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A comparative analysis among Romanian regions on the acceptance of computers and eLearning
Abstract
Romania has to face a great number of challenges linked to the spreading of the Information and Communication Technologies and the development of a knowledge-based society and of Lifelong Learning for all the persons involved in educational processes. These challenges have been integrated into national educational programs and have been supported by general social actions. E-learning is a common place and a widely spread educational tool. In this context, our aim is to focus on the importance of using Information and Communication Technologies in a learning society in order to ensure the possibilities for Lifelong Learning and to cope with all the social and professional imperatives. In order to develop e-learning programs at all educational levels (including Lifelong Learning), it is important for every person involved in social or training activities to have a positive attitude towards the use of technology and performance expectancy. We have analyzed the influence of the variable geographical regions in Romania on computer literacy, performance expectancy, attitude towards the use of technology, for a large number of subjects.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the process used by learners to seek, locate, and integrate information resources
for use in a project-based environment. Four cases (n=9) were analyzed from an introductory educational technology course
during a unit on telecommunications. Participants were asked to generate projects for integrating the Internet into the curriculum.
Within this project-based context, learners searched for information resources that would accompany their project ideas. Three
major findings related to use of hypermedia systems during project-based learning are discussed: (a) progressing from data-driven
to goal-driven approaches was critical to developing coherent project ideas; (b) consolidation of information resources with
project methods and rationales was challenging for learners, often resulting in topic “drifts” or idea simplification; and
(c) metacognitive, domain, and system knowledge appeared critical to achieving coherence in project development. Implications
related to the role of instructional scaffolding in encouraging goal-driven and metacognitive processing during open-ended
learning are considered.
The European e-Learning Forum for Education (ELFE) is a project initiated by the ETUCE (European Trade Union Committee on
Education). An important objective of the project has been to study good experiences with implementing the use of ICT in schools.
This objective has been broken down in seven operational research questions. Three of these questions will be discussed in
this article: (1) What difference does the use of ICT make in schools where ICT is intensively used for instructional/pedagogical
purposes? (2) How are the students influenced by this different way of teaching as compared to the traditional classroom education,
both individually and as a collective? 3) What factors influence the intensive pedagogical use of ICT? The ELFE study applied
a case study approach. Three innovative schools in each of five European countries (Denmark, England, Germany, Norway and
Portugal) were purposively selected. Data were collected via questionnaires, interviews, observations and school documents.
The findings resulting from the ELFE schools case studies illustrate that the implementation of ICT for teaching and learning
may influence the functioning of schools in a number of ways. One can also conclude that students like working with computers
and that they have no ‘instrumental’ problems. A number of factors seem to influence the successful implementation of ICT
at school level such as a good infrastructure, a clear vision, policy and strategy. A crucial factor is support from national,
regional and local authorities, as well as from the school leadership and parents.