1. “Will you place it there?"
development of distance learning and use of learning management
systems at the upper secondary level in Iceland
June 12th 2010
Valencia
EDEN 2010 Annual Conference
Sólveig Jakobsdóttir, Associate professor, University of Iceland – School of Education,
soljak@hi.is
Kristín Helga Guðmundsdóttir, manager, Fjarkennsla.com, Iceland, samvil@simnet.is

2. A Summary of Headings (ASH)
• Few facts: Iceland, Internet use, education
• Introduction to the study
• The main focus of this presentation
• Results from interviews with 25 teachers 2007
• Trends from 2005 to 2009
– Results from interviews with 31
administrators
• Summary and Discussion

3. Few facts: Iceland, Internet, Education
• Population 320.000.
• The size is100.000 sqkm.
• Latitude – northerly 61-66°N.
• Reykjavík capital
• 93% of Icelanders reported using Internet, 100%
age 16-34, 2009.
• 31 upper secondary schools and half of the
schools are in the capital area where the majority
of the population lives.

4. Context
• Rapid changes in distance
education 1997-2008
– Students registered as distance
learners at the upper secondary
level in Iceland increased from 2%,
1997 to 24% 2008 and 22% 2009.
– Government policy 2001, 2005
facilitate distributed learning – study
anytime, anywhere.
• Some have questioned the
quality of distance education
(programs mainly run online)
at this school level.

5. Study: Mapping DE changes
• A. Principals or key DE admin,2005, 2006, 2009:
– all 29 schools, fall 2009 same schools plus two new
ones – 31 total. Telephone interviews
– Information: overall picture, technology, changes,
advantages, drawbacks to use of DE and LMS
• B. Teachers and students 2007
– Six schools (location, type of school, LMS).
– 25 teachers and 53 students interviewed
(most via phone) from six schools.
– More in-depth view of teaching and learning

6. Results reported earlier
Jakobsdóttir, S., Jónsson, S. F., Elfarsdóttir, T., &
Jóhannesdóttir, S. (2007). Regatta for life and
learning? Trends and blends in distance education
at the secondary level in Iceland. In A. Gaskell & A.
Tait (Eds.), The 12th Cambridge International
Conference on Open and Distance Learning.
Jakobsdóttir, S. (2008). Waltzing from needs and
necessity to comfort and convenience: Online and
distance learning at the upper secondary level. In J.
Luca & E. R. Weippl (Eds.), Proceedings of World
Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and
Telecommunications..

7. Among earlier results
• 2005-2006 Big range:
• “DE groups” 1 to 5
• LMS’s, videoconferences
• Blends: online+f2f
• Increase in use of LMS’s, and DE
• Students: number and type
• 2007: student voices: why DE – needs and
necessities to comfort and convenience

8. The focus of our paper
• How do teachers regard distance, online and
blended learning and/or the use of LMS for
teaching and learning?
• What are the main changes in the schools
concerning distance, online and blended
learning and the use of LMS's at the upper
secondary level in Iceland from 2005 to 2009?

9. Results from interviews with teachers, 2007
Attitude regarding distance education (DE)
Benefits 
• Increased opportunities for small schools in rural
areas.
• Increased flexibility - coordinate residence,
family, work and study.
• Students learn new practices.
• Increased freedom for teachers and be labor
saving in the long run.

10. ... Attitude regarding distance education
Drawbacks 
• Increased workload for teachers and isolation.
• Insufficient teacher-student interaction and
student-student interaction
• Is not for everyone – not all schools or learners.
• Greater risk of students: cheating and dropout.
• Technical problems.
DE requires self-control and maturity in students.

11. ... Attitude regarding distance education
Improvements
• Plan the DE programs well in the beginning.
• Get teachers´ team who teach the same subject
to design DE courses.
• Increase communication in the courses.
• Improve teachers' knowledge in information
technology.
• Increase technical assistance in the schools.
• Develop student assessment further.

12. LMS and its role
• Teachers are beginning to use LMS to manage
the courses taught both in face to face programs
and in DE programs
– Putting teaching material in LMS,
communicate with students, using interactive
tests and ratings of students.
– Mostly using only part of the built-in features.

13. Modified teaching methods – blended
learning
• Use of LMS appears to affect teaching.
• Changing from traditional learning to blended
learning.
• Rethinking use of f2f lessons
• Rethinking student assessment – more
continuous throughout the course

14. Modified teaching methods – blended
learning
Teacher:
“Face to face students often ask. Is this in LMS,
will you place it there?”
Teacher:
“teachers are using LMS and the kids are
beginning to becoming addicted to this ...
It is a pressure on teachers ... I understand that
time is changing...“

15. Administrators attitude regarding the use of
LMS’s
• The administrators tended to be very pleased
with the use of the LMS’s.
• LMS improves information flow between
teachers and students both in DE and in face to
face teaching.
• Financial cuts in relation to DE after 2008.

16. The choice of LMS
9
11
7
5
3
10
11
10
3 3
2 22
3
11
14
12
2
0 0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
2005 2006 2009 2010-11 (projected)
Commercial Foreign Commercial Icelandic Homemade Icelandic Open Source Moodle None

17. Choice of LMS
2006
• The language (Icelandic).
• Access and user-friendly
interface.
• Development and adaptions.
• Connection with other
systems.
• Cost.
• Timing/history (best system
when chosen).
• Eexperiencee.
• Ideology (open source).
2009
• COST
• Experience of others

18. Effects of the Financial Crash
• Administrators in schools with DE students were
worried because DE financial cuts (50%).
• Some were trying to minimize the effects for the
learners involved –even if it cost the schools
money, hoping that the situation would improve
within a year or two.
• Main DE groups affected were distance learners
from the lower secondary level – who had been
doing very well (low drop-out); and/or adult
learners

19. • DE and use of LMS’s have been thriving at
the upper secondary level in Iceland. The
financial crash is having effects in various
ways on that development.
• Issues of quality are important.
• Collaboration between schools should be
explored.

20. Summary and Discussion
• Most participants were positive towards distance
education and although they think it does not
suit everyone – not all schools or learners.
• Schools are starting to rely on LMS’s and there
is increased use of them in all schools among
learners, teachers and administrators.
• Clear trend towards the use of open source
software is evident probably to a large extent as
a result of the financial crash.

21. Project Leader
• Sólveig Jakobsdóttir, Associate professor, University of
Iceland – School of Education, soljak@hi.is
Other Researchers
• 2009: Kristín H. Guðmundsdóttir, Fjarkennsla.com
• 2006-2007: Sigurður Fjalar Jónsson, Sigurbjörg
Jóhannesdóttir, G. Þórhildur Elvarsdóttir
• The study was supported by the Iceland University of
Education (IUE) Research Fund. IUE merged with
University of Iceland (UI) July 2008 to form the UI -
School of Education.

22. Acknowledgement
Thanks to you – our audience
To all of our study participants