Íslensk/Icelandic
It is always difficult to specify one particular interest field when discussing a subject like Information Technology. If the you look at the position of IT in the world today then you could say it is difficult to choose. However there is one phenomenon that stands out; 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 is the word "Telematics", 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 my special fields is a specific IT-teaching for business cources. There I try to prepare my students for working life. For the last few years I have used as a base the Multiple Intelligence Theory by Howard Gardners and Problem Based Learning by Dewey to solve real projects. My 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 fulfill thatproficiency. The question that remains is how far shoud the school reach to prepare the student for that new workforce.
In an article that David Thornburge wrote "Diminishing Astonishment" he emphases on the fact that we need to change our attitute towards constant changing in technology towards accepting them as they come, grab them and make use of them in our daily life instead.
My first experience of teaching started as a temporary teacher teaching typing at The Commercial College of Iceland in the year 1971. When I had my teacher degree in spring 1971 I started teaching at the Primary and Secondary Schools in Reykjavík I also tought typing. From 1985 I have been teaching information and communication technology at The Commercial College of Iceland. Because of that I have had to attend many courses to keep up with the grate technology progress in that section. I have been a head of the computer division for two years at The Commercial College, trúnaðarmaður at secondary and high collage and a supervisor from the beginning of teaching.
Along with teaching I have been teaching on courses for teachers both at the Adult Education at the University og Iceland, and Símenntun KHÍ, at Adult centre of Kópavogur, The Icelandic telephone company and many other companies that have adult education on their hands.
I have been a member of Union of IT-teachers board from the year 1994 and in the union of 3F since 2001. I have been supervising and teaching in courses on their behalf.
I have published some materials for teaching typing and IT and also translated together with some collages a typing program from Canada, Typing Pal.
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.
David
Thornburg: The New Basics
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/thornburg/thornburg0402.shtm
Fjölbrautaskólinn
í Breiðholti/Comprehensive high school of Breiðholti
http://fb.is
Háskólaþing
2000 :/University of Iceland Convention 2000
http://menntamalaraduneyti.is/mrn/mrn.nsf/pages/Upplysingar-Frettir-Frettatilkynningar_2000-haskolathing-19-februar
Howard
Gardner, Homepage
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HG.htm
THE
ICELANDIC WORD BANK
http://www.ismal.hi.is/ob/birta/
OECD
Record 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
Problem
Based Learning – Þórunn Óskarsdóttir
http://www.ismennt.is/not/thorunn/throun/aetlun1.htm
Problem
Based Learning – Based on John Dewey theory
http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/books/delisle97book.html
Speach
of Mr. Runólfur Ágústsson at the University Convention
2002
http://menntamalaraduneyti.is/mrn/mrn.nsf
Thornburg
Center
http://www.tcpd.org/thornburg/thornburg.html
Verzlunarskóli
Íslands, /The Commercial College of Iceland
http://www.verslo.is/default.asp?sida=english
Viðskiptaháskólinn
á Bifröst/Bifröst School of business
http://www.bifrost.is/
