Íslenska – Icelandic
It is always difficult to specify one particular interest field when discussing a subject like Information Technology. If you look at the position of IT in the world today it is hard to choose one over another. However there is one phenomenon that stands out in my mind; Telematics.
David Thornburg, the author of the book „The New Basics, Education and the Future of Work in the Telematic Age“ and the director for the Thornburg Center, which is the premiere source of presenters and staff developers in the field of emerging technologies and their impact on learning at all ages. According to The Icelandic Language Institution the word „Telematics“ is a combination of the words "telecommunication" and "informatics". That word describes very well the concept of the technology that we, the students in Graduate Studies at the Teachers University of Iceland, use to make our distance learning studies possible and therefore one can say this is the "computer age".
To make
use of the computer revolution one needs to develop a sound and effective
communication and interaction skills to be able to use it to it's full
extinct and also to combine all the media you use. And as a follow up,
it calls for a continuing education among the adults and it is imperial
for schools to realize that that those individuals are their imperative
customers, not some customers that you serve and graduate As David Thornburg
says: „Lifelong learning is the only guarantee for an individual
to focus on the fact that the age of information's is very short“.
In a speech
that Mr.
Runólfur Ágústsson, rector of Bifröst
School of Business, gave on the Icelandic
University Conference year 2000, he concludes that it is necessary
not to fill the students head with some knowledge that they might have
to use for a sort period, or maybe never, for they are the ones to be
able to know how to look for what they need to know. There is a consonance
between Runólfur, David and the OECD
report from 2002 and it is appropriate to use a idiom from Voltaire's
who said those famous words: „Education is the only thing left
when we have forgotten everything that we learned.“
One
of our special fields is a specific IT-teaching for business courses.
There we try to prepare our students for working life. For the last few
years we have used as a base the Multiple Intelligence Theory by
Howard Gardner and
Problem
Based Learning by Dewey
to solve real projects. Our goal by doing that is to build up overall
computer skills (computer literacy) as well as solving problems, for it
has been an increased demand from employers that students should fulfil
that proficiency. The question that remains is how far should the school
reach to prepare the student for that new workforce demand.
In an article that David Thornburge
wrote „Diminishing
Astonishment“
he emphases on the fact that we need to change our attitude towards constant
changing in technology towards to accept them as they come, grab them
and make use of them in our daily life.
My first introduction to computers was when I began my internship in Gutenberg printing house 1981. At that time all lead typesetting machine hat been made redundant and computers, the new technology in typesetting, had taken over. Those computers were rather primitive and one can compare them to a word processor. However the development during that period was very fast and when I left my internship in 1983 the computers were able to do a lot more that just being a "text" machine. By that time you could layout and process a full publication in those "typesetters". The experience I gained during those years has been invaluable during the years.
The year 1987 I stared teaching 10th graders in the elementary school of Breiðholtsskóla. I taught typing and bookkeeping, but from 1989 I added on computer classes (IT courses). In 1992 the school governing body of Reykjavik municipal decided to computerize all elementary schools in Reykjavik i.e. have the schools congruent. On behalf of my school I undertook the training that was required and from 1992 to 1996 I supervised the schools LAN as well as my teaching until I left Breiðholtsskóli 1996. Parallel to my teaching at Breiðholtsskóli during the years 1994 to 1996 I took on a part time computer teaching at Fjölbrautaskólinn í Breiðholti (FB) (Comprehensive high school of Breiðholti). From fall 1996 I was a full time teacher at FB. Supervised FB school LAN from 1995 to 2000.
In 1999 the Ministry of Education asked FB to establish and organize an IT-department that would come under social studies. I organized one curriculum pathway in the Department of Mass media and Information technology, i.e. information- & communication studies with assistance of two co-teachers. To gain better overview in the technology world at that time I took a two semester studies in multimedia at the Multimedia school during the winter 1998–1999.
Along with teaching I have supervised and taught in courses for i.e. teachers and adults for various establishments; i.e. Adult Education at the University of Iceland, Adult centre of Kópavogur, Reykjavík City labour exchange, Rekjavík City Engineering office etc.
At the Comprehensive high school of Breiðholti (FB) I was the Head of Computer & mass media department from fall 1998 to 2000, head of computer department from fall 2000 to 2001. On behalf of FB, I conducted various administrative duties; a member of management committee for computer studies 1996–2001 and on management committee for IT curriculum management. Member of department board of the Teachers University of Iceland 2000–2001. Member of Union of IT-teachers board from the year 1996, chairman the year 2000–01. A member of the teacher's partnership at Breiðholtsskóli as cashier 1994–1995. Member of region fellowship of Sléttuhreppur from 1998, now as cashier from 2001. Vice-president of The Genealogy Society of Iceland from 2003.
During winter 2002–2003 I am a student in Graduate Studies at the Teachers University of Iceland, and my "study" goal is to get a better oversight and more skills in pedagogy, evaluation and information technology.
Diminishing
Astonishment –
Grein Davids Thornburg:
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/thornburg/thornburg0402.shtm
Fjölbrautaskólinn
í Breiðholti/Comprehensive high school of Breiðholti
http://fb.is
David Thornburg: The New Basics
http://www.tcpd.org/thornburg/thornburg.html
Háskólaþing
2000:/University of Iceland Convention 2000
http://menntamalaraduneyti.is/mrn/mrn.nsf/pages/Upplysingar-Frettir-Frettatilkynningar_2000-haskolathing-19-februar
Howard Gardners hompage
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HG.htm
Problem
based learning – Þórunn Óskarsdóttir
http://www.ismennt.is/not/thorunn/throun/aetlun1.htm
THE
ICELANDIC WORD BANK
http://www.ismal.hi.is/ob/index.en.html
Problem
Based Learning – Based on John Dewey theory
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/1997delisle/1997delisletoc.html
Speach
of Mr. Runólfur Ágústsson at the University Convention
2002
http://menntamalaraduneyti.is/mrn/mrn.nsf/Files/RAfraakademiu/$file/RAfraakademiu.pdf
OECD 2002. Understanding the Brain Towards a New Learning Science.
Paris, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
http://www1.oecd.org/publications/e-book/9102021E.PDF
Verzlunarskóli
Íslands/Commercial College of Iceland
http://www.verslo.is
Viðskiptaháskólinn
á Bifröst/Bifröst School of Business
http://www.bifrost.is/
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