Tieto- ja viestintätekniikan pedagoginen vaikuttavuus pohjoisessa Suomessa

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pedagogical impact of information and communication technology (ICT) from the perspectives of the teacher, student and school. The study involved both a qualitative and a quantitative component. The qualitative data consisted of teacher (N = 33) interviews, questionnaires directed to teachers (N = 32) and student (N = 90) interviews in twelve northern Finnish primary and lower secondary schools. The aim of the qualitative study was to study what kind of pedagogical teaching practices the teachers were using to support learning, what kind of learning skills and information society skills the educational use of ICT has inspired in the students, and what the structures and dimensions of the teachers' networks are like. The quantitative data consisted of a questionnaire addressed to 6th-graders (N = 1868) and 9thgraders (N = 4132). The sample was national in coverage. The quantitative research focused on students' learning processes, especially their motivation and cognitive strategies and the impact of ICT on these processes. It was also studied how the students' own interests and the school's role were related to their learning strategies and beliefs about learning. The qualitative research results indicated that teachers used ICT mostly to support students' individual and independent learning. Teachers utilized ICT quite little as a tool for knowledge building and knowledge sharing (such as problem-based or collaborative learning). The findings also indicated that the teachers used ICT to enrich their existing practices. The students considered tasks requiring information retrieval, evaluation of information and teamwork skills to be the most challenging and at the same time most inspiring. The results indicated that assignments based on students' individual work did not inspire them to learn. Further, the impact of ICT was significant on teachers who participated in different networks. Active networks inspired teachers to plan how to use ICT in their teaching and also added to collaboration and sharing of expertise between the networked participants. The interaction in the teachers' networks focused on technical issues, however, and collaboration related to the pedagogical use of ICT was rare. The quantitative research results indicated that the students' enthusiasm for using ICT and their experiences of ICT being supported by the school were related to their attitudes towards studying and learning new concepts, their learning motivation and their own ideas of their abilities as learners. In conclusion, we can say that teachers should have stronger views on appropriate approaches to the pedagogical use of ICT in teaching. The goals and objectives for the use of ICT should become the common cause of the entire school community. To put pedagogical reforms into effect, the schools should pay increased attention to evaluate and develop the pedagogical aims of ICT, to establish a school culture that supports the educational use of ICT, and to promote the networking of teachers and sharing of information with the various actors and stakeholders.