information did the participants give to the course leader?
The course leader got the following information from the potential participants before the course:
1) in which foreign language the project will be made

2) knowledge about the pupils/students engaged in the project
- how many persons are there in the participating group
- how old are the learners
- for how many years have they learned the foreign language in which they make the project
- how long should the project last,
- has the participant got a partner whom he/she would like to recommend
3) the e-mail address which is used constantly during the project
The participants were also aksed about their experience about international project work and about
partner projects so far. The wishes and the proposals of participants and of their partners were taken
into consideration.
When did the projects start in the practice?
Pilot sessions started in August 2007, and there were repetitive sessions throughout the autumn
2007. Participants were chosen by the end of September. International project work started from the
first seminar in September 2007 on. .
What should the participants know before the course?
Basic use of computers

Browsing in the Internet
Sending and receiving email
Attendance to live online sessions
Experience about partner projects before
Teachers who had made partner projects before were invited to attend to the LIP 6 Live Online
course, because the live online component of the international project work was new to them too.
The experienced project-makers were asked to occasionally assist others during the course. The
course was useful for the experienced ones who did not yet know the eJournal, the new innovative
Internet tool which was used in this course. Foreign colleagues who committed to be project
partners were not always experienced in project making, so the Finnish teachers gave tuition and
support.
What kind of projects in the Internet?
Ideally, projects were tailored up to the need of partners. If the learner groups were beginners or not
advanced in a foreign language, projects could follow the format of The Image/Das Bild/L`Image ,
developed by the European Schools Project. This learning concept means that relatively similar
learner groups of the same foreign language collaborate in the Internet to advance their language
skills, their cultural knowledge and their technological know-how. In case of more advanced
learners other project models are adopted in collaboration.
A very personal project?
Individual Internet projects could be designed, up to the skills level of the participant, in
cooperation with the course leader and the project partner. Basically, all projects were unique and
differed from each other.
Where did the partners come from?
Partners came from a project platform of some international virtual community, who organize
partner projects on the standing basis, such as European Schoolnet, MyEurope, European Schools
Project, IEARN , Kidlink and Dafnord (German language). All these virtual communities also have
partner exchange sites where to find more partners for collaboration.
It was the course leader who tried to find out partners for projects, but teachers were able to find
partners also on their own.
What kind of tasks is the foreign partner responsible for?
If partners agreed, they could continue practically for the whole school year to perform the project.
Partners were advised to foresee how much working time it would take to carry out the project they
has agreed on, so that there would be enough time for project activities, such as informing the own
educational institution about the project, discussing the project with the partners, discussing the
project in the learner group, making the project materials with the learner group, publishing the
articles in the eJournal, commenting on the articles of others, discussing the outcomes in the learner
group, asking for help and getting instructions from the course leader etc.
Live online sessions also needed a certain amount of time. Participants were asked to calculate in
advance how much time and effort they can would be able to put on the LIP 6 Live Online project,
and keep their partners informed all time, especially in cases of possible problems.
How were the projects present in the Internet?
The participants were advised to work in the eJournal, the innovative and user-friendly virtual
environment e.g. for partner projects. It enabled live contacts, and it included both making and
editing of project results and also publishing them in the Internet. Live online rooms integrated into
eJournals enhanced collaboration. Other ways of publishing material on the web were also taken
into use according to the needs.
What advantage did the foreign partners have from the course?
The foreign colleagues were teachers who were interested in project-based eLearning. Cooperation
in the framework of this course offered them more than just standard projects. They learned some
more about supervising eLearning and about e-moderating networked collaboration. They got all
advice and instructions given to the participants. They learned to know how to implement e-
journalistic activities into project work. The foreign partners also got instructions about the
technique of the eJournal, and they had opportunities even to take part in publishing project results
if they had time and motivation to learn it.
Live online sessions greatly contributed to their knowledge about project-based eLearning PBeL.
How about foreign languages taught less in Finnish schools?
There have been teachers of English, German, French, Swedish and Russian participating in LIP
training, and they have been able to work in eJournals of respective languages.
The organizers tried to find ways to offer LIP training to all teachers, not depending on the
language. For example, if teachers of primary schools were involved, young pupils could
collaborate more in issues such as illustration, photographing, singing or videoing in order to
compensate the lack of sufficient skills in foreign languages.
What kind of results were expected?
The evaluation of the course was based on the fact that participants should be encouraged to be
networked and organized with their domestic and foreign colleagues, so as to collaborate with them.
Completing the course, all participants should have more competent in their Internet skills than
before. And they should have been better motivated to carry out partner projects in the Internet also
in future.
These objectives were reached according to the evaluations of the participants.
A certificate about participation?
OPEKO, the National Centre of Professional Development in Education, gave out a certificate also
to online partners of LIP 6 Live Online, if such a certificate was requested, where the new standards
of their competence in educational ICT were stated. The certificate proved that they have performed
the collaborative project together with their Finnish partners in the Internet.

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Bridging Insula Europae

Bridging Insula Europae

Project Bridging Insula Europae

Fastwrite interviews in August 2008

General attitude: positive

ODL not involved in curriculum

Not much utilization of ODL

Systematic promotion would motivate

More training needed

Rapid or slow growth of ODL?

1) My personal views on eLearning/ODL, 9 answers of Finnish teachers in English,

2) Henkilökohtaisia mielipiteitäni e-oppimisesta/verkko-opiskelusta, 9 suomalaisen

Barriers and limitations in Open Distance Learning (e-learning)

Some questions about the availability of hardware

Questions about a content management system (ele / electronic learning environment).

In what way do students make use of it?

Communication between student and teacher / feed back by teacher

What are the most important barriers

Some comments on details. Please take or leave ;-):

Barriers and limitations in Open Distance Learning (e-learning)

A. Didactic challenges of teachers concerning your own school

1) the attitudes to educational ICT and to eLearning are positive

B. Technological challenges concerning your own school

6) teachers have access to computers in their lessons

III Teachers’ use of learning platforms:

IV Students’ use of learning platforms:

20) students put completed assignments on the site

Henkilökohtaisia mielipiteitä verkko-oppimisesta (eLearning)

03 School: Vihti upper secondary school

05 Subject(s) I teach: chemistry

06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs

Henkilökohtaisesti olen käyttänyt verkkoa 2-3 vuotta. Oma

03 School: Vihti upper secondary school

05 Subject(s) I teach: English

06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs

03 School: Vihti upper secondary school

05 Subject(s) I teach: French

06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs

I think the future role of eLearning will increase rapidly.

Nimeni on Iina Leván.

Nimeni on Marjo Yliluoma.

03 School: Kantin koulu (Kant school)

05 Subject(s) I teach: English

06 Age range of my main student groups: 7 - 12 yrs

Olen naisopettaja ja kouluni on Kantin koulu. Ensisijainen

Henkilökohtaisia mielipiteitä verkko-oppimisesta (eLearning)

Nimeni on Laura Pihkala-Posti.

01 Name: Laura Pihkala-Posti(my name can be mentioned when publishing results)

03 School: Hervanta upper seconday school Tampere Finland

05 Subject(s) I teach: German

06 Age range of my main student groups: 16-19 yrs

I think eLearning will have a rapidly increasing role in school in future.

Olen naisopettaja ja kouluni on Hervannan lukio. Ensisijainen

03 School: Vihti upper secondary school

05 Subject(s) I teach: mathematics

06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs

I think the future role of eLearning will increase rapidly.

Olen miesopettaja ja kouluni on Vihdin lukio. Ensisijainen

Nimeni on Minna Vainionpää.

03 School: Vihti upper secondary school

05 Subject(s) I teach: Swedish

06 Age range of my main student groups: 16 – 19 yrs

I think the future role of eLearning will increase slowly.