Support for purchase of digital learning resources

Lone Ring, Special AdvisorKristian Kallesen, Senior Consultant

Danish Ministry of EducationUNI•C – National Agency for IT and Learning

Extract for EdReNe seminarNovember, 2013

Initiatives in the government strategy:

1) Support the purchase of digital learning resources in order to develop a sustainable market and a supply of high quality digital learning resources

2) Access to efficient and sufficient infrastructure for all pupils, students and teachers

3) Transparent goals for the use of ICT and digital learning resources

4) Research and pilot projects on ICT-based learning

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Government strategy on ICT in the compulsory school sector

Support the purchase of digital learning resources• The government supports the municipalities’ purchase of digital learning

resources in order to develop a sustainable market and a supply of high quality digital learning resources; 400 M DKK (M€ 50)

• Increased demand for digital learning resources of high quality can encourage the producers to improve the existing learning resources and develop new

• Past experience with direct support for the development of new learning materials had no permanent effect

o The Danish municipalities co-finance 50 % of the purchase of digital learning resources

o The digital learning resources must meet certain criteria in order to be eligible for government grant, e.g.:

Academic and pedagogical impact High degree of interactivity

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Developing a sustainable market

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201250 mio. DKK (M€ 7)Digital learning resources in Danish, mathematics, English and science.Few criteria

201380 mio. DKK (M€ 10)Digital learning ressources in all subjects.Adjustment of the criteria on the basis of current knowledge.

2014Further adjustment of the criteria on the basis of newly gained knowledge.

2015Target:…”a highly developed and sustainable market for digital learning resources.”

The digital learning resources must meet certain criteria in order to be eligible for government grant

The criteria are developed on the basis of current knowledge of the effect of the digital learning resources and keep being developed as we gain new knowledge.

However, we must also take into consideration the needs of the producers of long-term planning in order to develop new materials. Balance between setting realistic criteria, pushing the

producers in a new direction and developing the market in a pace, where the teachers keep up

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Criteria

The criteria in general

Support the political agreement on the reform of the Danish “Folkeskole”: How to make a good school better and the development of digital learning resources with an academic and pedagogical impact

Accessibility for pupils and students with reading and writing difficulties

Increased flexibility and transparency in the market in order to help the buyers (municipalities, schools and teachers)

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Criteria

Developed for teaching All subjects in the Danish “folkeskole” Academic and pedagogical impact Being online-based High degree of interactivity Subscriptions of maximum three years Registration on “Materialeplatformen”

– a digital learning resource repository - with information on: Which operating systems and

types of tablets/computers can be used

Which web-browsers can be used How to log on to the digital

learning resource Copyright

Recommendations

Accessibility for pupils and students with reading and writing difficulties

Interdisciplinary use Flexibility concerning

steering systems, types of tablets/computers, browsers and data storage

Common logon Can be bought for short

periods of time and in smaller parts

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What is a high degree of interactivity?

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Interactivity based on dialogue

Interactivity providing control options

Interactivity allowing manipulation

Transparent goals for the use of ICT and digital learning resources

• Network of school principals has been established in order too facilitate local change management, e.g. local goals for the use

of ICTo support the increased and qualified use of ICTo share knowledge

• Research project with demonstration schools on combining the national learning objectives with the digital learning resources

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Research and pilot projects on ICT-based learning

The purpose is to generate new knowledge on ICT and learning – e.g. how digital learning ressources can support the pupils’ learning and free up time for more teaching.

Four projects starting in January 2014 on the themes:

1) Student involvement and own production2) Inclusion and differentiated teaching 3) Teachers' ICT didactic skills4) New ways of organizing teaching

The research projects are executed by consortiums consisting of universities, teachers’ training colleges and 21 public schools (”demonstration schools”).23-10-2013 Side 10

• Evaluation of the effects of digital learning resources

• Teacher network in order to develop ICT-didactic skills and share knowledge on the use of digital learning resources

• Network on development of future digital learning resources: producers, users, government, municipalities, scientists

• Public available evaluation / recommendations of digital learning resources in order to make the market more transparent and guide teachers and other buyers

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Other initiatives