The Finnish Association for Distance Education was founded in 1990 and its members consist of over 40 training organisations and companies. The task of the society is to advance the development of distance education by, amongst others, information, training, international co-operation and research.
The objective of the publication of this programme is to publicise the society's view of distance education and to advance open learning environments in Finland.
The future of Finland depends on people who are competent, trained and interested in developing themselves. Training is developing from unit training towards lifetime learning, in which people must have flexible possibilities to develop themselves, irrespective of age, basic education, social position, state of life and dwelling place. Responsibility for self-development and learning is ever more that of the individual, but despite this, actions are required from the State and training organisations, in order that the framework for lifetime learning can be as good as possible.
As we move towards the new millennium, new skills are needed in order that people can participate fully in working life and other social activities. In the future the most important skills will be, amongst others, learning skills, communication skills, co-operative skills, ecological skills and the skill to procure, handle and produce information.
Rapid structural changes, the challenges of the information society and the needs to support lifetime learning require not only a new way of thinking about education, but also new training solutions. The development of education in Finnish society has been set out in the Ministry of Education's document "information strategy for education and research" as follows: "Networking operational methods and changing ability requirements demand flexibility and the ability to adapt from the training system. The purpose of teaching administration and training organisations is to advance the networking of the training system and to create open learning environments to support the change from one of specific training towards continuous learning. At all levels training must increase the possibilities for individual study and develop suitable learning forms, learning material and information services for it".
In the opinion of the Finnish Association for Distance Education the practical implementation of the education information strategy is one of the near future's central objectives in the development of lifetime learning. Finland has good possibilities to construct a new model for learning as the Finnish education system gives good basic knowledge and readiness. Despite the good starting point, our education system needs more investment than before in learning processes and content and the efficient use of separate existing resources, as well as the development of new resources directed at learning possibilities. The quality of Finnish education can be significantly improved by developing existing systems to make them more flexible, by actively supporting solutions implemented to combine work and learning and by using the existing structures in a new way.
The Finnish information strategy for education and research is closely linked to the lines of the European Union with which flexible education solutions will be promoted in the move towards a learning society.
In an educational sense there is a no single correct model. To make lifetime learning possible we need various educational models which complement each other. However the essential fact is that training must decisively change its form. The teacher-centred, classroom-based teaching will go through significant changes on all levels of teaching and education but, particularly adult education is changing towards ever more open study.
The possibilities for efficient information procurement and use will also change the nature of educational study. Students themselves will have better possibilities for the procurement and use of diverse information. For this reason the role of the teacher and trainer is changing from that of the authoritarian information distributor to that of a guide and resource for learning.
The possibilities to increase the openness and flexibility of training are good. In practice modern information and communication technology for teaching and learning offer flexible possibilities which are independent of the time or place of study. New study networks, both national and international will be born. The extensive use of information and communication technology however requires comprehensive research, development and trial activities, as well as the dissemination of information about the development of the new learning environments.
The development of distance education for teaching and training on all levels must be led towards an increase in openness of study. This does not only mean openness with respect to time and place, but it is ever more important to increase the openness of training with respect to previous training, people's life situation and the surrounding society.
To develop distance and multiform study, as well as open learning environments, the opinion of the Finnish Association for Distance Education is that the following actions should be taken: