Finnish Innovations and Technologies in Schools (A Guide towards New Ecosystems of Learning)

This book combines several perspectives on the steps the Finnish educational system has taken to provide students with the skills and competences needed for living in today’s society and in the future. The ecosystem is used as a metaphor for the educational system. The Finnish system aims to achieve sustainable education by ensuring that the system is simultaneously interconnected and open to transformations.
The book describes how a flexible curriculum system is succeeding without the pressures of high-stake testing. It also illustrates how the ongoing curriculum reform of the basic education is working. The book brings together knowledge gained in schools through the cooperation of researchers, teachers, school principals, the public sector, and private companies. The book presents case studies of technology integration aimed at crossing boundaries in formal and informal learning settings, locally and globally. The contributors address 21st-century needs and requirements through learner-driven knowledge creation, collaboration, networking, and digital literacies. It opens new scenarios of how to apply digital storytelling and games connecting fun, motivation, and learning. The strong message is that, through collaboration and networking, we can create an educational ecosystem that supports different learners.