ABSTRACT
In this contribution, the learning economy of the Norwegian Education system is explored, in relation to the integration of computers and multimedia. With the concepts of domestication and social learning as analytical tools, the authors discuss how ICT is perceived and integrated into different localities of the education system. The focus is upon scenarios as well as the practices of ICT in teaching.
The authors show that there is a considerable flexibility in the understanding of the opportunities of ICT in education. The view that is represented in planning documents from the Ministry of Church, Education and Research (KUF) is rather conservative. ICT competence is presented as a necessary skill, thus the goal is to develop such competence, primarily in relation to word-processing, spreadsheets and the Internet. The number of computers available at each school becomes a major concern, together with the challenge to provide teachers with elementary computer skills.
The conservative scenario does however, not dominate every level of the educational system. We find schools and teachers domesticating ICT in completely different manners. Here, ICT is first and foremost perceived as a reform tool to improve teaching in general. However, the differences between schools are considerable. The ‘social innovations’ at the practical educational level, are is highly dependent on ‘resource’ persons/ICT enthusiasts. To learn from these practices there also has to be effective local learning economies that enables contact within each school and between different schools.
