"Mobile and wireless teacher education - ICT as a factor of change within general teacher training at Østfold University College, Faculty of education"

This document summarises a project that involves Østfold University College (OUC), Faculty of education, Telenor Company Ltd. and 30 network schools in Østfold. The project comprises 230 students, 25 teachers from OUC, and 50 teachers in 30 compulsory schools. It is a three years project and started in August 2000. The general idea is to integrate ICT into the teacher education and change the working methods and contents of the teacher study in the direction of more projectbased and problembased work. Technology is also the foundation for changes in the practical training. Students and teachers work with high-speed GSM connection to the Internet, wireless local area networks and everybody has their own laptops.

The aim is to give the students necessary ICT skills, through active use of technology in their studies.

1. Introduction:

The changes in children´s environmental conditions and the technological challenges have led to great reforms in compulsory school in Norway. The role of the teacher must be adapted to the need for more focus on the pupil´s learning and emphasise on project work and problembased learning in the total school system. In this context it is a problem that Norwegian teachers only to a small degree, have developed the necessary competence on ICT. At the same time, the teacher education has not succeeded in meeting these challenges. In addition, there has been an increasing difference between the theoretical studies and the practical training. The ICT-project is an effort to meet these challenges and at the same time contribute to the making of a more profession-related education.

2. Description of the project

The project has developed a co-operative network that comprises the general teacher training at OUC, the tele-communicating company Telenor Ltd., Compaq Norway Ltd. and elementary schools in Østfold. This is a full-scale implementation of ICT in a new, pedagogical context. Technology becomes an important tool for both students and teachers in their study work, but it also serves as a medium for communication and learning in the practical training.

In the project we use the following hardware/software:

· Laptop: Compaq Armada 110 or Compaq EVO 1000v

· GSM: Nokia Cardphone with high speed transmission of data and speech

· Nokia WLAN system

· Webcameras from Phillips

· ASP services

· Web-based mail-program - IMP

· Web-based, digital learning centre – including WebBoard

The students are organised in basis groups (4-5 students). Each group is connected to a compulsory school class and a network teacher. The students are in contact with the class all through the study year (both directly and via the Internet) in a flexible practice system that makes the life of the network school its starting point. The 15 teachers at OUC represents the subjects Norwegian, mathematics, educational science, drama, arts & crafts and music, nature & science, but they are organised in a multidisciplinary team. The theoretical studies are now characterised by close connections to the practical training and our teaching methods focus more on student activity and problembased learning. The term alternates between periods with single subjects and multidisciplinary project weeks.

ICT is an integrated tool in the students´ and teachers´ daily work, and also a channel for communication and guidance. At the same time we strengthen the contact between the students and the college. The teachers are tutoring two basis groups each and are responsible for necessary contact functions towards these groups´ network schools.

3. Experiences from ICT-based teacher education at Østfold University College

We shall soon be able to present our experiences from the project and say something about the problems and challenges produced by the changes, and also comment on how we have met these. In addition it is now possible for us to summarise some effects of the implementation of technology in our studies. This is probably one of the first and largest projects using high speed GSM-connection to the Internet.

We are exploring how modern communication technology can support and increase the student activity, lead them to constructing their own knowledge and facilitate a more flexible system of practical training that gives the students tangible experiences with the profession they are heading for. The project also gives useful experiences in relation to the co-operation between educational institutions on different levels and Telenor Ltd. , the leading company in Norway within telecommunications.

Odd Eriksen