Finnish Innovations and Technologies in Schools : A Guide Towards New Ecosystems of Learning

This book combines several perspectives on the steps the Finnish educational system has taken to provide students with the skills and competences needed for living in today’s society and in the future. The ecosystem is used as a metaphor for the educational system. The Finnish system aims to achieve sustainable education by ensuring that the system is simultaneously interconnected and open to transformations. The book describes how a flexible curriculum system is succeeding without the pressures of high-stake testing. It also illustrates how the ongoing curriculum reform of the basic education is working. The book brings together knowledge gained in schools through the cooperation of researchers, teachers, school principals, the public sector, and private companies. The book presents case studies of technology integration aimed at crossing boundaries in formal and informal learning settings, locally and globally. The contributors address 21st-century needs and requirements through learner-driven knowledge creation, collaboration, networking, and digital literacies. It opens new scenarios of how to apply digital storytelling and games connecting fun, motivation, and learning. The strong message is that, through collaboration and networking, we can create an educational ecosystem that supports different learners. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Finnish Educational Ecosystem....Pages 3-19 A New Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education (2014) and Technology as an Integrated Tool for Learning....Pages 21-32 Front Matter....Pages 33-33 Global is Becoming Everywhere....Pages 35-47 Digital Storytelling in Finnish Schools....Pages 49-56 Science through the Camera Lens....Pages 57-66 Front Matter....Pages 67-67 Angry Birds for Fun in Learning 1 ....Pages 69-76 Learning by Teaching....Pages 77-85 Learning by Creating Educational Exergames....Pages 87-96 Front Matter....Pages 97-97 The Innovative School as an Environment for the Design of Educational Innovations....Pages 99-113 Building an Ecosystem for Developing Educational Use of Technology in Finnish Schools....Pages 115-128 Inspiration, Joy, and Support of Stem for Children, Youth and Teachers through the Innovative Luma Collaboration....Pages 129-144 The International Millennium Youth Camp as an Active Learning Ecosystem for Future Scientists....Pages 145-153 Schools and Companies in a Co-Configurative Collaboration....Pages 155-163 Epilogue....Pages 165-169 Back Matter....Pages 171-175 COLLABORATIVE AND ITERATIVE PLANNING OF THE NEW NATIONAL CORE CURRICULUM IN FINLANDCONCLUSION; REFERENCES; PART II:GLOBAL SHARING PEDAGOGY WITH VIDEO STORYTELLING; 3. GLOBAL IS BECOMING EVERYWHERE:Global Sharing Pedagogy; ABSTRACT; INTRODUCTION; A BOUNDLESS AND FLAT WORLD: CHANGING LEARNING; TOWARDS GLOBAL SHARING PEDAGOGY; Experience, Technology and Learning; LEARNERS' AGENCY AND ENGAGEMENT IN LEARNING; MEDIATORS OF LEARNING IN GSP; GLOBAL SHARING PEDAGOGY IN SCHOOLS?; Engagement; Learner-Driven Knowledge and Skills Creation; Collaboration; Networking; Media Competencies and Digital Literacy TABLE OF CONTENTS; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; PROLOGUE:Towards a Global Ecosystem; PART I:FRAMES FOR THE FUTURE AND 21ST-CENTURY SKILLS; 1. THE FINNISH EDUCATIONAL ECOSYSTEM:Working for Equity and High Learning utcomes; ABSTRACT; INTRODUCTION; THE FINNISH EDUCATIONAL ECOSYSTEM; High Learning Outcomes; Equity as a Basic Value; Flexible Education System for Lifelong Learning (LLL); Local Freedom and Responsibility; Support Systems; Enhancement-led and Formative Evaluation Policy for Promoting Quality; High-Quality Teachers and Teacher Education; NEW LEARNING SPACES CREATE NEW DEMANDS FOR ECOSYSTEMS GLOBAL SHARING IN DIFFERENT LEARNING SPACESREFERENCES; 4. DIGITAL STORYTELLING IN FINNISH SCHOOLS; ABSTRACT; INTRODUCTION; Learning and Teaching with Digital Storytelling; Digital Storytelling with MoViE; RESEARCH METHODS AND DATA COLLECTION; FINDINGS; Digital Storytelling Projects in the Classes; Teachers' Experiences about Using Digital Storytelling in Teaching; Learning with Digital Stories; DISCUSSION; REFERENCES; 5. SCIENCE THROUGH THE CAMERA LENS; ABSTRACT; INTRODUCTION; Discovering a New Pedagogy; FRAMEWORK OF THE TEACHING EXPERIMENT; Implementation in the Classroom Challenges and How They Were MetRESEARCH METHODS AND DATA COLLECTION; JOY OF FILMING; CONCLUSIONS; REFERENCES; PART III: GAMES FOR LEARNING:Learning with Motivation and Engagement; 6. ANGRY BIRDS FOR FUN IN LEARNING; ABSTRACT; INTRODUCTION; THEORETICAL BACKGROUND; Play and Learning in Early Childhood; Playful Learning Environment; Interest and Engagement Improve Learning; RESEARCH METHODS AND DATA COLLECTION; FINDINGS; DISCUSSION; NOTE; REFERENCES; 7. LEARNING BY TEACHING:A Game-Based Approach; ABSTRACT; INTRODUCTION; SMARTKID MATH - TEACHING THE GAME CHARACTER THE FINNISH EDUCATIONAL ECOSYSTEM IS A LIVING SYSTEMREFERENCES; 2. A NEW FINNISH NATIONAL CORE CURRICULUM FOR BASIC EDUCATION (2014) AND TECHNOLOGY AS AN INTEGRATED TOOL FOR LEARNING; ABSTRACT; INTRODUCTION; Values Underlying the Core Curriculum; Municipalities as Education Providers and Curriculum Creators; Teachers as Autonomous Executives of the Curriculum; CURRENT INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL TRENDS INFLUENCING THE DESIGN OF THE CORE CURRICULUM; 21st-Century Movement; The Role of ICT and Media in Education; Versatile Environments for Learning This book is a memoir in poetry about family stories, mother-daughter relationships, womens work, mothering, writing, family secrets, and patterns of communication in close relationships. Faulkner knits connections between a DIY (do-it-yourself) value, economics, and family culture through the use of poems and images, which present four generations of women in her family and trouble womens work of mothering, cooking and crafting.