A Computer Supported Cooperative Learning Course To Promote The Use Of ICT In Practical And Creative Education

Vol. 4 No. 3

Year:

2009

Issue: Dec-Feb

Title: A Computer Supported Cooperative Learning Course To Promote The Use Of ICT In Practical And Creative Education 

Author Name: Gisli Thorsteinsson, Tom Page 

Synopsis: 

Learning scientists have discovered that deep learning is more likely to occur in complex social and technological environments, one example of this is computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) situations.  This was the main guideline when partners of Socrates Comenius 2.1-project FISTE (A Future Way for In-Service Teacher Training Across Europe) started to plan and implement an online-course for European teachers.  The result of FISTE partners’ collaboration, an online-course called aimed at introducing the course participants, the European teachers, to new opportunities and ideas how to use ICT pedagogically in teaching.  This in turn could offer them possibilities for sharing their experiences and good pedagogical practices and also to encourage them to consider the meaning of collaboration in teaching and learning. The course lasted for six months and it included six different units which involved both technical and pedagogical issues considering the pedagogical use of ICT.  The experiences the participants and the FISTE-tutors had during the course were mostly positive and encouraging, yet all the people who were involved with the course felt it was quite a challenging experience because it included so many new things to all participants.  This paper will present the main principles concerning the course, an overall introduction of the course content and also experiences the participants and the FISTE —partners gained during the course as tutors.