Teacher Training and Computerization in Icelandic Compulsory Schools

157

Mrs. Hildur HAFSTAD HjaUaskoli, 200 Kopavogur, Iceland

In this paper I present a summary account of computer training for teachers in Iceland, both student teachers and practising teachers. Systematic efforts have been made to de- velop computer training at the Iceland Institute of Education since 1984. This is now an obligatory training course for student teachers, and about 15 percent of practising teachers have obtained knowledge of this field. I also discuss, in a general way, computer training in primary schools. This has now commenced in about 20 percent of the schools, and is generally an elective subject in the 9th grade. Some experi- ments have been made on teaching computer operations in lower grades. My report can be viewed as a continuation of that of Mr. Yngvi Petursson, lector of the Iceland Institute of Education, which was presented at the meeting of WG 3.1 at Birmingham during the summer of 1984.

Keywords: Education of Teachers, Pre-service Training, In- service Training, Introductory Courses, Advanced Courses, Support Courses, Compulsory Education, Computer Equipment.

Hildur Hafstad was born in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1952. Education: Moscow State University 1970-1975 I MA in Russian lan- guage and literature: Iceland Institute of Education 1976-1980 I BEd. Employment: University of Iceland 1978-1985 (Russian language and literature); Translator (freelance) since 1977; Class teacher in primary schools 1982-1985; Deputy Headteacher in present school since 1985.

North-Holland Education & Computing 3 (1987) 157-162

0067-9287/87/$3.50 © 1987, IFIP

1. Introduction

The Icelandic school system is by and large organized in a manner similiar to the systems of the other Scandinavian countries, Practically all schools are run by the state and work according to official curricula and regulations.

There are three levels of education offered: - compulsory schools, which are comparable

to the primary and lower secondary schools, - secondary schools, comparable to grammar

schools, and - universities. The compulsory schools are for 7 to 16 year old

pupils. They operate for 9 months each year in the urban areas, and for 8 months in the rural areas. The lessons comprise 18 hours per week in the first grade and increase year by year up to ap- proximately 35 in the ninth and the last grade. This education concludes with unified examina- tions in selected subjects.

Associated with the primary schools, especially in the urban areas, are pre-schools. Usually atten- dance to these is for one year, i.e. for 6 year old children. Schooling is given for 16 to 18 hours each week, and is generally conducted for 8 months per year.

All education for teachers is carried out at university level. The University of Iceland graduates mainly teachers for the upper grades of the secondary schools. The major centre for the training of teachers and pedagogical research is the Iceland Institute of Education. This Institute graduates compulsory school teachers with a B.Ed. degree following a three year course of study. The Iceland Institute of Education also supervises in- service training of teachers.

In the following discussion, reference to the education of teachers in Iceland refers to educa- tion at the Iceland Institute of Education.

2. Education of Teachers

2.1. Computer Training for Pre-service Students

Informatics is a new subject in the Iceland Institute of Education. The first trace of general

158 H. Hafstad / Teacher Training and Computerization in Iceland

computer training in the basic education appeared in the spring term of 1984. Since then the instruc- tion has been assuming a more definite shape with respect to its form and contents. Computer studies is not a separate subject discipline at the Iceland Institute of Education. On the other hand, com- puting is a compulsory subject. Currently all stu- dents attend a 40 hour training course during their first year of study. In addition, they are given the opportunity to attend elective 24 hour follow-up courses during the second and third year. The training in computers given in Icelandic primary and secondary schools is as yet so limited that it has been necessary to aim the training in the Iceland Institute of Education at beginners. This situation will continue for the time being. For this reason emphasis has been placed on the need to begin a study of computing in the first year of teacher training.

In the compulsory course given during the first year the students receive a summary of computer development, the impact of computers on society and their possible role in compulsory education.

- LOGO is introduced and pedagogical con- cepts related to ise use in schools are discussed.

- One wordprocessing system (Write Assistant II) is introduced in depth.

- Educational programs for various computers are presented, and an effort is made to evaluate their usefulness.

Both hardware and software are dealt with in lectures, as well as operating systems and retrieval of information from data banks. The purpose of this training course is to increase the computer- literacy of the student teachers and to make it possible for them to use computers in their work.

In the elective courses during the second and third year, the same problems are considered, but some aspects are treated in greater depth.

- LOGO is taught and its use in compulsory education is discussed.

- Various wordprocessing systems are intro- duced and their potential use in teaching is con- sidered.

- The students learn the use of Word Perfect wordprocessing and prepare study materials in a computer compatible form, ready for type-setting.

- The use of spreadsheets is taught. - Database systems are introduced. - E d u c a t i o n a l programs are examined and

visits are made to schools and business companies.

Students with elective subjects in mathematics receive additional instruction in the use of com- puters.

- They study the use of LOGO in teaching mathematics and develop programs.

- They are introduced to the use of PROLOG in mathematical analysis.

- They learn other possible uses of computers as mathematical tools. They are introduced to:

- operating systems, - filing systems, - spreadsheets and

- educational programs. Students whose elective is mathematics have pro- grammed LOGO exercises for use in teaching young children.

2.2. In-service Courses for Teachers

There is a great demand for computer knowl- edge on the part of practising teachers. This de- mand has been met by various means.

Official authorities commenced activities in this field in 1978 with a training course held jointly by the Iceland Institute of Education and the Univer- sity of Iceland. Similar courses were repeated again in 1979, 1981 and 1983. In these courses BASIC was taught. The major hardware items were intro- duced, and the mathematical background was considered. The development of programs was demonstrated. In addition, the use of computers in primary and secondary schools in our neighbouring countries was reviewed. For ad- ditional information, see the report by Mr. Yngvi Petursson which was referred to in the abstract. In all, 62 teachers attended these training courses.

Since 1984, the in-service training of teachers has been taken care of by the Iceland Institute of Education, and has taken on a somewhat fixed form. There have been definite changes in the emphasis of this training. Far more stress is laid on increasing the computer literacy of teachers and in teaching them the possibilities of utilizing computers in schools. In addition, LOGO has become the major programming language.

Two training courses are offered: an introduc- tory 40 hour course which is given during the summer as a part of the in-service training of the Iceland Institute of Education, and a 100 hour advanced course, which has been given as an

1t. Hafstad / Teacher Training and Computerization in lceland 159

evening course for in-service teachers in the Re- ykjavik area. This summer teachers from the rest of the country will be given the opportunity of attending a day course of this kind in Reykjavik.

The introductory in-service training course is in all respects identical with the first year course for student teachers:

- LOGO - Word processing (Write Assistent II). - Educational programs. - Lectures.

The advanced course discusses: - operating systems for computers, - database systems, - computer communications and networks, - searches in databanks, - use of videodiscs, - a n d the computer language LOGO and

PROLOG are taught. There has been a very real interest shown by

teachers in these training courses and it has not been possible to accept all those who have wished to attend. Teachers of special education in particu- lar have followed these courses and have displayed a great interest in the use of computers in their own fields.

In order to give support to those teachers who have attended these courses, it has now been decided to offer support courses to the individual schools. The goal is to adapt the knowledge of the teachers to their own particular circumstances such as computer equipment, teaching methods, age of pupils, available housing, etc. The specialists from the Iceland Institute of Education will conduct approximately 15 hour courses with the teachers and discuss these factors, introduce software and hardware and assist in organizing the use of com- puters for teaching the various age groups found in each particular school. It will be possible to offer follow-up meetings on particular topics, if so desired.

The computer training for in-service teachers is under continuous discussion, and it has been pro- posed that the Iceland Institute of Education offers a half year course in computing. To date, no decisions have been taken concerning the future organization of these matters, although great em- phasis has been placed on meeting these needs. There are a number of reasons for this. In particu- lar it may be pointed out that teaching- and pedagogical experience on the one hand, and

knowledge of computer sciences on the other, rarely go together. It is considered essential to make practising teachers capable of developing teaching materials for compulsory schools and for experimental teaching.

There has been a conspicuous difference in the sex ratio of the participants of these courses com- pared to other in-service training courses for teachers. In the computer courses the representa- tion of males has been relatively great, although females make up between 60 and 70 percent of all compulsory school teachers in Iceland. By way of explanation for the higher attendance in computer courses by males, it may be pointed out that males generally occupy executive positions in the schools and teach in the higher grades. The school admin- istrators have taken a great deal of interest in this training, and teaching in the use of computers is mainly carried out in the upper grades of the schools.

The above is a description of the computer training offered by the Iceland Institute of Educa- tion. This does not by any means constitute a complete account of the possibilities which are open to Icelandic teachers in this field, and indeed they have sought training in a number of places. Primarily, teachers attend training courses given by computer schools and by the agents for various brands of computers. In those cases, the instruc- tion is generally aimed at specific equipment, software a n d / o r hardware, and is often designed to meet the needs of business firms. However such training does not take into consideration the spe- cialized needs of the school system. Teachers in considerable numbers have also attended individ- ual courses given by the University of Iceland both in computer sciences as welt as within the Social Sciences Department of the University. In addition, a few have gone abroad for their educa- tion.

3. Computers and Compulsory Education

3.1. Computer Equipment

As far as the provision of computers to com- pulsory schools is concerned, there are now com- puters in approximately one half of them. These schools are attended by about 70 percent of all pupils at this level. Almost all the computers have

160 H. Hafstad / Teacher Training and Computerization in Iceland

been purchased during the past 5 years, and the most widespread is the BBC, although Apple and IBM-PC as well as PC compatibles are common. In some cases there is only one computer in a school, but most commonly each school has 3 to 7 computers. Where computers are found, they are almost always utilized by the school office for administration purposes. Teachers also make use of the computers in the preparation of class materials, although this is limited to the teachers of the highest grades in natural science subjects. The computers are also used in teaching, as will be discussed more below. The software used by the schools spans a wide range as far as its quality is concerned. For administrative purposes, software available on the open market such as data processing, spread sheets and word processors are suitable. For preparation of class materials, the teachers mostly use the computer as a typewriter, but they also do some programming in languages such as BASIC. When one, however, looks at the software for use in the education of primary school children, there are very slim pickings. A beginning has indeed been made within the country on the preparation of software, but only just, and so far there are not many locally-produced programs available. On the other hand a considerable num- ber of foreign programs have found their way into the country, and they are by no means all equally suitable for use by our schools. It is worth men- tioning that in the United Kingdom a consid- erable amount of software has been produced for the BBC computer, and this is one research for the popularity of this make in our country. No organised effort has though been made in the translation of educational programs for the BBC or other computers.

All the same, computer training has got off to a good start in many Icelandic schools despite the fact that only three years have passed since com- puter instruction in its present form began at the Iceland Institute of Education. I feel that it is worth mentioning that the LOGO commands have been translated into Icelandic and have been standardised. This has not yet been done in the case of other computer languages. Such transla- tions are, however, a basic requirement if children of primary school age are to be able to use a computer language and would ease problems for everyone else. Islandic LOGO compilers are now available for all the most common makes of com- puters.

3.2. Computer Training in Compulsory Education

It is not possible to give a complete description of the computer training which is carried out in the Icelandic compulsory schools. I would like to reiterate that there is no curriculum in this subject, and teachers who are teaching computer use have a fairly free hand. It really depends greatly on the circumstances in each place whether there is any instruction given on computers at all. The make of computer available always places definite restric- tions on the choice of subject matter. But all over the country some kind of computer training is available for children ranging from 1st up to the 9th grade.

Most common is to find that computer courses are offered in the 9th grade. Frequently they are elective courses and are fairly well attended. The instruction period is generally 2 to 3 hours per week, sometimes for half a year but usually for a year. Thus I am referring to a training course of between 24 and 75 hours. The subject matter is not the same in all cases, but usually there is some training in programming, generally in BASIC. In addition the pupils also become acquainted with word processing, and a general introduction to computers and their uses is also frequently in- cluded. Bookkeeping systems, graphics and educa- tional programs have been introduced, and video used, generally of foreign origin.

In addition to these examples, I would like to mention that word processing has been taught and the instruction has been followed up by letting the pupils publish computerized class- or school news- papers and similar items.

In a number of schools, computers are coming into use in special education. A computer is then used for gaining practice in certain aspects of subjects, for example in mathematics or grammar. Special education teachers have composed a con- siderable amount of educational material, and have also translated and adapted, such material. Some work has been done in making programs for deaf, mentally- or physically handicapped children, and a special computer centre for the handicapped is planned.

3.3. Two Experiments

Experiments in teaching younger children in- formatics have been carried out in a few schools. I would like to mention two such efforts. The first

H. Hafstad / Teacher Training and Computerization in Iceland 161

example refers to a large school in Reykjavik named Melaskoli.

All pupils in the 6th grade there have been invited to participate in LOGO courses which have been given outside of the regular school periods, two hours per week for the whole winter, i.e. nearly 50 hours in all. Sixty to ninety five percent of the pupils have attended these courses. The instruction is given in a specially equipped computer workshop, where two pupils always work together on each computer. The computers are arranged in a circle, enabling the teacher to have a clear view of all that is going on.

The objective of this experimental instruction is:

- that the pupils learn to use programming languages to create tools which can be used for problem solving.

- that they are introduced to the basic con- cepts behind the programs, and learn that they themselves can write programs and modify them.

- that they appreciate that programming is not limited to either sex.

- to investigate the suitability of LOGO as a subject for the 6th grade level of compulsory schools.

One goal has been for the pupils to gain mastery over some graphics commands and text com- mands, that they can make procedures and use editors, and that they appreciate the relationship between learning in LOGO and other subjects.

A definite work program is carried out each week. The instructions are undergoing continuous revision, and changes are made whenever it is deemed advisable. The major emphasis has been placed on the possibilities of LOGO in graphics.

Efforts are made to combine the LOGO train- ing and other subjects. The tasks and instructions have been designed in collaboration with the class teachers. In mathematics, problems in coordinate systems, etc. have been solved, an Icelandic-En- glish dictionary has been composed, and problems in spelling, grammar, geography, etc. have been undertaken. These problems have in fact been tackled on the initiative of the computer teacher, and have not always been directly related to the treatment of the relevent subjects by the class teachers. On the other hand, there has been some very successful cooperation with music teachers. These teachers have brought groups of pupils into the computer room from the 2nd grade and older.

The children have then selected a tune and en- tered it in LOGO on the computer. The children call up prepared procedures, which have the names of the various music notes, and arrange them in the proper sequence, indicate their length and frequency and finally call for the tune, which the computer will then play.

The second example is taken from a school in a small coastal village in the countryside, the Kopasker Primary School.

Computer studies is included in the curriculum of the first two grades, two hours per week. The pupils take the first steps in word processing, are introduced to the basic concepts of LOGO, and to educational programs in both English and mathematics. The purpose of the computer in- struction at this point is to allow the pupils to get to know the computer as a working tool, but at this age most of them know it as a toy. The object is to make it possible for the pupils to decide whether or not they are interested in computer studies when they reach the third grade. There computer studies is an elective subject, which is taught 2 hours per week or even 4 if teachers and computers are available. The school schedule is prepared for one week at a time and the pupils are offered each week a choice of subjects, which are LOGO programming, word processing, or ex- ercises on educational programs. Efforts are made to encourage creative work on the part of the pupils, to teach them to use LOGO as a tool to aid thinking and to use word processing in crea- tive compositions. The greatest interest is shown for LOGO and word processing.

In this school there is a specially equipped computer workshop, where the teacher instructs the pupils in the use of computers during the periods shown on the timetable of each student. The workshop is not locked and the pupils have free access to the computers during their free periods and after school hours. The computers are connected in a network with a hard discdrive attached to it. When the pupils are alone in the workshop they are permitted to use only floppy- discs. The instructor is the only one who activates the hard discdrive. Efforts are being made to obtain more computers. It is intended to continue to operate the computer workshop for direct in- struction, but in addition to obtain computers for the studying areas, 2 for the younger pupils and 2 or 3 for the older ones. The pupils would then be

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able to work independently computers, either in continuation of direct instruction or for solving problems in other subjects.

The object of the computer instruction in the school is to make the pupils capable of using computers independently in their studies in the higher grades of schools.

4 . T h e F u t u r e O u t l o o k

A turning point in these matters was reached this May, when the Icelandic Ministry of Educa- tion announced its plans for the overall program for computerising the primary and secondary schools.

This program will continue to give indepen- dence to the schools in matters relating to com- puterization and full authority to experiment as desired. No curriculum for computer training will be issued for the time being. The choice of com- puter hardware, software and other equipment is in the hands of the schools, although the Ministry

encourages joint and efficient purchases. Other major points in the new programme are: - that experiments in the preparation of study

materials and problems be undertaken in selected schools, and that special equipment be obtained for this purpose,

- that computers be provided in all staff rooms, so that teachers may have access to them for their work,

- that special emphasis be placed on com- puters as aids to teaching,

- that experiments with LOGO in school work be continued,

- that the education of teachers be strengthened,

- that the use of databanks for schoolwork be investigated.

Funds have been allocated for implementing this programme and an executive committee has been appointed. It is therefore to be expected that already by the next school year the results of this programme will become apparent in the schools.