瑞典學習圈（連載4）——學員在網際網路上相聚

2011年第二期第85頁

同世界各地一樣，自1990年代中期，瑞典的遠程教育利用現代信息和通訊技術（ICT）得到長足發展。其實，遠程教育在瑞典由來已久。自1898年第一所函授學校創建以來，遠程教育就在成人教育中起著重要作用。後來，其他函授學校紛紛效仿，1960年代，按人口比例，瑞典的遠程學生人數位居世界前茅。當時——1960年代——瑞典的人口約為750萬，而最大的函授學校註冊學生達到100,000人。

不過，1960年代末，全國各地都興起了成人教育學校(komvux，一種成人高中或中專)，而且全部免費。這改變了原來函授學校的狀況，它們或關門大吉，或規模銳減。

在1990年代之前，遠程教育主要以教師和每位學生的信函為基礎。然而，這種形式只適合最有雄心最有毅力的學生。但是，現代信息和通訊技術的突破改變了這一切。自此，學生可以以小組或班級的形式接受遠程課程。隨後，遠程教育經歷了復興——在大學和成人教育領域都如此。

當然，也有現代遠程課程——在瑞典，如同世界各地——學生獨自面對課程網頁，孤立於其他學生。這些課程像傳統的函授學校，只不過使用了更現代的技術。此類課程給學生最大程度的自由，因為學生可以在自己想學的時候學，以自己的節奏前進，不受其他學生影響。

然而，如同傳統函授課程一樣，此類學習僅適合少數學生，這些學生比一般學生更自力更獨立自強。此外，此類課程無法使學生與其他同學互相學習，互相支持。還有，這種課程未向學生提供機會通過學習小組擴展自己的知識和理解，而在學習小組，學生們對課題有著共同的興趣、共同的目標來理解該課題，而並非僅為考試而學習。

瑞典大學和成人教育提供的大多數現代遠程課程都可供每位學生參與到其他學生小組中。然而，對於學生聚會及協作的強調程度相去甚遠。

深層次理解

當學習協會提供遠程學習圈時，其核心是聚會和協作。此類學習圈重新打造了參與者之間的遠程聚會，以便創造更靈活的學習條件，深入理解，使學習者之間有效支持。

當學習的目的不再局限於為了正式考試而機械重複學習，為了達到深層次理解，以聚會為基礎的學習是建設性學習過程之根本。「深層次學習是獲得更高等級的技能，例如分析、詮釋、評判信息，而非簡單地聚集、複製、描述。深層次學習是整體性的，通過整合事實來產生理解進而得到深化，而非以累積離散的事實為特點的著重細節的學習」(Entwistle & Ramsden,1983; Hill 等 2002)。

Biggs (1987) 認為深層次學習是由學習者的積极參与促進的；參與是由互動支持的「情感的投入，互動發生在社會背景 中，例如小組學習。Lipman (1991)強調這種社會背景——小組學習——是培養「質疑群體」的地方，對於培養個人更高層次的批判性思考能力和深層次學習，是不可或缺的。只要有分析、批判性討論的需求，很多學生就需要團隊來獲得對話題更深入的理解。

Tait (2000) 所定義的「學生支持」有三大主要功能， 其中之一：「情感支持」功能，小組對於創造這一功能也非常重要。「情感支持」功能即「提供環境、支持學生、創造投入感、加強自信」。

虛擬聚會點

1990年代中期，瑞典的一些民眾高中和學習協會開始發展ICT支持的遠程課程。自1996年起，隨著普公共虛擬會議網路「Folkbildning Net」（民眾共修網）(www.folkbildning.net)的建立，這種發展本可以在更大規模上得以繼續。該網路對所有學習協會和民眾高中開放，也作為一種教學工具用於遠程學習——或「靈活學習」（靈活學習的說法在瑞典更常見）。

在「民眾共修網」的協助下，學習協會和民眾高中力圖在參與者之間的地理距離上建起橋樑，並創建虛擬「聚會地點」，這樣可以進行深層次學習，參與者可以彼此支持。「民眾共修網」也是分享經驗的論壇，是遠程課程的教師和學習圈領導的支持性網路。

基於現代ICT的遠程教育，其優勢顯而易見：人們無需在某個特定地方接受教育，或在某些特定時間學習。遠程教育不僅是針對彼此相隔很遠的人，也為那些出於某種原因，不能參與定期聚會的學習或無法參加全日制學習的人們。

這種發展一直得到政府的鼓勵。例如，一個公共權的官方機構——瑞典靈活學習中心（CFL），在2002年至2008年期間，起到舉足輕重的作用。CFL由政府建立，意在鼓舞激勵成人教育中ICT應用的發展。CFL與成人教育工作者合作，以便積累基於實踐靈活學習知識經驗，並將其編寫為系列報告，在會議或研討會上探討。CFL還為民眾高中和學習協會提供ICT教育的免費教師培訓、技術和方法支持、項目基金等等。

靈活學習

有些遠程課程全部在線授受，參與者之間並不聚會。然而，民眾高中和學習協會提供大量ICT支持教育其實是在線和面對面聚會的混合。這就是它之所以稱為「靈活學習」的原因之一。

在很多小組中，面對面的聚會在開始非常重要——在部分參與者首次參與遠程課程時，尤其如此。許多人對於計算機和互聯網仍然相當不習慣，如果在開始就遇到太多技術障礙，他們可能有退出的風險。因此，在課程開始之前，教師就學生的計算機技能等方面收集信息，並在開始階段仔細觀察潛在的問題，至關重要。

當然，未必總能夠安排面對面的聚會——甚至在瑞典也不可能，儘管瑞典比中國小多了。

時空上的自由

在教育中使用ICT的基本理念是課程參與者在時空上享有一定的自由度。但這種自由並非不受限制。如果你想創建參與者能夠真正和其他人「聚會」並且彼此學習的小組，你需要恪守一些基本條件：

——每個小組的參與者必須大約同時註冊開課，以大概相同的進度學習。

——每個小組不能太大。

——當有面對面聚會時（除非是完全在線課程），參與者需要在這些晚上、白天或者這幾周在場。

——如同普通學習圈，參與者必須理解彼此分享知識、經驗想法以及互相支持的重要性。同時，他們需要具有批判性，保持高質量的對話。

——他們必須規定每周登錄訪問虛擬學習室並且積極討論的最低時限。例如，對於參與者，每周至少3 次（而教師或領導應該幾乎每天都登錄，而且大部分時候至少一天要在線幾次）。

因此，遠程學習圈不可能完全自由。如 IngemarSvensson在瑞典靈活學習中心（CFL）和全國成人教育委員會（FBR）所發表的文集中寫道：

「我們不能誤導參與者，讓他們誤以為遠程學習意味著他們完全有自由決定何時學習，如何學習。如果我們想打造緊密連接的、以密切度和對話為基礎的小組，參與者和課程領導都必須準備好定期登陸，閱讀回複信息，否則無法形成對話。太多延誤，數天或數周，通常導致虛擬對話停滯不前，或者變成雙方的自說自話。會談中，越來越多的平行討論，雜亂無章，會導致對話破裂，最終使之成為數個獨白」(Axelsson等，2004)。

聚會的重要性

你可以說在「民眾共修」中，每位學生或者參與者對於團隊進程太重要，不容他們獨立。在上述文集中，編輯寫道：

「自然而然地，『民眾共修』的靈活學習以緊密關聯的小組的歸屬感為基礎。在遠程『民眾共修』中，你不必單獨面對學習。絕不是只有你和電腦，總是你和其他人。在『民眾共修』的方法中，這種不言自明的原則是根本，構成了遠程『民眾共修』意欲提供的高質量的教學法至關重要的基礎。

而為什麼情況如此，也顯而易見。這是以『民眾共修』關於知識增長的基本理念為基礎的，在此理念下，人們可以根據自己的求知慾自由自願地聚在一起，以便在民主對話中耕耘知識。因此，聚會是必要的……」(Axelsson等，2004)。

創造順利聚會的良好條件

為了重新創造良好的遠程聚會，你需要創造環境使參與者形成緊密交織的團隊，他們在其中可以互相學習。每個團隊要足夠小，這樣每位參與者可以活躍其中，也要足夠大，使參與者之間形成積極互動。那麼，何謂「足夠小」，何謂「足夠大」？這當然取決於學科和參與者，例如他們是否是殘障人士，但通常每個小組最好至少10名參與者，不超過20-30人。

如果參與者可以自由提出各種問題，表達自己的觀點——但同時也表現自己的無知，那麼小組不可能太大。

你還需要計算機應用程序，讓參與者可以簡單而直觀地參與在線討論。應用程序還必須易於使用，這樣，只要有基本計算機經驗的教師都可以用虛擬學習室的所有資源進行管理。在很多機構，遠程課程的教師已經將虛擬「教室」標準化。但是，大多數學習圈的領導喜歡更具靈活性。

在普通學習圈中，參與者和領導規劃他們自己的學習。遠程學習圈也應如此。因此，當瑞典學習圈領導就如何成為優秀的遠程成人教育者接受進一步培訓時，他們也學習如何根據自己的喜好、學科及參與者的要求來設計虛擬學習室。

不僅期待參與者分享與課題或主題相關的信息和理解，也期待他們分享自身的故事。這就是為什麼通常會有一個名為「咖啡館」的特殊在線論壇，而且是網上學習環境的必要組成部分（在中國，可以稱之為「茶館」）。

咖啡館

在瑞典的每個普通學習圈，都有喝咖啡休息時間。在此期間，你可以談論人們之間所有的重要問題，但與你所學的學科並不直接相關。參與者談論自己的家庭，興趣愛好；談論社會見聞，環球大事。他們希望通過這麼做，拉近彼此之間的距離，加強彼此之間的信任。這樣，也更易於貢獻與主題相關的自身知識與經驗，還易於就該主題進行更深入更嚴肅的討論。

當然，在遠程虛擬「咖啡館」，學習圈領導無法為你提供任何咖啡。你得到的是名為「咖啡館」的特殊論壇或類似東西。在主論壇，你討論課程相關主題，而在「咖啡館」你可以隨意提出任何話題。通常，這些談話實際上發展為更廣泛也更深入的理解，對於課程主題也很重要。

教師們也可以利用「咖啡館」來得到遠程交流的「軟起動」，尤其是當學生們對虛擬論壇的數字式通訊不熟悉時。如Ingemar Svensson在文集中所寫：

「那麼，你如何使用咖啡館？如我前面所說，在咖啡館開始課程的軟啟動是很不錯的想法，對教師/領導和參與者進行介紹，並引入介紹性的社交對話。你已經強調了咖啡館在課程主要會議中的作用，一旦參與者準備好了，你可以在課程主論壇中啟動學習進程。而咖啡館中剩下的就是聊天，輕鬆漫談，如果你想維持該活動，也應該保持輕鬆的小範圍交談。想讓咖啡館討論經久不衰的教師通常會犯一個錯誤，那就是在咖啡館上課，而且停不下來，他們以這種或那種方式急於不斷地就課程主題進行交談。這個方法准能使參與者對咖啡館失去興趣。

其實，你要談論的是與參與者息息相關的事情，或者更輕鬆，有娛樂性的事情。你可以談談你的子女，談談愛，談談假期或者周末你有什麼打算。你可以輕鬆一點，彼此開個玩笑，也可以為世界上的不平等而沮喪心痛，也可以因為災難或悲劇而一起憂傷。」(Axelsson等,2004)

在線研討會

除了「咖啡館」，還有其他設施，讓參與者之間的溝通更多樣化，更充滿活力，更生動——當然，也更靈活。例如，你可以利用不同小組項目，在一個階段，讓參與者以更小的小組或兩人小組更深入地學習。你也可以利用所謂的在線研討會，讓所有參與者在幾天之內集中精力關注某個重要或有趣的話題。在這些短時間內，每個參與者可能會每天3次登錄到虛擬教室，而不是每周3次。

遠程會議和對話幾乎總是不同步的。作為學生或參與者，當會議和談話時間適合你和你的條件時，你才上線。小組有自己的學習室，每個參與者可以隨時加入。小組僅可能偶爾在聊天室同時「聚會」。但是，所有參與者需要就所有人都能上線的日期時間達成一致。

靈活而願投入精力的教師

你還需要靈活的教師，他們願意晚上和周末都工作——參與者通常晚上和周末才有時間在線。這並非意味著你需要同時在線，除非你決定隨時舉行此類聚會。然而，不要讓參與者或學生等待很久才能得到教師或領導的答覆，這很重要。這是教師應每天至少上線一次的原因，但最好不只一次。

這並非說，你作為教師，必須工作更長時間。然而，這卻意味著你的工作時間需要更富彈性。遠程課程運作不起來的原因通常是很少能見到教師在線服務。

另一方面，教師不應太急於回答學生提出的所有問題。每個學生都有大量知識、經驗、想法，讓他們自由自在地和小組成員分享非常重要。作為教師，你應該準備好在學生需要時給予支持，但等其他學生先發表意見，然後你再評論，通常這更合適。

然而，教師需要在場。這和面對面聚會的普通小組一樣。教師並不滔滔不絕——也不應該滔滔不絕。然而，教師需要在場，在需要提供建議、鼓勵、支持的時候隨時在場，甚至間或講解。

所有教育中最重要的因素——在遠程課程中當然也是如此——是投入的教師和學習圈領導。「民眾共修」中的這些人大概就屬於投入最多的教師和領導，尤其是因為他們大多數都受非政府組織的事業影響，在思想意識上受到激勵，而這些非政府組織正是學習協會的奠基者。

部分優勢

大約15年前，當有些學習協會開始組織ICT協助的遠程課程時，頗多爭議。大部分學習圈領導不相信可以重新再造良好的遠程聚會。然而，隨著實際經驗逐漸積累，越來越多的人已經明白這可以實現。

但是，事情並非自動發生；教師和學習圈領導通常需要特殊培訓。課程也未因此而變得更便宜。主要原因是你要想小組中有生動的對話，就不能有太多參與者。作為教師，小組進行所有討論時，你都必須在場。

另一方面，除了可以有更多學生參與學習之外，遠程學習還有其他優勢。一個優勢是更愛思考的學生在虛擬學習室「發言」之前有更多時間思考，而在教室里，他們可能難以主動即時表達自己的思想。

另一個優勢是在虛擬學習室，幾個討論可以同時並行。在普通的學習圈聚會或在教室里，一次僅能一人發言。在虛擬學習室，當你「發言」時，你不會干擾任何人。

第三個優勢是在虛擬學習室「發言」提供更多的閱讀和書寫訓練，因為溝通主要以文本為基礎。在上述文集中，Gothenburg大學的Roger Saljo寫道，文本是思考之源：

「閱讀等技巧——在更大程度上，創建文本以展開論述和觀點——是很費力的學術練習，對於大多數人而言，需要相當長的認知社交。但是，在本文中，關鍵在於，從現在開始，教育將關乎如何帶著理念和分析性知識概念參與以文本為基礎的知識世界，用這些來幫助人們用新的方式理解明白我們周圍的世界。文本也開始滲透到訓練有素的談話中。人們開始評論討論他們所閱讀的、痴迷的事情，和我們今天不僅討論我們所經歷的，而且也討論我們從廣播上聽到的，電視上看到如出一轍的事情。」

更多積極的參與者？

實踐經驗表明，民眾高中和學習圈的理念可以在遠程課程中得以實現：生動的對話，不斷發展的小組進程，參與者的自信得以加強。實際上，遠程與面對面聚會相結合似乎效果最好。證據之一就是此類課程輟學率很低。

遠程課程的經驗也表明，與普通課程的參與者相比，遠程參與者更積極。原因如下：

——參與者自己決定何時學習，何時積极參与以及積极參与的頻率。這增強了他們的積極性。

——更多參與者可以更積極，在其他人「發言」時，他們不必等待。同時，教師可以不那麼強勢。

——更多平等對話。不論信息來自教師還是參與者，看上去都相同。每個人積極發言的機會相等。

——對教師而言，更容易提供個性化支持，更容易與每位參與者交往。

——如果參與者病了，要想趕上進度，也更容易。因為所有討論都保存在虛擬學習室里。

一個特別的例子……

也有很好的例子表明，此類基於聚會的遠程課程行得通，哪怕參與者文化背景不同，母語不同。此類例子之一是2005年由兩個獨立的學習圈組成的聯合跨國學習圈，這兩個學習圈分別位於羅馬尼亞和瑞典。該學習圈遠程運作完全是以瑞典民眾共修網為技術平台，以英語為共同語言。

學習圈的主題是歐盟及其憲法。儘管瑞典和羅馬尼亞在地理和文化上千差萬別——還存在語言問題——在8周時間，18名參與者產生了875條信息。以下是項目報告摘錄：

「開始時，我們不知道在這樣兩個迥異的小組之間是否真得會產生良好而頗有成效的聚會。瑞典學習圈的參與者只有男性，大部分年齡在50歲以上（有一位例外），對於當前歐盟的民主和提議的憲法相當懷疑。而羅馬尼亞學習圈的參與者主要是年輕的大學生，對於即將成為歐盟一員充滿期望。當我們寫這份報告時，我們總結8周來學習圈的所有活動，我們可以確定在整個期間，對我們基本問題以及其他話題的討論一直很積極、開放、自由、充滿批判性。對於問題，總有不同意見，但是討論者一直都彼此尊重，討論本身引人入勝。

我們都一致認為這種活躍在線的學習圈活動是人們推進歐洲民主的好方法，人們來自歐盟各地，儘管不能面對面但卻可以在網上聚會。我們也看到在成人教育中發展或進一步發展公民教育以之作為建立、強化、保衛民主的方法的重要性。我們看到，這種資源必須由政府或歐盟提供，而教育本身必須由NGO來進行，這些NGO有強大的民眾支持，我們也看到，側重於學而非教的學習圈方法值得嘉許。」

結束語

民眾高中教師和學習圈領導已經逐漸意識到，在現代ICT的幫助下，可以創造良好的遠程學習條件。他們也意識到可以創造虛擬論壇，讓參與者聚會，互相學習，彼此有效支持。而且，越來越明顯，遠程學習未必非得是退而求其次的解決方案，與面對面的課程相比，遠程學習自有特點。

引申，反思……

——中國和瑞典遠程教育之間有何異同？其原因可能是什麼？

——如果您安排遠程課程，並且強調小組之間高度合作，理想的參與人數是多少?

——中國遠程課程中是否有「茶館」，其運作如何？

——像羅馬尼亞和瑞典之間的聯合學習項目在中國是否可行？例如，在中國小組和瑞典小組之間是否可行？大家可能會對哪些課題感興趣？

等等

在下一篇文章里，我們將討論學習圈的現實意義及瑞典政府對學習圈的財政支持。

參考文獻：

Lars-Erik Axelsson與他人（共同編輯），《folkbildning.net ——關於民眾共修教育及靈活學習的文集》。瑞典全國成人教育委員會和瑞典靈活學習中心出版。2004年第二版（該章節英文版《folkbildning.net ——關於民眾共修教育及靈活學習的文集》可以從www.pub.folkbildning.net/English_Anthology_II下載).

Biggs, J. B. (1987). Student approaches tostudying and learning.《學生的研究與學習方式》 Hawthorne,Victoria: Australian Councilfor Educational Research.《澳大利亞教育研究委員會》.

Lipman, M. (1991). Thinking in Education.《教育中的思考》英國劍橋劍橋大學出版社.

Hill, J. & Woodland, W. (2002). An Evaluation ofForeign Fieldwork in Promoting Deep Learning: a preliminaryinvestigation. 《對國外促進深層次學習的實踐評估：初步調查》Assessment & Evaluation in HigherEducation, Vol. 27, No. 6. CarfaxPublishing.《高等教育評價與評估》，第27卷，第6篇，Carfax出版社.

Entwistle, N. J. & Ramsden, P. (1983).Understanding Student Learning.《理解學生學習》 London: Croom Helm.

Tait, A. (2000). Planning Student Support for Open and DistanceLearning. 《對開放和遠程學習中的學生支持的設計》Open Learning, Vol. 15, No. 3,pp.287-99.《開放學習》第15卷第3篇，pp.287-99.

來自瑞典-羅馬尼亞學習圈的報告，該項目名為「歐洲財富——通過民眾的主動性和成人教育啟動歐洲教育財富」(2005).

Study circles at adistance（Serial Ⅳ）

——the meetingbetween the participants is recreated on Internet

TorePersson & Gao Shuting

（Continued from page 85，No.2,2011）

Like elsewhere in the worlddistance education in Sweden has developed since the middle of the 1990"s usingmodern information and communication technology (ICT). But distanceeducation actually has a long history in Sweden. It has played animportant role for adult education since 1898, when the firstcorrespondence school started. Other correspondence schoolsfollowed later and in the 1960"s, Sweden had one of the largestnumbers of distant students in the world in proportion to thepopulation. At that time - in the 1960"s - when the population inSweden was approximately 7,5million, the largest correspondence school had for example 100.000students enrolled.

However, at the end of the 1960"sadult education colleges (Komvux, high school/secondary level foradults), were set up all over the country and all such studies weremade free of charge. That changed the situation for the oldcorrespondence schools and they had to either shut down or reducetheir business.

Until the 1990s, distance educationwas mainly based on letter correspondence between the teacher andthe individual student. However, that form only suited the mostambitious and persistent students. But the breakthrough of moderninformation and communication technology changed all that. Sincethen, it has become possible to have distance courses where thestudents work together in small groups or classes. Consequently,distance education has experienced a renaissance – both withinuniversities and within adult education.

There are of course modern distancecourses – in Sweden like elsewhere inthe world – where the individual student is alone with the courseweb pages, independent of other students. Those courses functionlike the old correspondence schools, they just use a more moderntechnology. Such courses give you maximal freedom as a student,because it allows you to start your studies whenever you want andproceed in your own pace, independent of other students.

However, as was the case with theold correspondence courses, that kind of studies suits only a smallnumber of students, who have to rely on themselves much more thanordinary students. Besides, such courses do not give you thebenefit of learning and getting support also from other students.Furthermore, they give you no chance to develop your knowledge andunderstanding through discussions in a study group where themembers have a mutual interest for the subject and a common goal tounderstand the subject and not only study for a test.

Most of the modern distance coursesin Sweden, offered atuniversities and within adult education, are courses where theindividual student joins a group of other students. However, thedegree of emphasis on the meeting and the collaboration between thestudents differ quite a lot.

Deepunderstanding

When study associations offer studycircles at a distance the meeting and the collaboration is at thecentre. In such study circles, the meeting between the participantsis recreated at a distance in order to create more flexiblelearning situations, deeper understanding and good learnersupport.

When the purpose of the studies isnot limited to mechanical reproduction of information for a formalexam, meeting-based learning is fundamental in a constructivelearning process for reaching deep understanding. "Deep learning isthe acquisition of higher order skills such as analyzing,interpreting and evaluating information rather than simplyamassing, reproducing and describing it. Deep learning is holistic,deepened by an integration of facts to produce understanding,rather than atomistic, characterised by the accumulation ofdisparate facts" (Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983; Hillet al., 2002).

Biggs (1987) regards deep learningas promoted by active learner participation; the participation isan "affective involvement" which is supported by interaction, andthe interaction takes place in a social context, such as grouplearning. Lipman (1991) highlights that this social context – grouplearning – is the place for the development of a "community ofenquiry", which is essential for the development of higher level,critical thinking skills and deep learning within the individual.In the practical experiences within folk high schools and studyassociations we can find such "communities of enquiry" in theirsmall study groups. Whenever there is a need for analysis, criticaldiscussions etc, many students need the group to reach a deeperunderstanding of the topic.

The group is also important tocreate what Tait (2000) defines as one of three primary functionsof learner support: the "affective" function, that is "providing anenvironment which supports students, create commitment and enhancesself-esteem".

Virtual meetingplaces…

In the middle of the 90"s some folkhigh schools and study associations in Sweden started to developedICT-supported distance courses. That development could continue ata larger scale from 1996 with the establishment of a common virtualconference network, the "Folkbildning Net" (www.folkbildning.net).That network is open to all study associations and folk highschools. It is used as a pedagogical tool for distance studies – orfor"flexible learning", which is a common term inSweden.

With the help of the "FolkbildningNet", study associations and folk high schools try to bridge thegeographical distances between participants and create virtual"meeting places" where deep learning can take place and where theparticipants can support each other. "Folkbildning Net" is alsoused as a forum for sharing experiences and as a support networkfor teachers and study circle leaders who work with distancecourses.

The benefits of modern ICT-baseddistance education are obvious: it makes it possible for people totake part in education without having to be in certain places or tostudy at certain hours. Distance education is not only for peopleliving far away from each other. It is also a possibility forpeople who for some reason cannot participate in studies withregular meetings or in full time studies.

The government has encouraged thisdevelopment. For example, a public authority, The Swedish Agencyfor Flexible Learning (CFL), played for a few years, 2002-2008, animportant part in this process. CFL was established by thegovernment in order to encourage and stimulate the development ofusing ICT in adult education. CFL cooperated with adult educatorsin order to accumulate knowledge about flexible learning based onpractical experiences and presented it in a series of reports andat conferences or seminars. CFL also offered folk high schools andstudy associations free teacher training in ICT-based teaching,technical and methodical assistance, project funds and soon.

Flexible learning

There are distance courses thattake part entirely online without the participants meeting eachother face-to-face. However, a lot of the ICT-supported educationwithin folk high schools and study associations is actually amixture of online and face-to-face meetings. That is one of thereasons why it is called "flexible learning".

In many groups it is important tostart with a face-to-face meeting – especially if it is the firsttime for some of the participants to take part in a distancecourse. Many people are still quite unaccustomed to computers andInternet and if they encounter too many technical obstacles in thebeginning they run the risk of becoming dropouts. Therefore, it isimportant for the teacher to collect information from theparticipants before the course starts about their computer skillsetc, and also to be very observant of possible problems during thestart-up period.

Freedom in time andspace

The basic idea behind the use ofICT in education is that the course participants can have a certaindegree of freedom in time and space. But that freedom is notunlimited. If you want to create groups where the participants arereally "meeting" and learning from each other you need to stick tosome basic conditions:

– The participants in each grouphave to join the course at approximately the same time and proceedwith the studies at approximately the same pace.

– Each group can"t be toobig.

– The participants need to bepresent at those evenings, days or weeks when there areface-to-face meetings (unless it is a course entirelyonline).

– As in ordinary study circles, theparticipants have to understand the importance of sharingknowledge, experiences and ideas with each other and to give eachother support. At the same time, they also need to be critical andkeep a high quality in their dialogues.

– They have to set a minimum amountof times a week, when they must connect to the virtual study roomand be active in the discussions. For example, at least three timesa week for the participants (while the teacher or leader shouldconnect almost every day, and at least a couple of times duringmost days).

Consequently, there can"t be atotal freedom in study circles at a distance. As Ingemar Svenssonwrites in an anthology published by The Swedish Agency for FlexibleLearning (CFL) and The National Council of Adult Education(FBR):

"We cannot trick the participantsinto believing that distance studies mean a complete freedom tostudy when and how they like. If we want to form closely connectedgroups, based on nearness and dialogue, both participants andcourse leaders must be prepared to regularly log on, read andanswer messages, otherwise there will be no dialogue. Too manydelays, days or weeks, easily lead to stagnation or double-tracksin the virtual dialogue. More and more parallel discussions, in amess, in a conference can lead to a break in the dialogue so thatit, instead, turns into a number of monologues."(Axelsson et al,2004)

The importance ofmeeting

You can say that within"folkbildning" each student or participant is too important for thegroup process to be allowed to be by himself or herself. In thementioned anthology the editors write:

"The flexible learning in"folkbildning" is naturally based on the sense of community intightly knit groups. In "folkbildning" at a distance, you do nothave to be alone with your studies. It is never just you and thecomputer; it is always you and the others. This self-evidentprinciple in the methods of "folkbildning" is fundamental andconstitutes the heavy and vital base for the qualitative pedagogythat "folkbildning" at a distance wants to offer.

It is quite obvious why this is thecase. It is based on the fundamental idea of "folkbildning" aboutknowledge growing when people come together freely and voluntarilywith their curiosity and their thirst for knowledge, in order tocultivate their knowledge in a democratic dialogue. So, the meetingis therefore essential…" (Axelsson et al, 2004)

To create good conditions for agood meeting

In order to recreate the goodmeeting at a distance you need to create an environment where theparticipants can form tightly knitted groups, where mutual learningcan take place. Each group need to be small enough so that eachparticipant can be active and big enough to get a dynamicinteraction between the participants. So, what is "small enough"and "big enough"? It depends of course on the subject and theparticipants, if they for example are disabled or not, butgenerally you would probably prefer at least 10 participants ineach group and not more than 20-30.

The group cannot be too big if theparticipants shall be able to feel free to ask all kinds ofquestions and to express their opinions – but also to show theirignorance.

You need also a computerapplication that makes it possible for the participants to easilyand intuitively take part in online discussions. The applicationmust also be simple to use so that any teacher, with only basiccomputer experience, can manage his or her own virtual study roomwith all its resources. In many institutions, teachers in distancecourser have standardized virtual "class rooms". However, moststudy circle leaders prefer to be more flexible.

In ordinary study circles, theparticipants and the leader form their own studies. It should bethe same for distance study circles. Therefore, when study circleleaders in Sweden take part in furthertrainings about how to be a good adult educator at a distance, theyalso learn how to arrange the virtual study room to their likingsand to the demands of the subject and the participants.

The participants are not onlyexpected to share information and understanding about the topic orsubject they are studying but also about themselves. That is thereason why there often is a special online forum called the "café"as an essential part of the study environment (inChina it probably would be a "tea house").

The"café"

During every ordinary study circlemeeting in Sweden you have a coffeebreak. During coffee breaks, you can talk about all those thingsthat are important issues between people but not directly relatedto the subject you are supposed to study. The participants talkabout their families, their personal interests and hobbies, aboutwhat is happening in the society and in the world etc. In doing so,hopefully they become more close and trusting towards each other.In that way it also becomes easier to contribute with their ownpersonal knowledge and experiences related to the subject they arestudying. It also becomes easier to take part in deeper and moreserious discussions about the subject.

Of course, in the virtual "café" ata distance you will not get any coffee served by the study circleleader. Instead, you will have a special discussion forum called"café" or something like that. While you in the main forum discussthe course subject, you are free to bring up any topic in the"café". Quite often those conversations actually develop into widerand deeper understanding that become important for the coursesubject.

The teacher can also use the "café"to get a "soft start" with the distance communication, especiallywhen the students are unfamiliar with digital communication invirtual discussion forums. As Ingemar Svensson writes in theanthology:

"So, how do you use the café? As Imentioned before, it can be a good idea to place the course"s softstart there, with the introductions of the teacher/leader and theparticipants and the introductory social conversation. Then youhave emphasised which role the café should have, and as soon as theparticipants are ready for it, you start the study process in thecourse"s main conference. Left in the café is then the chatting,the small talk, which, if you want to maintain the activity, alsoshould stay as small talk. Teachers that have the ambition to keepthe café discussion alive often make the mistake of not stoppingteaching there, or they, in moral eagerness in one or another way,continue chatting around the subject of the course. This is a safeway to quickly make the participants lose interest in thecafé.

Instead, you talk about things thatare close, involving or burning issues for the participantsthemselves, or simply about things that are amusing. You talk aboutyour children, about love, about what you are going to do on yourvacation or at the weekend. You flirt a bit, joke with each other,tremble together from being upset by the inequalities in the world,or suffer together over catastrophes or tragedies" (Axelsson et al,2004).

Online seminars

There are also other devices thanthe "café" to make the communication between the participants, morevarying, more dynamic, more dramatic – and yes, more flexible. Forexample, you can use different group projects, when theparticipants during a period work more intensively in smallergroups or pairs. You can also use so called online seminars whereall the participants during a few days focus intensively on oneimportant or interesting issue. During such short periods everyparticipant connect to the virtual room maybe three times a dayinstead of three times a week.

The meetings and the conversationsat a distance almost always go on asynchronously. As a student orparticipant, you connect when it suits you and your conditions. Thegroup has its virtual study room and each participant is free toenter any time during day or night. Only occasionally, groups might"meet" simultaneously in a chat room. But then, all participantsneed to agree upon a date and hour when all can connect.

Flexible and committedteachers

You also need flexible teachers,teachers that are willing to work also in evenings and duringweekends – which often is when the participants have time to beonline. That does not mean that you have to be connected at thesame time, unless you decide to have those kinds of meetings everynow and then. However, it is important that the participants orstudents do not have to wait long until they can get a responsefrom their teacher or leader. That is why the teachers should beable to be online at least once a day but preferably more oftenthan that.

That does not mean that you as ateacher necessarily have to work more hours. However, it does meanthat you have to be more flexible with your working hours. Whendistance courses are not functioning, the reason often is that theteacher seldom is available.

On the other hand, the teachershould not be too eager to answer all kinds of questions from thestudents. Each student has a lot of knowledge, experiences andideas and it is important to make them feel free to share them inthe group. As a teacher, you should be prepared to give support toyour students when they need it, but often it is appropriate towait and let the other students give their comments before you giveyours.

However, the teacher needs to bepresent. It is the same as in an ordinary face-to-face group. Theteacher is not always talking – and should not always be talking.However, he or she needs to be around, ready when needed to giveadvice, inspire, support etc and even to lecture now andthen.

Above all, the most importantfactor in all education – and of course also in distance courses –are committed teachers and study circle leaders. Those workingwithin "folkbildning" are probably among the most committed,especially because many of them are ideologically motivated in thecause of those non-governmental organizations that are the foundersof the study associations.

Some advantages

When some study associationsstarted to arrange ICT-supported distance courses around fifteenyears ago, which was highly controversial. Most study circleleaders did not believe that it would be possible to recreate thegood meeting at a distance. However, gradually as practicalexperiences have accumulated, more and more people have understoodthat it is possible.

However, it does not happenautomatically; the teachers and leaders often need specialtraining. Moreover, it does not make courses a lot cheaper. Themain reason for that is that you cannot have too many participantsif you want to have a vivid dialogue in the group. As a teacher,you also have to be present in all the discussions that take partin the group.

On the other hand, studies at adistance have some advantages besides the fact that it makes itpossible for more students to take part in studies. One advantageis that students who are more thoughtful and may have difficultiesto spontaneously express themselves in a classroom have much moretime to think before they "talk" in the virtual studyroom.

Another advantage is that severalparallel discussions can go on simultaneously in the virtual studyroom. At an ordinary study circle meeting, or in a classroom, onlyone person can talk at a time. In the virtual study room, you arenot disturbing anyone when you are "talking".

A third advantage is that "talking"in the virtual study room gives more training in reading andwriting because the communication is mainly text-based. In thementioned anthology Roger Saljo, GothenburgUniversity, writes about the text as a resource forthinking:

"Skills as reading – and to an evenlarger extent creating texts that develop arguments and opinions –are very demanding intellectual exercises that require quite a longcognitive socialisation for most people. But the point in thiscontext is that education, from now on, will be about how toparticipate in a text-based knowledge world with a conceptional andanalytical knowledge concept, with which help the world around uscan be made understandable and comprehensible in new ways. The textalso began to infiltrate the educated conversations. People beganto comment and discuss such things they read and were fascinatedby, in exactly the same way as we today discuss not only what wehave experienced but also what we have heard on the radio or seenon television." (Axelsson et al, 2004)

More activeparticipants?

Practical experiences show that theideals of folk high schools and study circles can be fulfilled incourses at a distance: lively conversations, developedgroup-processes and the strengthening of the participants"self-esteem. Actually, combinations of meetings at a distance andface-to-face seems to give the best conditions for a good result. Aproof of that is also the low rate of dropouts from such courses.The reasons are:

– The participants decidethemselves when they are studying, when to be active and how often.That enhances their motivation.

– More participants can be moreactive; they don"t have to wait while someone else is "talking". Atthe same time, the teacher can be less dominant.

– More equal conversations. Themessages look the same, regardless of if they are from the teacheror the participants. Everyone has the same possibilities to beactive.

– For the teacher it is easier toindividualize, to meet every single participant.

– It is easier for a participant tocatch up if he or she has been sick because all discussions aresaved in the virtual study room.

A specialexample…

There are also good examples thatsuch meeting-based distance courses can function even withparticipants from different cultures and with different mothertongues. One such example is the united trans-national study circlethat during 2005 was formed by two separate study circles, onein Romania and one inSweden. That study circle wasto run completely at a distance using the Swedish Folkbildning Netas the technical platform and English as the commonlanguage.

The subject for the study circlewas the European Union and its constitution. Despite thegeographical and cultural differences between Sweden and Romania – and language problems – the 18 participantsproduced 875 messages during eight weeks. Here is an excerpt fromthe project report:

"From the beginning, we wondered ifthere could really be a good and fruitful meeting between two suchdifferent groups. The participants in the Swedish study circle weremen only, mainly in the age of 50+ and (with one exception) rathersceptical to the existing EU democracy and the proposedconstitution. The participants in the Romanian circle were mainlyyoung university students with quite natural positive expectationson the coming EU membership. When we write this report we can sumup all 8 weeks of study circle activities and we can establish thatthe discussions on our basic issues, and on other topics, havebeen, during the whole period, very active, open, free andcritical. There have often been different opinions on issues butthe discussions have all the time been respectful and exciting totake part in.

We all agreed that this kind ofactivity, an active on-line study-circle where people fromdifferent countries in the EU meet, even though they do not meetface-to-face, is an excellent way of empowering people for aEuropean democracy. We also saw the importance of developing, orfurther developing, civic education within adult education as a wayof building, strengthening and defending democracy. We saw thatresources for this must be given by the government or the EU, butthe education itself must be carried out by NGOs with strongpopular support and that the study circle method, with its focus onlearning instead of teaching then is preferable."

Conclusions

Gradually folk high school teachersand study circle leaders have realised that it is possible tocreate good learning conditions at a distance with the help ofmodern ICT. They have also realised that it is possible to createvirtual forums where the participants can meet, learn from eachother and give each other good support. And it has become more andmore clear that learning at a distance does not have to be thesecond best alternative, but that it has some qualities of its owncompared to face-to-face courses.

To reflect upon…

– What similarities and differencesare there between distance education in China and in Sweden? Whatcould be the reasons?

– What could be an ideal number ofparticipants in your courses, if you would arrange them at adistance and if you emphasize a high degree of collaboration in thegroups?

– Are there "tea houses" in Chinesecourses at a distance and how do they function?

– Would a joint study project, likethe one between Romania and Sweden, be possible in China? Forexample, between Chinese and Swedish groups? What subject could beof mutual interest to study?

Etc…

Next time we will write about theimportance of study circles and the state support.

References:

– Lars-Erik Axelsson and others(eds.). (2004). folkbildning.net – an anthology about folkbildningand flexible learning. The Swedish National Council of AdultEducation & the Swedish Agency for FlexibleLearning. Second edition. (The chapters in the English edition of"Folkbildning.net – an anthology about folkbildning and flexiblelearning" can be downloaded from:www.pub.folkbildning.net/English_Anthology_II)

–Biggs, J. B. (1987). Studentapproaches to studying and learning. Hawthorne,Victoria: Australian Councilfor Educational Research.

–Lipman, M. (1991). Thinking inEducation. CambridgeUK: CambridgeUniversityPress.

–Hill, J. &Woodland, W.(2002). An Evaluation of Foreign Fieldwork in Promoting DeepLearning: a preliminary investigation. Assessment &Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 27, No. 6. CarfaxPublishing.

– Entwistle, N. J.& Ramsden, P. (1983). Understanding StudentLearning. London: CroomHelm.

– Tait, A. (2000). Planning StudentSupport for Open and Distance Learning. Open Learning, Vol. 15, No.3, pp. 287-99.

–Report from the Swedish-Romanianstudy-circle in the project "A wealth for Europe – Activating aneducational wealth for Europe through Citizens" Initiatives andAdult Education" (2005).

（Translated byYangLiu；Revised by Gao Shuting

【作者介紹】 托瑞·波爾森，瑞典大眾成人教育領域負責人，瑞典學習促進會協會負責人，學習圈圈長。

高淑婷，瑞典斯德哥爾摩大學國際教育研究所博士生。

（編輯：洪淑君，）