Ope.fi  was a major in service teacher training programme for teachers and local trainers carried out in three phases. It ran in the framework of the national strategy for education, training and research 2000-2004. Despite some difficulties in reaching the set target of teachers involved, the project contributed to improving teachers’ ICT skills significantly. Part of the specific training (in Phase III) is the ability to assist, support and train colleagues, develop the school community and act as a part of an expert network. One outcome of the evaluation in 2004 is the recommendation to continue training in the use of information and communications technologies in instruction. In the future, new models for in service training will be part of the teacher training strategy for 2006. The use of ICT will be integrated in continuing training and provided in support of curricular work and in training for institutional management. The aim is for at least 75% of teachers to have achieved skills as required in the pedagogical use of ICT by the year 2007.

1. Virtual School

The virtual school portal
The Virtual School project is part of the national Information Society Programme. The Virtual School project was launched in 1999 with the aim to develop the flexibility and diversity of the Finnish school system making use of information and communications technologies (ICT). The core of the Virtual School is a user interface known as a portal, which functions as a channel to disseminate best practices and offers information about study opportunities and learning materials. Responsibility for provision of virtual education lies with the schools and other educational institutions. The Virtual School portal is part of the online Edu.fi service maintained by the Finnish National Board of Education. The site can be found at www.edu.fi/viruaalikoulu (in Finnish).

Development projects
As well as producing the portal, the Virtual School project consists of several extensive development projects carried out in co-operation between education authorities, education providers and schools in order to develop and produce study modules, support services and learning materials. These projects also aim to find solutions to problems arising from new forms of study and to embed new methods as part of school practices. In addition, the projects aim to investigate education providers’ funding and co-operation models and the principles of teachers’ pay in provision of education. A further objective is to create opportunities for the private sector to participate in development work, in terms of teaching materials in particular.

In the vocational sector, networks of developers have been created around a specific qualification so that students can study parts or the whole qualification also online. Most often there is a combination of face-to-face and online learning. In primary and secondary education there are more local and regional approaches where online services are being developed in order to guarantee the supply of a wider set of courses or obligatory courses in the whole area, especially in sparsely populated areas of Eastern and Northern Finland.

One of the objectives set for the Virtual School is the development of flexible study opportunities that are of high pedagogical quality. Continuing teacher training in information and communications technologies has changed opinion on provision of education in that the opportunities provided by ICT can now be taken into account more effectively. In particular, project work and collaborative learning methods have benefited from information technology.

The spread of videoconferencing technology and the increasing capacity of information networks have made it possible to establish virtual teaching groups. However, access to high-speed network connections is still limited, which complicates the provision of distance education. Nevertheless, online pedagogy has found quite established forms in some places. On the other hand, broadband connections have only recently developed sufficiently to enable active and effective interaction. Information and communications technologies increase the opportunities of those residing far from regional centres to complete educational qualifications and modules, but ICT has not as yet been built into the education system as a whole. Distance education has progressed most in upper secondary schools.

Development networks are being established all the time, while new participants are joining various information society projects. From the perspective of the local authorities, regional teaching projects have proven to be effective activities that provide good services. Regional projects may become a significant trend in education provision, aiming to intensify sub-regional co-operation.

2. Ope.fi I

A three step process
The Finnish Ministry of Education has launched a programme called OPE.FI in order to improve the ICT-skills of the in-service teachers and teaching personnel. OPE.fi programme is in accordance with the European Commission action plan of eEurope – An Information Society for All –and has been divided in three different steps. The first of phase (Ope.fi I) comprises knowledge about the common uses of a computer, mastery of word processing, Internet browsers and e-mail, and an understanding of the principles of educational use of ICT. These are the skills that every teacher must master by the year 2004. The second step (Ope.fi II) provides skills in using ICT for educational purposes which at least half of the teachers must master by the year 2004. These include a versatile use of the e-mail, the www environment and groupware: generic tools, pedagogical applications and digital materials available in the subject taught and the principles of digital learning material production. The third step (ope.fi III) includes specialised knowledge which about 10 % of teachers must master by the year 2004. These are content-specific and professional applications, the production of digital learning materials, institutional information management and an ability to assist, support and train colleagues, develop the school community and act as a part of an expert network. The aims of the programme were defined in the national strategy for education, training and research in the information society for 2000-2004.

OPE.fi programme covers the teachers in pre-schools, comprehensive and upper secondary schools, vocational education and people's colleges and institutes. A teacher will be tutored by his colleague in the same school and by the same ICT-tools he uses in his normal working life.

National Board of Education finances the training of the tutors co-ordinated by the co-operating partner OPEKO (National Centre for Professional Development in Education) and provided by different training organisations. NBE also gives extensive financial support to the local authorities participating in this project.

Evaluation
Evaluation of the implementation of the Ope.fi -programme in 2002–2003 was completed in August 2004. When the Information Strategy for Education and Research was being prepared, demand for Ope.fi level I training was estimated at a level of about 7,500 people. However, it subsequently turned out that actual demand for training was considerably higher. In order to guarantee sufficient training, the Finnish National Board of Education set up a working group in June 2001 to steer implementation of Ope.fi level I training through a so-called Ope.fi project. The working group completed its work at the end of 2004.

The objective set in 2001 was for about 2,000 local trainers and 25,000 teachers to participate in the Ope.fi level I project between 2001 and 2004. At the beginning of the project, the focus was on pre-primary and basic education and on smaller municipalities. As from 2002, vocational education and training and liberal adult education were also included within the scope of the project. During 2001–2003, 1,385 trainers and 16,664 teachers participated in Ope.fi level I training courses. The objectives set in 2001 for the numbers of trainers and trainees will not be achieved. According to the steering group of the Ope.fi level I project, reasons for this include the exclusion of large cities from the programme (organising Ope.fi level I training themselves), the fact that the number of trainers in small municipalities was lower than expected, financial difficulties in municipalities and the decrease in the number of applications for assistance. Nevertheless, the project has proven to be necessary and teachers’ IT skills have improved significantly.

In 2000–2003, the total amount spent on Ope.fi training at levels I–III was about M€ 9.7. The number of teachers receiving training amounted to 18,200. The amount spent on training courses at Ope.fi levels II–III in 2002 totalled M€ 2.73, which made it possible to train 3,898 teachers. Similarly, the amount spent in 2003 to train 3,440 teachers was M€ 2.68.

One outcome of the evaluation is the recommendation to continue training in the use of information and communications technologies in instruction. In the future, the use of ICT will be integrated in continuing training provided in support of curricular work and in training for institutional management. Information and communications technologies will also be taken into account in continuing training focusing on different teaching subjects and cross-curricular themes. The pedagogical competence and good IT skills of staff at educational institutions enable development of their own work and reform of teaching methods. For this reason, training for educational staff in the pedagogical use of ICT will continue. The aim is for at least 75% of teachers to have achieved skills as required in the pedagogical use of ICT by the year 2007. Continuing training will also support educational institutions in their efforts to update their own ICT strategies and to implement and evaluate new operating methods.

The Lumipallo project
http://insight.eun.org/ww/en/pub/insight/policy/peer_reviews/lumipallo.htm

Country report on ICT in education, Finland
http://insight.eun.org/ww/en/pub/insight/misc/country_report.cfm

Policy Peer Reviews, ICT in education, Finland
http://insight.eun.org/shared/data/insight/documents/P2P_Finland.PDF