rural education and the predicament of new the ict sigurjón mýrdal iceland university of education...
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Sigurjón Mýrdal Iceland University of Education
[email protected] http://menntun.khi.is/sigurjon
Rural Education and the Rural Education and the Predicament of New the ICTPredicament of New the ICT
A lecture given at the 32nd Congress of the Nordic Educational Research Association in Reykjavík at the Iceland University of Education, March 11 – 13, 2004
How do we define “rural”?
• by statistics / size, e.g. number of inhabitants
• by location / remote
• by social structure
• by cultural features / way of life
Rural Conditionas a place
Word &Concept
-vs.-
“Reality”
Analytic construct.
Ideal type?
“the Rural” is a Modern concept.
Ruralness did not become an issue until something differentdeveloped; f.ex. urban or modern. Of course a plurality of rural conditions have existed through history, but it didn’t become a social/cultural problem until in modern times
Classification of municipalities by size
December 2000.
Size Number Population Males Females 124 282.849 141.596 141.253 100.000 + 1 111.345 54.676 56.669
10.000–99.999 4 69.379 34.496 34.883 5.000–9.999 4 25.433 12.841 12.592 2.000–4.999 11 34.320 17.515 16.805 1.000–1.999 11 15.577 7.985 7.592 500 – 999 18 13.254 6.843 6.411
300 – 499 13 4.889 2.586 2.303 200 – 299 14 3.445 1.821 1.624 100 – 199 25 3.605 1.936 1.669 50 – 99 17 1.350 763 587 49 or less 6 252 134 118
Source: Statistics Iceland; Hagstofa Íslands
Rural constellation Economy/Politics focus
Pre-modern
Medieval
Agricultural
Feudalism
Modern
Industrialization
Technologization
Urbanization
Nationalism
Post-modern
Globalization
Info-technology
Multi-culturalism
Rural constellation Cultural focus
Pre 20th century
Culture, politics, geography
History
20th century
Economy, demographic, geography
Fishing
21st century
Economy, (multi)culture, technology
??
Distance Education and Rural Education
Modes of Distance Education
The Icelandic case:• Why?• How?• What results?
Changing “Rural”• Traditional culture• Multiculture
•Effects on schooling !
Modes of Distance Education
Correspondence by:
MailTelephone
RadioAudio cassettes
TelevisionVideo cassettes
InternetInteractive Video
Multimedia-phonesVirtual reality
Is distance education as good as “traditional” education?
Can ICT promote education?
New technologies in education – Just one more new tool ? Yes, but each new tool has its disposition, temperament, and moral fiber !
The culture of the Internet !!
The Iceland University of Education offers most of its programmes at all levels via distance learning. Students in distance education generally complete most of their courses independently using computer technology and the Internet. All distance education programmes, however, also include some on-campus activities.
Distance Education
Does distance education change university structures?
What impact does the new ICT have on institutional structures of Academia?· On teaching?· On administration?· On research?· On services?
Education Workshop
Education is action
Mixture of creation and communication
Traditionalstudents
Network students
% Network
Pre-school
Primary school 506 420 45 %
Secondary school 97 131 58 %
Physical education 118 33 22 %
Developmental therapy 65 60 48 %
Graduate studies 557 100 %
Sum: 939 1342 58.8%
2281 Students at Iceland University of Education 2003
48 %141153
Further reflections
•The medium carries ideological structures - technical rationalities
•It is important to be conscious of the ideologies/rationalities and align them to the professional and academic objectives of the institutions•
•Who is in control of the program: -the human or the machine?
-the professional or the technician?
alternative
RURAL has many dimensions
• Geographic
• Demographic
• Cultural
• Institutional
• Economic
• Political
ICT has many dimensions
• Social
• Cultural
• Institutional
• Economic
• Political
• Technological
ICT has many dimensions
ICT devices carry ideological dialectics ofsocial, cultural and economic transformations.
ICT is neither the cause nor effect of globalization. It is the very essence of thenew world order.
•urban•technological •individualistic•secular
The Modern as a reference
The pre-modern
The post-modern
Culture
Identity
A place
People interact, socialize and create meaning
Networks of neighbors construct •communities •cultures•identities
The Modern as a reference
The pre-modernThe non-modern
The post-modern
• the rural condition • e-learning • ICT-cultures
Is there a common nominator?
Who is defining the procedures of distance education?
And can ICT-culture become base for new rural empowerment?
ICT as rural cultural phenomenon
• cultural context of distance education
• formation of ICT-culture
• empowerment of rural students due to specialized knowledge generated through e-communities