Support for purchase of digital
learning resources
Lone Ring, Special Advisor
Kristian Kallesen, Senior Consultant
Danish Ministry of Education
UNI•C – National Agency for IT and Learning
Extract for EdReNe seminar
November, 2013
Government strategy on ICT in the
compulsory school sector
Initiatives in the government strategy:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Support the purchase of digital learning resources in order to develop a
sustainable market and a supply of high quality digital learning resources
Access to efficient and sufficient infrastructure for all pupils, students and
teachers
Transparent goals for the use of ICT and digital learning resources
Research and pilot projects on ICT-based learning
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Side 2
Support the purchase of digital
learning resources
•
The government supports the municipalities’ purchase of digital learning resources in order to
develop a sustainable market and a supply of high quality digital learning resources; 400 M DKK
(M€ 50)
•
Increased demand for digital learning resources of high quality can encourage the producers to
improve the existing learning resources and develop new
•
Past experience with direct support for the development of new learning materials had no
permanent effect
o The Danish municipalities co-finance 50 % of the purchase of digital learning resources
o The digital learning resources must meet certain criteria in order to be eligible for government
grant, e.g.:
 Academic and pedagogical impact
 High degree of interactivity
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Side 3
Developing a sustainable market
2015
2014
2013
2012
50 mio. DKK
(M€ 7)
Digital learning
resources in Danish,
mathematics, English
and science.
Few criteria
23-10-2013
80 mio. DKK
(M€ 10)
Digital learning
ressources in all
subjects.
Adjustment of the
criteria on the basis
of current
knowledge.
Further adjustment
of the criteria on the
basis of newly gained
knowledge.
Target:…”a highly
developed and
sustainable market for
digital learning
resources.”
Side 4
Criteria
 The digital learning resources must meet certain criteria in order to be eligible
for government grant
 The criteria are developed on the basis of current knowledge of the effect of
the digital learning resources and keep being developed as we gain new
knowledge.
 However, we must also take into consideration the needs of the producers of
long-term planning in order to develop new materials.
 Balance between setting realistic criteria, pushing the producers in a new
direction and developing the market in a pace, where the teachers keep up
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Side 5
The criteria in general
 Support the political agreement on the reform of the Danish
“Folkeskole”: How to make a good school better and the development of
digital learning resources with an academic and pedagogical impact
 Accessibility for pupils and students with reading and writing
difficulties
 Increased flexibility and transparency in the market in order to help
the buyers (municipalities, schools and teachers)
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Side 6
Criteria







Developed for teaching
All subjects in the Danish “folkeskole”
Academic and pedagogical impact
Being online-based
High degree of interactivity
Subscriptions of maximum three years
Registration on “Materialeplatformen”
– a digital learning resource repository
- with information on:
 Which operating systems and types
of tablets/computers can be used
 Which web-browsers can be used
 How to log on to the digital
learning resource
 Copyright
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Recommendations





Accessibility for pupils and students
with reading and writing difficulties
Interdisciplinary use
Flexibility concerning steering systems,
types of tablets/computers, browsers
and data storage
Common logon
Can be bought for short periods of
time and in smaller parts
Side 7
What is a high degree of interactivity?
 Interactivity based on dialogue
 Interactivity providing control options
 Interactivity allowing manipulation
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Side 8
Transparent goals for the use of ICT and
digital learning resources
• Network of school principals has been established in order to
o facilitate local change management, e.g. local goals for the use of ICT
o support the increased and qualified use of ICT
o share knowledge
• Research project with demonstration schools on combining the national
learning objectives with the digital learning resources
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Side 9
Research and pilot projects on ICT-based
learning
The purpose is to generate new knowledge on ICT and learning
– e.g. how digital learning ressources can support the pupils’ learning and free up
time for more teaching.
Four projects starting in January 2014 on the themes:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Student involvement and own production
Inclusion and differentiated teaching
Teachers' ICT didactic skills
New ways of organizing teaching
The research projects are executed by consortiums consisting of universities,
teachers’ training colleges and 21 public schools (”demonstration schools”).
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Side 10
Other initiatives
• Evaluation of the effects of digital learning resources
• Teacher network in order to develop ICT-didactic skills and share knowledge on
the use of digital learning resources
• Network on development of future digital learning resources: producers, users,
government, municipalities, scientists
• Public available evaluation / recommendations of digital learning resources in
order to make the market more transparent and guide teachers and other buyers
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Side 11