Saqqummersitaq

This paper presents a case study on distance teaching in a school in Greenland. Data from work on Grounded Theory is used to investigate ways of utilizing distance teaching in the school. The analysis draws on a prevalent perspective on distance teaching as providing access to education. The perspective combines with Michel Foucault’s concept of “governmentality”.

I will show how progressive possibilities are not necessarily to be found in ICT-driven distance teaching. Pedagogical drivers operate behind the choices of ICT equipment and ICT solutions which, in this case, brings ICT under the command of a less progressive pedagogical agenda.

As I will show, the commitment from the municipality and from the teachers was to use distance teaching and ICT for conventional schooling. The case lays the ground for a discussion on the progressivity of distance teaching and the use of advanced ICT solutions in schools. My aim with the paper is to add to the understanding of the scope of distance teaching in schools. Does ICT and distance teaching serve progressive ends per se? What do we learn about distance teaching from this setup in the school in Greenland?

As part of research based on Øgaards ph.d. dissertation (Øgaard 2015) on distance teaching in school, pupils in a small settlement in the Disko Bay where connected with an educated sloyd teacher working in the nearest town. Assignments, projects and results from the pupils where distributed through the use of iPads and internet. An important part of the didactical design was small workbenches and selected tools developed for the project to frame and support sloyd as distance teaching.

The teaching took place october- december 2018. The didactical design has been working very well. On request from the local headteacher the sloyd distance teaching will continue. Following Øgaards research, distance teaching in schools is studied for progressive and didactical developmental components. Distance teaching is usually associated with high priority school subjects like math and language. Choosing sloyd as a subject for distance teaching is, beside support of sloyd as a school subject, also an effort to stretch and challenge the possibilities with distance teaching in schools, for its support of didactical and pedagogical development.