Dallas' Online Teaching Blog

Maybe we should look around for a better educational model.

I was looking for an article on a distance education high school in Finland when I came across this piece. The gest of the article is a comparison between the educational advancements of two European Union (EU) countries: Finland and Italy. Since the EU formed a cooperative aimed at increasing technology in education called the e-education forum is has been trying to bring about a balance among member countries. The problem is that no implementation guidelines were ever set; thus each country was free to pursue the problem of educational technology on its own. Italy, who had previously been well known for having the best schools in Europe throughout most of the 60's and 70's, chose a very different approach to that of Finland. Here is an excerpt:

For example, the development of global connection and distance learning are primary objectives for the Finnish, who strive to offer the same possibilities in communication and learning to the inhabitants of rural areas or residents of foreign countries. The Italians, on the other hand, give priority to updating infrastructures and the teaching staff to new technologies.

The Italian approach sounds eerily similar to that of the United States. Too much bureaucracy and concern for antiquated approaches. The Finns simply threw out preconceived notions of curriculum and based their standards on the country's economic reality. The article is very interesting. Here's the link: http://www.e.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=24566

posted by Dallas Becker @ 8:51 PM