Communication technologies are creating a revolution in the field of education. Both teaching and learning are increasingly taking place just about anywhere, at any time. And, anyone working in the field has to keep up.
Government plans to facilitate this "digital leap" include more funding for technology training for public school teachers
"According to a fresh survey, 20 percent of teachers are significantly challenged by information and communication technologies," says Jarmo Viteli, who is the research director at the University of Tampere's School of Information Sciences. "It is good that pupils are active in the digital domain and that the role of the school is to be specifically to support and improve the proper use of this digital world, as well as ways to use it to improve learning."
One real-world restraint on making a leap into the digital realm is money. Not all schools in the country have the technical facilities in place to fully exploit the potential of digital learning. Even so, Jarmo Viteli is optimistic that a change is on the way.
"A clear decision has been made to invest in digitalization, so we will develop it. At the same time, the price of digital devices is constantly falling, as their numbers increase and technologies develop," explains Viteli.
More spending
The government has now pledged 121 million euros of funding over the next three years to revamp education, including more teacher training and new learning environments, according to Minister of Education and Culture Sanni Grahn-Laasonen. She describes digital skills as being as basic a part of modern education as reading and writing.
"So, it is important that our schools are involved in this development and introduce new technologies, the same devices that children and young people are probably already using during their free time. The big question is how to get teachers involved. Some have exploited [these technologies] extensively, and some are only just starting to," Grahn-Laasonen points out.
Tampere University's Jarmo Viteli warns though that digitalization should not be made an end in itself.
"Digitalization is only a tool. As long as learning, the children, the young come first, digitalization will benefit everyone."
