Bridging the Distance: How distance and flexible learning is used to support rural development in Iceland. A presentation by Hróbjartur Árnason (University of Iceland) held on EDEN conference in Oslo 12-15 june 2013. This presentation is part of the DISTANS networks project on "How Education can Support Rural Development": http://distans.wetpaint.com/page/Does+Education+support+rural+development%3F

1. Does education support rural development?
Hróbjartur Árnason ,University of Iceland
photo: Some rights reserved by Örlygur Hnefill

2. • Background
• 4 examples
• 2 didactical points

4. Nordic
population
density
• Sweden - 9,230,000
• Denmark - 5,510,000
• Finland - 5,330,000
• Norway - 4,755,000
• Iceland - 320,000
• Greenland - 57,000
• Faroe Islands - 49,000

5. What did we do?
5
• Six Symposia
– Practical examples
– Research results
– Reflections on ideas
DISTANS Network:
• Toured the Nordic countries
• Visited educational sites

8. • Shrinking infrastructure
• Few opportunities
• „Lower“ quality of life
• Difficult to offer learning
because students are few
and scattered
Challenges mentioned

9. Let them
eat cake!

10. Let them learn!

11. Using distance and flexible learning to bridge distances

12. Mariann Solberg:
Flexible learning can support
rural areas by giving:
• Qualified workers
• Increased innovation
• Even out social and geographic
inequality
• Democratic participation
• Personal development
• Slows down emigration

13. Four
examples from
Iceland:

14. 3/4
Capital:
Reykjavik
320.000 inhabitants
100.000 km2

15. Ísafjörður
Nursestudents create cohort
in isolated town
Synchronus, cohort in
one distant location

16. Teacher training:
Asynchrounus and
blended
Individual students
persue studies with
work, and attend F2F
gatherings on campus.

18. Stykkishólmur
+ 8 other Regional and
topical research centres
• Attract students to rural
areas for intensive courses
• Teachers teach online or
visit university

19. Háskólasetrið á Hornafirði
Höfn og Kirkjubæjarklaustri
Rannsóknasetur HÍ
Suðurlandi, Selfossi og
Gunnarsholti
Rannsóknasetur HÍ
Vestmannaeyjum
Háskólasetur Suðurnesja
Sandgerði
Háskólasetur Snæfellsness
Stykkishólmi
Rannsóknasetur HÍ
Vestfjörðum
Bolungarvík og Patreksfirði
Rannsóknasetur HÍ
Norðvesturlandi
Skagaströnd
Rannsóknasetur HÍ
Norðausturlandi
Húsavík
Rannsóknasetur HÍ
Austurlandi
Egilsstöðum
Nine research centres

20. Computer school invites
online participants into class
People who live in rural areas can
participate in classroom based
teaching through their own device

21. Issues
• Online Students tend to
connect content less to
own situation
• Marianne Solberg:
– find it difficult to get
students to connect
learning to own life, and
find their "own voice" in
the subject.
• Anna Guðrún Edvardsdóttir:
– Students did not question
learning content
– did not relate content to
own situation
• Women did not go into
new arenas
• "Education is not enough"
– "Good life"
– Quality of life
• Can technology increase
quality of life
– Isolation
– OTHER people

22. Meaning for didactics
• Point ONE:
Create and train community
• Point TWO:
Connect learning to local life
22

23. Point ONE: "Create community"
• Emphasize community in
online courses
• Train online skills:
– find
– connect
– lead
– innate
– participate
• Join communities
– Forums
– Communities of
• practice
• interest
• innovation
– Social networks
• Connect people better
together
– locally
– globally 23

24. Point TWO:
Connect learning to local life
• Duty of teachers of distance students:
• Help students
– Connect content
• Local meaning
• Personal consequences
– Root their learning in local
• issues
• culture
• needs
– How
• Questions
• Learning Projects
• Flexibility
• Connect studies to
– Local benefit
– How can content improve
• local situation
• What can I do?
– Quality of life
24

25. More information
• On the presenter: Hróbjartur Árnason
• On this project
• Other presentations from this session