Education in Estonia:PISA & digital turn
Mart Laanpere, PhDHead of the Centre for Educational
TechnologyTallinn University
Estonia: facts & figuresO Population: 1,3 millionO Tallinn: 400 000O Area: larger than
the NetherlansO Estonian is the mother
tongue: 65%O In NATO: since 2003O In EU: since 2004O In Schengen: since 2007O EURO currency: since 2011O 520 K-12 schools, 14 000
teachers, 148 000 pupils
Teacher’s salary
PISA results
2006 2009 2012
Maths 7% 4 13% 3 10% 1
Reading 12% 3 12% 2 9% 1
Science 7% 2 8% 2 5% 1
In additionO Estonian pupils are the most active
users of e-school and school web siteO Only 66% of Estonian pupils feel
happy at schoolO Only 14% on the level 5-6 (maths)O Boys’ reading skills are worseO Differences between schools with
Estonian and Russian language of instruction
IT in schools:Estonian
Juku computers
E-mail projects, PCs for schools
1986
Tiger Leap Foundation, 1st strategy
1993
Internet arrives Estonia
New national curriculu
m
19971989
Graduated teachers’ college
Became school
principal
In TLF regional
committee
Miksike, Teachers
portal
TigerLeap +
Intel TTF,Digital content
1998
CNC, anima, variety of trainings
2002
New nat-l curriculu
m,Moodle
E-uni, IT Foundatio
n
20042001
IT in teacher ed, VIKO, MA
Educ. multimedia
Tiger in Focus, IVA,
DigiDidaktika
TiF 2, study on IT & school culture
WebCTarrives Estonia
3rd strategy: Learning Tiger
TLF strategy,
indicators, SITES, iTEC
2006
Nat-l strategy of
lifelong learning
2020
2010
HavikeNew nat-l curriculum, iPads
20132008
Calibrate, LeMill, TATS, PETS, Deer
Leap
Koolielu portal, MA EdTech,
OER, EduFeedr
Dippler, TEL@workpl
aceDLE, DigiComp
E-VET
IEA SITES 2006-2008
Vocabulary shifts in national ICT strategies for education
O 1986: programming is the second literacy for each citizen of the Soviet Union!
O 1997: school computerisation, use of ITO 2001: ICT integration in schools &
curriculaO 2006: e-learning environments,
methodsO 2012: learning and teaching in the
digital ageO 2014: digital turn towards 1:1
computing, educational cloud, e-textbooks, e-schoolbag
Tiger Leap: ups & downs
O Success factors: O Flexibility, support for innovators, agilityO IT managers in schools, infrastructure
upgradesO Well designed and managed teacher trainingO TLF: small team (no IT experts), NGO, funding,
PRO Failures:
O Collaboration with different partnersO Little research, no evidence-based policiesO Moore’s chasm not crossedO Loss of vision, replacing with indicators
No clear paradigmO Programming as the second literacy?O Key skills for today’s jobs?O Improving access to learning resources?O Modernizing the learning environment?O Catalyst for wider educational change?O Looking for “silver bullet”, that can
provide measurable success, understandable by laymen (politicians), within 4 years
How to measure the impact?
O Conference in Astana: scientific proof needed!O Tiger in Focus, SITES and other studies: no impact on
grades, school budget, minor impact on paradigm shiftO Tiger Leap commissioned a whole-class 1:1 laptop
study, teachers: no need to change, students: take them away!
O OLPC & Inter-America Bank: 2.5million laptops later, no or marginal effect on learning outcomes (math test scores)
O Systemic approach is needed: infrastructure, services, educational technology support, staff training, leadership, curriculum reform, research-based decisions, room for experimentation and failures
3 generations of TEL systems
Dimension 1.generation 2.generation 3.generation
Software architecture
Educational software
Course management systems
Digital Learning Ecosystems
Pedagogical foundation
Bihaviorism Cognitivism Knowledge building, connectivism
Content management
Integrated with code
Learning Objects, content packages
Mash-up, remixed, user-generated
Dominant affordances
E-textbook, drill & practice, tests
Sharing LO’s, forum discussions, quiz
Reflections, collab. production, design
Access Computer lab in school
Home computer Everywhere – thanks to mobile devices
National Lifelong Learning Strategy 2014 – 2020: rationaleO “Use of ICT” model, based on computer
labs, has reached its limitsO PPT/IWB is not enough, does not change
learningO E-learning (Moodle) model did not take off,
does not suit primary and secondary schools
O No good ideas for e-textbook model in current settings (1 computer lab per school)
O Ergo: learning in the digital age, 1:1 and BYOD model, digital learning ecosystem
LLS2020: Action PlanO Digital turn in formal education system: digital
culture into curricula, bottom-up innovation, sharing good practice, educational technologists in schools
O Digital learning resources: digital textbooks, OER, quality management, recommender systems
O Digital infrastructure for learning : 1:1 computing, BYOD, interoperable ecosystem of services, mobile clients, school-wide digital turn (first in 20 pilot schools, then in others)
O Digital competences of teachers and students: competence models, self-assessment tools, mapping with course offerings and accreditation procedures, updating initial teacher education curricula
MA Programme: Ed. TechnologyO Intake: 15 experienced teachers enroll every year,
based on competence-based e-portfolioO Envisaged jobs: educational technologist, technology
integration specialist, instructional designer, HRDO Blended learning: blog-based Personal Learning
Environment + contact hours: every second weekendO Duration: 2 years, 120 ECTSO Structure: general courses 8 ECTS, specialisation
courses 66 ECTS, free electives 16, thesis 30 ECTSO Instructional design; Learning environments; Digital
learning resources; Knowledge management; Innovation management; Learning analytics …
Thank you!O Questions?
Teacher education in EstoniaO Initial teacher education: on the Masters’
level, 120 ECTS (incl. thesis)O Tallinn University and University of Tartu are
the largest providers, others are teacher colleges in Narva, Rakvere, Haapsalu, also music and arts academies as well as Tallinn University of Technology
O Successful “Teach First” programme O In-service teacher education: teachers are
expected to attend 160 hrs within 5 years, funded by MoER
O A dedicated 80 hrs programme “Teacher of the Future” based on ISTE NETS-T standard
Teacher education: innovationO Centres of Educational Innovation in Tallinn
& TartuO Curricula renewed to meet the new
teachers’ professional qualification standard, more and earlier practice in schools
O Experimental curriculum for science teachers
O New portal eDidaktikum.ee, created by the consortium of teacher education institutions
O Educational technology: DigiTurn programme for school teams in TLU, sponsored by Samsung
Thank you!O Questions?