E-Learning in Hungary

Gábor Nagy

dep. head of department

Department for International Cooperation and Strategic Planning

Tel : +36 1 473-7356

1055 Budapest, Szalay utca 10-14

E-mail : gabor.nagy@om.hu

„Look for and find methods with which the teacher teaches less, but those sitting in the school-bench learn

more” J.A.Comenius

E-learning

• Physical infrastructure

• Non-Physical infrastructure

• E-Europe +

• Legal infrastructure

• Would you choose to learn ICT?

Physical

infrastructure

Schoolnet programme

• No. of distributed computers : 114’821 out of these– used only by the pupils : 53’021 db– used only by the teachers : 35’030 db– used by both of them : 26’770 db

• No. of pupils– in primary school : 1’001’204– in secondary school : 596’721– total : 1’597’925

• No. of pupils per PC (calculating only with Schoolnet)– 30 if counting the computers used only by the pupils– 14 if counting the total no. of computers (the real figure is

smaller, lack of exact data)

The comparision with EU countries

Schoolnet

• Special feature of the Schoolnet program : Connecting a number of Hungarian schools abroad to the Internet

• Other auxiliary programs :- World Bank

- Program for vocational schools (484 schools, 1573 teachers, in a value of 700 Million HUF)

• The Hungarian school system is very much decentralized, equipping the schools is the responsibility of local governments

SchoolnetThe Network 1998 2002

No of connected institutions 910 2340No. of unused labs 14% 1%Bandwith (regional centres) 2.0 Mbps 8.0 MbsBandwith (international) 1.4 Mbps 68MbpsNo. of institutions with 64 kbit/s 910 1017No. of institutions with 128 kbit/s 0 1023No. of institutions with ADSL I. (384/64 kbit/s) 0 100No. of institutions with ADSL II (768/128 kbit/s) 0 200

The homepage (www.sulinet.hu) 2002Hits/month 7.5 MillNo of articles 4318

•In Hungary : Secondary schools = 100%

Primary schools = 20-50% (no precise data)

• Széchenyi Plan– Giving computers to teachers for home usage

– Total value : 5.5 Billion HUF

– More than 10.000 teachers

– Teachers have to undertake to pass an ECDL exam

• Supercomputers– Excellent example of partnership (Sun, Compaq)

– Connected to the high speed network (HBONE)

• National Information Infrastructure Development Programme

• Telehouses and telehuts (Public Internet Access Points)– 60 types of services (educational, cultural, entrepreneurial

etc)

– a place for the social life, for being together

– currently more than 200 telehouses and 100 telehuts

– support from the Széchenyi Plan : 1.6 Billion HUF (the price of 8000 computer configurations)

Non-Physical

Infrastructure

Framework curricula

• Answer to the question : „What shall we teach?”

• the eras :– Programming languages (instead of Logo the Basic)

– Theory of algorithms (block diagrams)

– User programs (Word, Excel etc), it should be learned not taught

• it is useless to learn the GUI (Graphical User Interface) as it changes very quickly + technological change (bio and quantum computers etc) + the machines are more and more intelligent

• the goal is to acquire a general ICT intelligence

• Framework Curricula : Logo+algorithms+user programs

• from the 6th grade (age 12-13)

• it is a universal critirion (based on the earlier core curriculum)

The attitude of teachers

• the 80’s : strict refusion, because(1) the people are against the new things(2) the computer is a competitor, worry about the job (the computer is like a new colleague)

• 1985 : two big groups : hope and fear• 1989 : the shock is over, the computer became a usual

thing, the ICT cannot be stopped, so the strict refusion is pointless -> finding excuses (I am too old, it makes me act like a robot etc.) …”I will use only if I have to”

• 1994 : strict refusion 2,5 %, very positive attitude 10 %have no opinion around 60%

The motivation of teachers

• Since the teachers are the key to e-learning it is crucial• Buying computers for them• ICT courses can be chosen as part of the compulsory

teacher in-service training• Decreasing number of pupils -> fight for the pupils

->parents take the children to schools where ICT is common

• Make it compulsory• IT IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE : They have to accept

that they are no more the only resources of knowledge, they have to accept the new methods (and the shame that some pupils know it better) ; it is not only about the skills to be able to use a computer

• What do we mean by digital literacy :– Understanding the needs of the information society

– Understanding the equipments (have to see a lot in order to be able to generalize)

– Developing skills and competencies (to get the information, to evaluate and synthetize the information)

– Communication skills (machine-human interaction)

– Understanding the importance of informations

– Trust in the technology

From when should we teach ICT

• Some people say as early as possible– Does the child really learns ICT or just imitates well

– Rachel Cohen : we should not teach the children just provide them with an environment reach in stimuli

– Can we handle the computer as an ordinary toy (ICT dependency)

• Some people say : do not hurry– Example : debate over learning languages

– In China the parents usually prohibit it

– Rumours about children who got sick

• Framework curricula : from the 6th grade

Content development

• Schoolnet (4318 articles)• Schoolnet (downloadable softwares)• 80% of connected schools have a homepage• Free authoring kits for schools• Apertus Public Foundation for Distance Learning

– Funded by the Government

– 1 Billion HUF/year for authoring modules and softwares

• Problem with the size of the market (the Hungarian language is spoken by some 15 Million people)

Usage of content

• Microsoft - Ministry of Education Campus Agreement– Another good example of partnership

– MS products for university teachers and students

• Access of universities and research institutions to scientific periodicals

TASK Deadline : E-Europe (+)

Provide all schools with convenient access for teachers and students to the Internet and multimedia content

end of 2001(mid 2003)

Connecting schools to research networks end 2002(not included)

Ensure avalability of support services and educational resources on the Internet, as well as e-learning platforms, for teachers, pupils and parents

end 2002(end 2003)

Provide training to all teachers, in particular adapt teacher curricula and offer incentives to teachers to use and apply new technologies for developing innovative, practical teaching methods.

end 2002(mid 2003)

Adapt new school curricula by integrating new learning methods based on information and communication technologies.

end 2002(mid 2003)

Ensure that pupils have the possibility to be digitally literate by the time they leave school.

end 2002(end 2003)

E-Europe + (2001 June) European youth into the dig. age

Legal infrastructure• Act on Electronic Signature• Act on Telecommunication

– We hope to decrease the prices (by 10% in the long run)

– In Hungary the cost is relatively high for Internet access

Would you choose to learn ICT?

Distribution of learners attending vocational training outside the school system according to the field of study, 2000

22%

20%

17%

16%

3%

3%

1%

1%

17%

Qualifications in personal services, catering, commerce and tourism

Qualifications in business and administration

Industrial qualifications for small and large plants

IT qualifications

MedicalHealth care qualifications

Qualifications in agriculture, forestry and fisheries

Technical qualifications

Qualifications in culture and the media

6 categories below 1%, not shown in the list