Teachers in Sweden are still in need of digital literacies to master the pedagogical use of ICT in schools. Teacher education has a key role in adding the use of ICT to the abilities of their students and teachers. At Stockholm Institute of Education the Learning Resource Centre has an important role in providing appropriate technology, supported learning environments and competence development for teachers and students.
Competence development programs focus on digital literacies. Continuous self evaluation by participants points to good results. The problems which arise for teachers are mainly dependant on lack of time for training and maintaining digital work patterns.Education for the 21 st century - impact of ICT and Digital Resources ConferenceRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Olsson, Lena

English

El Servicio de Difusión de la Creación Intelectual

  
  
Implementing Use of ICT in Teacher 
Education 
How to add quality to teaching and learning with  the 
help of a Learning Resource Centre  
Lena Olsson 
 lena.olsson@lhs.se 
Stockholm Institute of Education, Sweden 
P.O. 34103, S-100 26 Stockholm Sweden 
Abstract.  Teachers in Sweden are still in need of digital literacies to master 
the pedagogical use of ICT in schools.  Teacher education has a key role in 
adding the use of ICT to the abilities of their students and teachers.  At 
Stockholm Institute of Education the Learning Resource Centre has an 
important role in providing appropriate technology, supported learning 
environments and competence development for teachers and students.  
Competence development programs focus on digital literacies.  Continuous 
self evaluation by participants points to good results.  The problems which 
arise for teachers are mainly dependant on lack of time for training and 
maintaining digital work patterns. 
1 Introduction 
Even if computers have been used in schools for many years, teachers in Sweden are 
still struggling to make pedagogical use of ICT, often also lacking proper digital 
competence.  Children’s own use of new media and ICT for communication, playing, 
etc. is a trigger for change in schools.  Teacher education has to meet these 
challenges and introduce adequate ways of teaching and learning with ICT.  
2 Lena Olsson 
 
2 The Learning Resource Centre and its task  
At Stockholm Institute of Education (SIE) a Learning Resource Centre (LRC) was 
set up in 2002 as a means of introducing and supporting the use of ICT in education 
and research and thus strengthening the competencies of future teachers.  This 
decision was motivated by a number of factors which further underlined the need for 
digital competencies.  Such factors were life-long learning issues, Swedish 
legislation for higher education which demanded information and media literacies 
for the students, and not least the competition for the recruiting of students by using 
new e-learning and distance education possibilities.  The task of the LRC, which is 
named Lärum, is 
• to use new pedagogical models, ICT, new media and new 
library models to generate creative environments for 
information handling, teaching and learning. 
• to have an initiating, coordinating and developing role 
concerning ICT and its use in education and research. 
• to provide, develop and synchronize flexible learning 
environments, to create  a virtual university setting and 
develop support for distance education in cooperation 
with other responsible departments. 
Two existing departments merged into the new LRC: The University Library 
with information services, collections, student work stations, user education and new 
physical learning environments, and the Media Production Department with services 
for film and video-production, computer- and video-conferencing.  An ICT support 
and project development unit was added to the organization with the goal to build 
collaborative projects with teachers, students and distance education, and 
responsibility for net course administration.  The staff consists of professional 
librarians, media producers, teachers, technicians, web designers and project leaders 
from various disciplines.  With this mix of staff know-how, organizational 
background and professionalism it is possible to develop a unique base for the 
delivery of training and supporting of key competencies. 
The essential idea of Lärum is to provide competence development with ICT and 
learning environments on a broad basis to a majority of students and teachers and 
encourage them to develop their teaching and learning abilities by pointing to best 
practice (rather than perform our own projects of excellence).  During 2002-2003 
learning environments and basic support functions and web were created.  Resources 
were inadequate and the goals were difficult to attain.  2004 brought about better 
funding and a formal demand for competence development with ICT.  
3 Strategies, leaning environments and digital literacies  
The task of Lärum is performed by 1) developing an academic standard which 
encompasses and integrates key skills of using information, media and technology in 
teaching and learning; 2) by creating flexible learning opportunities with usable 
tools; 3) by supporting e-learning as active and experimental learning, and tutor-led 
environments; and 4) by supporting learner autonomy, the independent learner. 
Implementing use of ICT in teacher education   3 
 
At Lärum we have recognized the following key skills and competencies as the 
most important ones to help develop and support: 1) Information literacy is the 
ability to understand processes for, and to be able to, access, acquire, organize, and 
evaluate information and information sources and form valid opinions based on the 
results as well as use information for problem solving [1]; 2) Technology Literacy is 
the ability to use new media such as the Internet to access and communicate 
information effectively [2]; and 3) Media literacy and creativity is the  ability to 
access, analyse and evaluate images, sounds and words in various media and to 
produce, communicate and distribute content to audiences of all sizes.. 
To achieve our goals and intentions we try to inspire and support students and 
teachers in their actual work situations, e.g., by offering supported physical and 
virtual learning environments with hands-on oriented tools for use such as the 
library, a media laboratory, smart boards or groupware.  Support is provided by 
professional staff for such thing as film production.  We also try to provide 
appropriate technology, wireless working areas, video streaming, supported 
communication platforms, learning platform ( i.e., Fronter) or net meeting options 
(i.e., Marratech).  
The continuous use of learning environments guarantees more solid ICT 
competence.  We found that users who have made long term use of communication 
platforms are more willing to adapt to new ICT tools.  Our intentions are to support 
good habits and best practice.  The use of learning environments is to a great extent 
performed as learning by doing which helps develop technology literacy as well as 
media creativity.  The ratio between student and teacher use for communication 
platforms, net meeting and video streaming is teachers 70%, students 30%, and for 
media laboratory, library and groupware is 20% teachers, 80% students.  Evaluation 
of the learning environments is indicated by use which has increased by 150% since 
the LRC opened.  Assessment is also performed by web enquiries with a few 
questions which indicate a high level of satisfaction. 
 
4 Competence development programs for teachers  
Another main strategy to reach our aims is to provide various programs for 
competence development.  These programs are performed according to the principle 
of integrating learning with task performance.  Development programs are directed 
towards all teachers and all students.  All teachers at Stockholm Institute of 
Education have been offered competence development focussing on the use of ICT.  
Their active participation in various programs totals 20-40 working hrs.  Sustained 
individual learning is guaranteed by the fact that their own learning goes on during 
their own teaching, which is why we try to develop IT support and tools which can 
be used continuously.  300 teachers out of 600 attended standard and advanced 
Office package workshops.  Before the program started a web enquiry was sent out 
to all teachers.  The response rate was 80%, and  60% of the teachers were of the 
opinion that they needed training in the use of standard programs.  The immediate 
evaluation of the workshops was very positive.  However, a more in-depth enquiry of 
the competence development program was carried out in February, 2006. 
4 Lena Olsson 
 
So far 120 teachers have participated in a net-based course, which means they 
have to act as students on the net.  The course certifies them as net teachers.  It 
involves their using and learning the communication and learning platforms; making 
homepages; using web evaluation; using smart boards; making power point 
presentations; producing web based learning materials; searching, using and 
evaluating information sources on the internet; adapting and using programs for 
physically impaired, and training in acting as a distance education tutor.  Evaluation 
is performed after the course is finished.  The course gets an overall positive 
assessment, particularly those parts which focus on information literacy and 
technology literacy.  This distance certification course gives the participants a good 
opportunity to develop all necessary literacies.  Fifty teachers can be considered to 
be very experienced distance educators, and for those teachers we provide just in 
time support. 
A qualitative evaluation of the competence development program for teachers 
will be carried out by in-depth interviews with sampled teachers and students and 
video recording of information searching and producing.  Selected courses have been 
evaluated by teachers through the use of e-portfolios and discussion forums on 
student work and learning patterns.  Every 3rd year a large enquiry on student work 
and life, i.e. ICT literacies, is performed; the latest was presented in February, 2006. 
5 Competence development for students  
For students there is comprehensive competence development concerning 
information literacy, including Basic Information Search, In-depth Information 
Search as well as Individual tutoring.  Basic Information Search is a good example 
of how these courses are carried out.  The purpose is that students achieve 
knowledge and skills in order to be able to search and review scientific information 
in databases and use web tools for searching as well as being able to critically assess 
internet sources.  The course is designed as a 2 x 45-minute workshop.  
In-depth information search classes prepare students for degree projects and 
theses.  The class is designed as a 3 x 45-minute workshop, covering relevant 
referential and full-text databases, information sources, and individual search 
practice search methods, search engines, source handling, referential matters, and the 
question of "what makes an article scientific?".  After the workshop, participants 
should be able to choose relevant databases and information sources, to search for 
information, and to critically analyze information.  During the fall term 2005 509 
students participated in the classes and 234 responded to the evaluation.  For the 
basic class 84 responses indicated that 60% were content with the pedagogy and  
70% were affirmative that they would benefit from their new knowledge in their 
future studies and work.  The assessment of in-depth information search showed that 
150 responded, and 74% were positive that their new knowledge would help them in 
future studies and work. 
Implementing use of ICT in teacher education   5 
 
6 Conclusion and coming projects 
Starting spring 2006 students’ formal learning of digital literacies (information 
literacy, media creativity and technology literacy) will be integrated in the teacher 
education programme.  All new students will have to take a diagnostic interactive 
web test which tells them their level of proficiency using standard programs and web 
tools.  Throughout the program the learning of digital literacies is attached to the 
developing of 1) communicative abilities, 2) information understanding, analytic 
abilities and scientific work patterns, and 3) abilities to perform, analyze and present 
an investigation.  In this way these abilities as well as the literacies are trained in 
progression.  It also means a close cooperation between teachers and staff from the 
LRC, which already during the planning stage has meant creative development. 
Ongoing projects at Lärum are e-publishing, the provision of a school of the 
future test site and the development and organization of learning objects. 
The reason that Lärum so far seems to have had a beneficial influence on teacher 
education is to a great extent due to the mix of professional skills of the staff at 
Lärum, which makes creative development and support of a broad spectre of digital 
competencies possible.  Still there is need for competence development of the staff 
as well.  During fall 2005 a net course for all staff started, Learning in Networks.  
The course is operated as a project between Lärum and Åbo and Vaasa universities 
[4]. 
To decide future development of Lärum, an external evaluation of the 
organization was performed in March 2006. 
References 
 
1. Breivik, P.C.&E.G. Gee Information Literacy: A revolution in the Library, NewYork: 
Mac Millan, 1989. 
2. Varis, Tapio, New Literaces and Copmptences. 
3. http://www.elearningeuropa.info/doc.php?lng=1&id=595&doclng=1. 
4. Ibidem. 
5. Byholm,M. & Edman-Stålbrant, E, Learning in Networks. Working paper, 2005. 
 
 
 
6 Lena Olsson 
 


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