Executive summary in E-learning Nordic 2006

In a partnership between the Finnish National Board of Education,
the Swedish National Agency for School Improvement, the Norwegian
Ministry of Education and Research, the Danish Ministry of
Education, and Ramboll Management, the study E-learning Nordic
2006 has been designed and launched. Ramboll Management is
responsible for the operational implementation of the study and
Ramboll Management is solely responsible for the analysis of the
results and all conclusions presented in this report.
ICT has been introduced into schools during the last 10-20 years,
and while many studies have analysed how ICT is used in schools
and how often, hardly any studies have taken this analysis to the
next level: What is the impact of ICT? By this, an important distinction
is made between ‘output’ and ‘impact’. Output refers to
the direct product of the activities that are carried out, such as
number of new computers purchased, number of lessons using
ICT, etc. Impact refers to the changes brought about by these activities,
in terms of for example improved learning.

The aim of E-learning Nordic 2006 is to discover and document the
impact of ICT on education within three key areas:
• Pupil performance
• Teaching and learning processes
• Knowledge-sharing, communication and home-school cooperation.
Ramboll Management is aware that defining and analysing impact
is no simple matter. There are many interrelated factors that can
have an impact on pupils’ learning, isolating the impact of just one
factor, such as ICT, therefore requires a well-considered approach.
Various methods can be used to measure impact; however they all
have their advantages and disadvantages. Ramboll Management
has chosen a method where different key participants in schools
are asked about their personal experiences using ICT and their
perception of the impact of ICT on the pupils’ learning. This is a
method that makes room for assessing the impact of ICT against
the background of the complex daily situations in school. With this
methodology we do not claim to prove a direct link between the
use of ICT and learning impact. However, by asking those who experience
the impact of ICT, we show how they assess it. This is the
perceived impact of the headmasters, teachers, pupils and the pupils’
parents. It may not be the actual impact, but it is the view
they themselves hold and express about the consequences of using
ICT in schools.
E-learning Nordic
8
Data collection in the study was based on an internet-based survey
conducted among 224 Nordic schools. More than 8000 persons
participated in the survey. Respondents were teachers in the 5th
and 8th grades in primary school and the 11th grade in secondary
school, pupils in all these grades, their parents, as well as the
headmasters at the participating schools. Furthermore, 12 followup
visits to schools in all four Nordic countries were carried out.
The data collection took place primarily in 2005.
Results of the E-learning Nordic 2006 show that ICT has a positive
impact on the schools’ overall target – improving the pupils’ learning.
But the study also indicates that the potential of ICT is not
being fully realised at all schools. The use of ICT as a tool for
pedagogical development is not in focus and the impact of ICT on
knowledge-sharing, communication and home-school co-operation
is only moderate. Below are presented the main results from Elearning
Nordic 2006 within the three key areas.
In the following chapter, we provide Ramboll Management’s assessment
of the strategic challenges facing the Nordic school systems
in the years to come, if the full impact of ICT is indeed to be
realised.