Abstract :
This paper reports the results of a study on strategic planning and implementation
of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and
describes the level of quality awareness in web-based teaching at the University
of Helsinki. Questionnaire survey data obtained from deans and institutional
leaders, ICT support staff, teachers and students (
n
=
333) at the University
indicate that strategic planning has proceeded well, and all the faculties of the
University have developed virtual university strategies in order to continue
existing ICT initiatives, to further increase the use of ICT in teaching and to
assure student information literacy. The data indicate that all the faculties and
institutions have monitored and reported the use of ICT in teaching, but quality
assurance or enhancement as tools for monitoring were mentioned less frequently.
The available ICT training was found satisfactory to meet the actual
training needs of the teachers, but their lack of time was judged to be the main
obstacle to their participation in it. The teachers identified two basic functions
of ICT in teaching: (1) distribution of course material via the web, and (2)
the creation of interactive and collaborative learning opportunities. The male
teachers and students consistently estimated that their ICT skills were stronger
when compared with the judgements made by female teachers and students.
The teachers generally felt that the greatest problems arose from students’ lack
of time management skills and from deficiencies in the usability of the technology.
The students did not perceive lack of time management as a problem.
Rather, they experienced isolation, loneliness and the lack of practical ICT
usability to be the main obstacles to learning. The teachers had a higher assessment
of students’ learning than the students did. The greatest difference
between teachers and students concerned the contextual nature of learning in
a virtual environment. The fact that the teachers’ views were markedly more
positive signals a distinct challenge for pedagogy.
