Identifying Requirements for Vocational Information and Communication Technology Curricula in Afghanistan

This paper examines how ICT (Information & Communication Technology) is taught in vocational institutions in developing countries. If the world is truly flat, ICT education in Afghanistan and Namibia would. In the highly-standardized domain of ICT, the vocational education curricula should be similar to what you might find in Estonia and other developed nations. We focus specifically on what ICT with the consideration to the labour market needs, is the focus of this study. Such comparisons are demanding, because of the multiplicity of educational systems. Yet, there are some lessons we can learn from the international experience. CurrentICT qualification standards in Europe. The paper explores also current challenges in Afghanistan’s ICT Technical Vocational Education curricula, technical vocational institutes which influence the delivery of teaching and learning in ICT domain, as well as potential mismatch between the supply and demand of ICT-skilled workforce in Afghanistan

Computational Thinking – Forces Shaping Curriculum and Policy in Finland, Sweden and the Baltic Countries

Through an increased focus on computing and computational concepts in the school curriculum the Nordic and Baltic countries are preparing to equip themselves to explore the opportunities that Industry 4.0 and beyond can offer. Realising this vision has inevitable consequences for the curriculum in compulsory schooling (preschool to year 9) as new scaffolding for the development of new competencies is needed, and adapting to technological change involves also integrating Computational Thinking topics and skills, as well as elements of programming and digital literacy into existing curricula. The Nordic countries (Finland and Sweden) have chosen not to create a new school subject, advocating the integration of these skills and competencies into existing subjects such as Arts and Crafts, Language, Mathematics and Technology. In contrast, the Baltic countries emphasise introduction of a subject called Informatics in which programming and Computational Thinking skills and competencies are intended to be developed. This paper provides an analysis of approaches taken to scaffolding access to Computational Thinking in the Nordic and Baltic countries.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

IKT ja teised läbivad teemad üldhariduskooli õppekavas

Tiigrihüppe Sihtasutuse tellimusel Tallinna Ülikooli poolt läbi viidud uuring.Käesolev uuring keskendub läbiva teema „Infotehnoloogia ning meedia“ rakendamisele Eesti koolides. Uuringu peaeesmärgiks on hetkeolukorra kaardistamine, mis võimaldaks paremini planeerida teadmistepõhisesse infoühiskonda jõudmise efektiivseid strateegiaid eelkõige uue riikliku õppekava arendamise kontekstis.http://www.innovatsioonikeskus.ee/sites/default/files/tekstifailid/IKT_ja_teised_labivad_teemad_UHK_oppekavas2008.pd

How to Aggregate Lesson Observation Data into Learning Analytics Datasets?

The technological environment that supports the learning process tends to be the main data source for Learning Analytics. However, this trend leaves out those parts of the learning process that are not computer-mediated. To overcome this problem, involving additional data gathering techniques such as ambient sensors, audio and video recordings, or even observations could enrich datasets. This paper focuses on how the data extracted from the observations can be integrated with data coming from activity tracking, resulting in a multimodal dataset. The paper identifies the need for theoretical and pedagogical semantics in multimodal learning analytics, and examines the xAPI potential for the multimodal data gathering and aggregation. Finally, we propose an approach for pedagogy-driven observational data identification. As a proof of concept, we have applied the approach in two research works where observations had been used to enrich or triangulate the results obtained for traditional data sources. Through these examples, we illustrate some of the challenges that multimodal dataset may present when including observational dat

Soft ontologies, spatial representations and multi-perspective exploration

Abstract: It is against the dynamically evolving nature of many contemporary media applications to be analysed in terms of conventional rigid ontologies that rely on expertise-based fixed categories and hierarchical structure. Many of these rely on sharing 'folksonomies', personal descriptions of information and objects for one's own retrieval. Such applications involve many feedback mechanisms via the community, and have been shown to have emergent properties of complex dynamic systems. We propose that such dynamically evolving information domains can be more usefully described by means of a soft ontology, a dynamically flexible and inherently spatial metadata approach for ill-defined domains. Our contribution is (1) the elaboration of the so far intuitive concept of soft ontology in a way that supports conceptualizing dynamically evolving domains. Further, our approach proposes (2) a whole new mode of interaction with information domains by means of recurring exploration of an information domain from multiple perspectives in search of more comprehensive understanding of it, i.e. multi-perspective exploration. We demonstrate this concept with an example of collaborative tagging in an educational context

IKT ja Eesti koolikultuur

Uurimuse käigus otsiti vastuseid järgmistele küsimustele: 1) Millised on erinevused õpetajate diskursustes (IKT kasutamise eesmärgid ja põhjused, sellest tulenev kasu, sellega seonduvad probleemid ja ohud)? 2) Milline teoreetiline/kontseptuaalne raamistik sobib kõige paremini kaasaegse õpikeskkonna analüüsiks, s.h. IKT mõju hindamiseks? 3) Milline on kooli juhtimise ja õpetajate täienduskoolituse osa IKT-ga seotud uuenduste elluviimisel koolis? 4) Millised on need innovaatilised, Eesti oludes tulemuslikud strateegiad, mis aitavad kaasa IKT-ga seotud uuenduste elluviimisele koolis?http://www.innovatsioonikeskus.ee/sites/default/files/tekstifailid/IKT_ja_Eesti%20koolikultuur_2003.pd

Avatud noortekeskuste olukorra kordusuuring

Tallinna Ülikooli Rahvusvaheliste ja Sotsiaaluuringute Instituudi poolt läbiviidud noortekeskuste kordusuuringu eesmärgiks oli anda ülevaade noortekeskuste olukorrast kolmes valdkonnas: noortekeskuste toimemehhanismid, noortekeskuste panus ühiskonda ja noortekeskuste elujõulisus. Eraldi kvalitatiivse uuringuna viidi läbi Saue Noortekeskuse juhtumiuuring, mille tarbeks toimus 5 individuaal- ja 2 grupiintervjuud ning lisaks koguti vaatlusmaterjali. Saue Noortekeskus valiti juhtumiuuringu läbiviimiseks mitmel kaalutlusel, sh seetõttu, et keskus asub maa ja linna piiril ning seetõtu annab Saue Noortekeskuse juhtumi uurimine teavet nii suurele linnale kui väikesele asulale omastest protsessidest ja karakteristikutest.http://www.entk.ee/sites/default/files/EANK2010.pd

Smart School Multimodal Dataset and Challenges

As part of a research project aiming to explore the notion of ‘smart school’ (especially for STEM education) in Estonia, we are developing classrooms and schools that incorporate data gathering not only from digital traces, but also physical ones (through a variety of sensors). This workshop contribution describes briefly the setting and our initial efforts in setting up a classroom that is able to generate such a multimodal dataset. The paper also describes some of the most important challenges that we are facing as we setup the project and attempt to build up such dataset, focusing on the specifics of doing it in an everyday, authentic school setting. We believe these challenges provide a nice sample of those that the multimodal learning analytics (MMLA) community will have to face as it transitions from an emergent to a mainstream community of research and practice