Tool for improving

technology usage in schools

Jarmo Viteli, UTA, TRIM

Raisa Valtaoja, Tampere, OTE

Heikki Sairanen, UTA, TRIM

Mikko Vuorinen, UTA, TRIM

Introducing Opeka

• A national coordination project OTE and TRIM research center in University of Tampere has developed a completely new type of tool for mapping learning technology ecosystems, Opeka.

• The tools allows individual teachers in various schools to evaluate their usage of learning technology in their everyday use and also provide insight into the usage patterns of the whole school.

• Opeka has a new learning analytics based approach which offers a completely new way of looking at technology usage in schools by offering modern visualization of the collected data.

E-Maturity

• In the core of Opeka is a query system in which logged-in users can fill out a questionnaire that consists of familiar and also a variety of new question types.

• For example there are multi choice questions that also include an option to add a new answer that will also be shown to users that fill out the questionnaire in the future.

• Opeka also evaluates individual schools on e-maturity that is a system developed by the city of Tampere for evaluating the usage and availability of learning technology.

Developing the school as entity

• School is an ecosystem – Adaptive, interactive, autonomous, dynamic process

• It must be evaluated and developed as an entity

• Opeka evaluates the e-maturity levels of the school – created by Region of Tampere

– based on National Plan for Educational Use of Information and Communications Technology

• School can create its development plan – Based on evaluation

– Aiming the national objectives Knowhow

Skills Role

Using Opeka in the development

process of ICT in education

Evaluation

National Plan for Educational Use of ICT

Municipalities’ own plan for Educational Use of ICT

School’s own plan for Educational Use of ICT

What is Opeka?

• Web-based tool

• Teacher fills an online questionnaire about his/hers ICT usage in education and ICT skills and competent

• Question modules : – Digital learning and teaching culture

– Educational technology (hardware and software used in education)

– Teachers’ ICT skills and needs for supplementary education

• Teacher gets a summary about his/hers ICT usage compared to others after answering

• Schools and municipalities get their reports at the same time

• Development in spring 2013: – Swedish and English

Opeka development partners

• Developed by TRIM research center in University of Tampere – Research Director Jarmo Viteli, reseacher Heikki Sairanen, software

developer Mikko Vuorinen

• Part of the national coordination project OTE – Koulun laitteet ja ohjelmistot tehokäytöön funded by FNBE and coordinated by City of Tampere – Coordinator Raisa Valtaoja

• Cooperation with city of Tampere (eVarikko, centre of educational technology) and region of Tampere

• Team of experts from cities of Tampere, Turku, Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, FNBE

Opeka Usage so far

2012 2013 (May-December) (January-March)

2380 answerers 515 answerers