Uppeldi og menntun - 01.01.2004, Page 130

NÁMS5TÍLL NOKKURRA FJARNEMENDA
ABSTRACT
The number of students enrolled in distance education programmes at university
level in Iceland has increased during the past few years, especially at the Iceland Uni-
versity of Education (IUE). Distance education requires different teaching methods
and attitudes towards university education. In this research I focus on the distance
education programmes at the IUE. The goals of the study were to examine the
learning styles of distance education students, consider the relationship between
distance education as a form of instruction and learning styles and examine the
learning environment of distance education students from the IUE and how they use
information and communication technology in their learning activities. Data was
collected by conducting semi-open interviews with six distance learning students
studying, or who have been studying, at the IUE. Three students kept diaries about
their courses over a period of two weeks. The constant comparative method was
used to analyse the data collection. The software QSR NVivo Nud*ist which is used
to analyse qualitative data was used to analyse the interviews and diaries.
The main results of the study were that keen interest, persistence and good org-
anisation characterise the learning styles of distance education students. The students
choose to study alone at home. They believe that the distance education model has,
among other things, increased their self-discipline and made them more responsible
for their own learning. They find the level of service at the ÍUE to be good though
teaching methods could be improved. The use of information and communication
technology in learning activities and instruction at the University has increased
during the past few years and computers are commonly used as educational tools, as
support in learning, to communicate, to search for information and to discuss various
matters on the Internet.
Kristín Helga GuÖmundsdóttir er
verkefnisstjóri í símenntun við KHÍ
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