Promoting Access to Learning in Rural Europe: New Roles for Teachers through Distance Training Sofoklis Sotiriou Pavlos Koulouris Manos Apostolakis Ellinogermaniki Agogi, Greece

‘rural learning’: vehicle to development  Rural areas: more than 91 % of the EU territory, more than 56 % of EU population  Rural development an issue of priority  Rural development: far more than agriculture (environment, quality of produce, competitiveness, quality of life, attractiveness of rural areas to young farmers and new residents)  The role of education and training is crucial: better educated rural citizens of all ages and backgrounds, with ample life-long learning opportunities and access to the contemporary resources of the Information Society and the Knowledge Economy, can resist urbanisation tendencies, protect the natural and human resources of the countryside, understand the new challenges for rural Europe, and respond to them with new initiatives, flexibility and adaptability  "rural learning“: all levels of education, from primary to tertiary, all forms of learning, from formal to informal, from conventional professional training to open and distance learning, have to respond in a coherent and creative fashion

The role of new technologies for capacity building in the rural space  “ICT: a role to play for capacity building in disadvantaged populations and areas”  inclusive Information Society – reducing the digital divide  quality of life improved – employment opportunities increased  rural areas’ integration into the knowledge-based economy  technology-enhanced lifelong learning:  opportunities for rural citizens to interact with contemporary knowledge and artefacts, in a continuous line of personal involvement from childhood to third age  opportunities to collaborate with each other and across age group borders, so that the rural community as a whole will produce its own sustainable solutions to create conditions for rural development and well-being.

Small rural schools: ‘borderers’ of the education system  Providing the children of remote areas with the access to education which all children are entitled to.

‘social capital’  “…social organization and resources embedded in the social structure of the rural communities, which can facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit, and thus community development”  A positive influence on economic development  The rural school: an important element in the community’s social capital

Rural schools as social capital and their crucial role for community development  Rural schools: access to education; a promise for a brighter future; keeping small aging communities ‘alive’  Small size of the rural community  strong connections among rural students, teachers, parents and community  Communities depend on their schools to serve many functions beyond educating children (social, recreational, cultural)  Students can engage in community-based learning

Crossing the boundaries  How to build strong linkages between schools and communities (Miller 1995)  The school as a community centre, a resource for lifelong learning; delivery of other services. School facilities, technology, and a well-educated staff can provide a range of educational and retraining opportunities for the community.  The community as curriculum, students generate information for community development by studying the community  School-based enterprise, developing entrepreneurial skills; students identify needs in their rural communities, and establish a business to address those needs.

 Rural schools:  a difficult environment for the teacher

Difficulties  Small number of school-age children in today’s rural communities  Unwillingness of new teachers to serve in these schools  Not easy to provide conventional professional development:  distance, costs, lack of substitute teachers  Rural vs Urban: the consequences of a widening socioeconomic and digital divide

Multigrade teaching  A difficult environment  Lack of training and support  Teachers are left alone to explore and learn multigrade teaching on their own.

However…  …a skilful and devoted teacher may be able to turn the small rural school environment into an advantage for his students, himself, as well as the wider local community.

Our focus  Supporting rural teachers to respond to old and new challenges  Harnessing technology potential to offer solutions for the provision of appropriate distance training and support to rural educators, so that they can better fulfil their demanding roles in the rural school and the surrounding community  Designing, piloting, and evaluating schemes of distance training, support and networking aiming to alleviate the isolation of teachers working in remote schools and support them in taking over new developmental roles, exploiting to the full possibilities offered by new technologies

Using ICT  Different forms of technology-supported learning and distance education models have been tried in the past  Our response to the challenges:  Alleviating teachers’ isolation through distance training, support and networking opportunities.

Our main questions  What is the appropriate content for the professional development and support activities?  How appropriate are the various available and emerging delivery technologies?  What are some possible extensions to conventional e-learning technologies and practices, which could help teachers learn as individuals and to learn from each other, participating in a sustainable lifelong learning network?

Our course in the past six years Teachers’ competence development through training content delivered over the web (MUSE project)Teachers’ competence development through training content delivered over the web (MUSE project) Testing more advanced technologies for broadband delivery over satellite, while continuing to further develop the content (ZEUS and RURAL WINGS projects)Testing more advanced technologies for broadband delivery over satellite, while continuing to further develop the content (ZEUS and RURAL WINGS projects) Development of a network (NEMED) and an increased interest in concepts and tools related to lifelong learning networks (NEMED, RURAL WINGS)Development of a network (NEMED) and an increased interest in concepts and tools related to lifelong learning networks (NEMED, RURAL WINGS)

The training content  Professional development along three main axes:  Use of ICT in teacher’s work, both for teaching and administrative purposes.  Application of teaching and learning approaches which are most appropriate for the multigrade classroom.  Turning the rural teacher into a change agent and development catalyst in the community.

The e-learning technologies  E-learning environments:  satellite telecommunications for broadband delivery of rich educational content  synchronous (videoconferencing, application sharing, chatting)  asynchronous (web-based learning through structured access to a rich pool of educational content, and networking)

Turning the school into a ‘Learning Hub’ open to the local community

 New leadership roles for rural school teachers  Inviting the teacher to work with, and for, the local community                

Inviting the teacher to become a change agent in the community  He/she will catalyse innovation and development in the school and the local community  He/she will turn the declining school into a lively node supporting lifelong learning for everyone  The rural school will become more responsive to the growth and survival needs of its community  Education will develop responsible citizens and create opportunities for tomorrow's rural leaders to emerge

A model for training delivery

The networking technology  The NEMED web portal:  a lively virtual space of structured exchange between network partners (open to everyone)

A repository of teaching and learning resources connected to multigrade education, jointly created and updated by the teachers – network members

Evaluation  Training schemes piloted have been subjected to close monitoring and evaluation  technological appropriateness  pedagogical potential and outcomes  Main instruments  surveys based on questionnaires and interviews  field observations and video recordings  Case-study oriented approach  following the development of informants’ views, behaviours and stances  Evaluation activities cluster around three main points on the timeline of a training project:  before the outset of the course  after the completion of the first cycle  after the completion of the whole course, at the end of the second cycle  Careful sampling

Challenges / outstanding questions  We want to elaborate further our vision of lifelong learning for rural teachers, and its connections with the concepts of competence development and lifelong learning network  We are investigating tools and methodologies which can:  foster the improvement of personal competences in rural teachers, and  encourage and facilitate a teacher’s contributions to the development of the other teachers.

Figure 3: Teachers’ suggestions for improvements

Outstanding questions  Revisiting the training delivery model mentioned above, at the micro level:  aiming to incorporate methods and tools facilitating informal learning through peer interaction

Outstanding questions re. technology  Which technologies are able to support rural teachers, both as individuals and as members of teams, to further develop their competences making use of the distributed knowledge and learning resources available?

Outstanding questions re. technology  The NEMED portal:  So far, a repository of teaching and learning resources jointly updated by its members, and a place of exchange and contact.  How else? What else?  RURAL WINGS:  An opportunity to organise numerous learning resources and diverse learners in rural communities into meaningful, working networks fostering lifelong learning and competence development.

The notion of communities of practice A powerful conceptual tool: people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly  We are aiming to enable the development of a community of practice of rural teachers

Community of practice: How?  A shared domain of interest: the development of multigrade teaching competences  We need to establish and sustain members’ commitment to the domain  We need to facilitate community development by assisting teachers to:  engage in joint activities and discussions  help each other  share information and learn from each other, while pursuing their interest in their domain.

A community of practice rather than a mere community of interest  Rural teachers developing a shared repertoire of resources – a shared practice:  Experiences  Stories  Tools  Ways of addressing recurring problems in their small rural school, etc.

Questions - problems  This takes time  It requires sustained interaction  How can technology support activities through which communities develop their practice?  problem solving  requests for information  experience seeking  reusing of assets  coordination and synergy  discussion of developments  mapping of knowledge, identification of gaps, etc.

  How can this be designed and realised given current technological developments? multi-user virtual environments (virtual worlds)?