Sigurlaug Kristmannsdóttir Chief Coordinator of Distance Education Program of the Commercial College of Iceland

 The school year consists of two semesters, fall and spring  Each semester students take courses worth 1, 2 or 3 credits each course, credits per semester  At the end of each semester the students take exams and finish their courses  After two years of study the students graduate with a Commercial Diploma, which consists of 70 credits Commercial Diploma  After two more years of study, the students have added 70 credits and matriculate with an Icelandic matriculation exam, which is required for university admissionIcelandic matriculation exam

 The school has set the goal to offer all its courses in distance education and the plan was to achieve the goal by fall 2008 ◦ In fall 2005 we had:  22 courses and 21 teachers and 227 students ◦ In fall 2007 we had:  127 courses and 49 teachers and 753 students ◦ In fall 2008 we have:  135 courses and 50 teachers and start to teach next week!  About 95% of all the school´s courses are available in our e-program  Most of the courses are in compliance with the national curriculum for Icelandic secondary education

 Three terms of distance learning each year: ◦ Spring term from January to May ◦ Summer term from June to August ◦ Fall term from September to December  The majority of the courses end with final exams at the end of the term  Exams are held: ◦ in our school and other schools in Iceland ◦ abroad in Icelandic Embassies, at Icelandic Consulates or in local schools  55-80% of the e-students conclude their courses

 In a full time job: ◦ Chief Coordinator of Distance Education Program  Also serving the school during the day: ◦ 50 teachers ◦ Computer Administrator ◦ Computer Assistant ◦ Student Counselors ◦ Cashiers ◦ Office Staff

 are also teachers in the “day”-school  are all academically qualified  don´t need to be technological experts  must find their own way to e-teach  are responsible for the online material in the e- courses  can work without time or space limits

 The e-Teacher: ◦ provides an organized, online learning environment ◦ sets clear objectives ◦ informs ◦ directs and advises ◦ gives assignments, evaluations, feedback ◦ starts and keeps discussions going ◦ answers questions quickly ◦ motivates ◦ encourages

 WebCT/Blackboard is used and there: ◦ teaching is from the teacher to the class ◦ the students can contact each other and the teacher ◦ teachers try to establish a learning community in courses  Each course in the Learning Environment has: ◦ course guidelines ◦ study plans ◦ learning material ◦ assignments ◦ assessments ◦ communicative exercises ◦ discussions ◦ chat

 are well organized and most of them in accordance with the National Curriculum of Iceland  have a clear plan provided with information on : ◦ goals, content, materials, evaluation and a plan for each part of the course  are divided into 10 parts and for each part the student receives : ◦ study guidance, materials, assignments (some evaluated automatically and others by the teacher)  provide possibilities of communication with teacher and peers  end with written final exams ENS212 - Business English

 have left school without the matriculation exam and now they have the opportunity to conclude their study  have concluded the matriculation exam, but need more education to be able to attend university  are living in Iceland and some abroad  are young kids in elementary schools with good learning skills  are improving their qualifications for certain jobs  are studying as a hobby or just for the fun of it

 The oldest student was born in 1930 and the youngest in 1996  The average age was 24 years  64% were females and 36% males  70% lived in the Greater Reykjavík Area, 25% in other parts of Iceland and 5% abroad  16% were still in elementary school  The students were registered for 1 credit and up to 24 credits, the average was 6 credits per student

 WebCT/Blackboard is saved on our servers  All the teachers are equipped with laptops  The laptops have all necessary software  A wireless net is in the school building  In the school we have a studio for producing study materials ◦ Smartboard with software ◦ Equipment to create audio files and slides with audio ◦ Digital video camera

 Material produced with Smartboard : ◦ Math Math  Audio slides made with Articulate : ◦ Geology Geology  Understanding of foreign languages with digital video camera and Audacity: ◦ Danish and Spanish DanishSpanish  Recording from computer with Camtasia: ◦ Informations for beginners Informations for beginners  Recording with digital video camera: ◦ The headmaster invites the e-students to the e-school The headmaster invites the e-students to the e-school

 In general ◦ A great amount of work is needed!  Technical ◦ Students need help with the technology ◦ Teachers need technological assistance  Pedagogical ◦ Teachers don´t hear enough from their students ◦ Teachers fear that many students are not active enough ◦ Difficulties with talking exercices in language teaching ◦ Difficulties with experiments in science teaching

 All the e-staff need to be highly cooperative and tolerant towards each other and there is a need for a lot of smiles  The school offers courses and assistance in using computer technology  Instructions have been written for the teachers which describe how to use the technology  In the Learning Environment, we have a special teachers room and there we collect material to assist the teachers, such as technical support and pedagogical articles

 Students need to have all the information they need at a given time  s from students are answered as soon as possible, at least within two working days  In the Learning Environment we have a special students´room where the students can get assistance  On our web page, we have collected answers to frequently asked questions: ◦

 Sigurlaug Kristmannsdóttir, Chief Coordinator of Distance Education Program ◦ or  Verzlunarskóli Íslands ◦  The Commercial College of Iceland ◦  The Distance Studies Programme ◦