DISTANCE LEARNING

1
Distance teaching and learning in elementary and
secondary schools in Slovenia

• Viljenka Šavli, National Education Institute
  Slovenia,
• Elementary School
  Solkan
• Borut Campelj, National Education Institute
  Slovenija,
• Computer Literacy (Ro programme)

2
Inroduction

• Computer Literacy programme
• Equipment
• each school has free access to the Internet
• 1/3 of them have leased line or ISDN (router)
• each school has at least 5 computers, average 16
  students/computer
• Educational Legislation
• doesnt include distance learning for elementary
  and secondary schools yet
• but makes teaching and learning at home possible
  (here we can imbed our distance learning)

3
Distance Learning - starting point

• Australia, Island traditional DL and ODL
• Slovenia new technologies, new initiatives,
  teachers research, Soros activities
• established new projects - DL
• to acquire foreign experiences
• to apply our own knowledge and considering
  specific educational situations in Slovene
  schools

4
Possible uses of DL in Slovenia

• 1. Life-long education
• 2. Distance learning for schools
• basic lessons - illness, special needs, absences,
  travelling, living abroad (guidelines,
  instructions, homeworks exercises and tests)
• makeup lessons - unsatisfactory performance,
  learning difficulties, (additional explanations,
  easier exercises)
• additional lessons - higher level off knowledge
  (links to certain web sites with supplementary
  exercises and additional explanations)
• 3. Better co-operation among teachers and experts

5
Project Distance Learning - preparing phase

• 1997 - 1998
• teacher training - technical aspect and some
  didactical aspects foreign (Island, the USA)
  and Slovenian experts
• preparing didactical materials (web pages)
• testing - groups of students (schools)
• testing new equipment (chat, videconference)
• collaboration with university - some technical
  support

6
Project Distance Learning testing phase

• 1998 - 1999 ...
• useful web pages - more possibilities
• teacher training (important didactical view)
• testing DL with certain students - real distance
  learning (two children sailing around the world,
  children with parents abroad in Brussels,
  children with special needs at school, at home
  and in hospital)

7
Distance learning contributes new teaching
techniques, strategies and good organisation of
work.
8
Organisation of work
Content part
Organisational part
Technical part
9
Good communication and team work is essential
for successful distance learning
a student teacher
technical
support
parents
10
Students autonomy and diligence is emphasized
and exposed in distance learning
11
Project plan

• The use of materials offered by internet and
  creating new educational web sites
• research distance teaching techniques by using
  on-line technology
• prepare possible mechanisms for evaluation of
  knowledge in DL
• stimulate computer based co-operative work and
  video based lessons
• teacher training
• become part of distance learning centres

12
Some latest examples of DL web pages

• English, grades 5, 6, 7, 8, elementary school
• grade 3 (closed system)
• grade 4 (science)
• Slovene (grade 7)

13
Vision

• One or more virtual schools
• organised as a normal school (headmasters,
  teachers...)
• on-line teaching and assessing (real distance
  learning)
• on-line teacher training

14
Schoolbook publishers and multimedia companies -
sodelovanje

• Projects for preparing software and interactive
  web pages
• publishers provide technical support
• publishers find experts (teachers, supervisors
  and other experts...) who provide content
• taking part in preparing teacher training
  seminars (stressed the use of it teaching and
  learning)
• to take an active part in preparing materials
  (didactic handbooks)
• promotion
• finance (cover all the expenses - agreement with
  all schools)

15
Technical support

• Enterprises provide platform that operates on
  more operating systems
• they manufacture different tools for using
  on-line voice and picture
• the use of video
• the use of videoconferences
• tools (simple) for interactive exercises
• different electronic workbooks and books
• electronic dictionaries and encyclopedias