ABSTRACT
The case study represents an example of a top-down introduction of distance teaching as part of Danish trials with the introduction of multimedia in education. The study is concerned with the background, aim and context of the trial as well as the role and working of the technology and the organisational set-up. On the basis of an analysis of the problems met by different actors – mainly teachers and students – it is debated which kind of social learning has taken place. The background and justification for the distance learning pilot on Bornholm was recognition of the lack of suitable educational possibilities combined with the increased emigration of young students from the island of Bornholm to other parts of Denmark. The case study shows that the introduction of distance teaching on Bornholm created a working situation based on the implementation of a very inflexible video-conference system without any proactive consideration of organisational change or pedagogical development. It even proved difficult to establish the necessary resources to support the working of the technical system. The innovation process included very limited awareness or consideration of the organisational and pedagogical implications. The analysis further emphasises the asymmetrical relation between the sending and receiving institutions and the context of a centre-periphery debate on economic development and education.
