Abstract:

Joining the staff for teacher training in 1966, with a fresh degree in Physics and a solid basis in Mathematics, I had high aspirations for my role towards the national teaching profession. Students were selected on the basis of tough entrance criteria, now eager to make the most out of their studies. Students' attitudes and preferences changed, however. Hard sciences like Physics, were viewed as too demanding and technical, while social sciences, ecology and political subjects were more in demand.

Then another challenge came up, the computers and their possible role in education. The initial approaches were dominated by technocrats and business people who focused on technology and programming. At our institution, however, we rather early started diverging towards pedagogical approaches. When our first course for teachers started in 1983, the new students, who were actually experienced teachers, were told that we aimed at educational applications rather than technical skills. This attitude towards ICT in education gradually gained momentum, nationally and throughout Europe. Our initial courses for further education of teachers were soon worked into bachelor programmes, and from 2003, established as a standalone master’s programme at the institution.

Towards the turn of the millennium several European and national projects focused on distance education – or Open Learning (OL). Among four institutions we developed a new course in 1994, called Pedagogy in Open Learning (PiOL), delivered online to train educators in providing online learning. After several revisions, it is now offered as E-teaching I and II, each awarding 10 ECTS in study programmes. E-teaching I teaches how to practice on-line learning, and E-teaching II how to develop online courses. Both courses have caught great interest among professors at Third World universities where large groups of students cannot be accommodated on campus. United Nations University has recommended and supported this option for reaching out to vast groups of students through Internet.

Having had the responsibility for development and initial running the master’s programme ICT in Learning, as well as for both PiOL and E-teaching, it was time for my retirement in 2006. Then, in August 2014, a new challenge popped up: The College was in need of a Physics teacher for teacher students who had chosen Natural Science as their first year special. This was a temptation I could hardly resist, despite high age and over 30 years since my last lesson in Physics. Here I could both brush dust off my Physics knowledge and try to practice what I had been preaching about integration of ICT to other professors.

It took a couple of months to prepare a Campus Based e-Learning course in Physics, for a group of 12. Several documents were developed, like Course Description, Student Guide, Lab Instructions, Reflection guidelines and an Evaluation Form, all posted on the Fronter platform. Experiences from running the course, where all material was provided through the local LMS and the face time was used for detailed special presentations, practical lab work and discussions, as well as student reactions, their reflections after each module and their final evaluation of the course, are now being collected. This will all be analysed and recorded to improve the course. It has truly been a valuable experience so far, realising how hard it may be to put into practice what I have been telling others to do.

Keywords:

Teacher training, ICT in Physics, blended learning.