Interview with Visamaki Students

Hi !

Today I will talk a little about a very interesting assignment we had this morning. We all went to Visamaki campus to conduct a interview with a group of students on the 1st semester of ICT course at HAMK.

It was very interesting , the process as a whole. As part of the course, the students have class of internationalization, in English, and how to behave in a professional environment. So today we met then and split the class  in groups of 2 or 3  students and started a little conversation about Finland, Brazil, education and culture.

I must say that the group was very heterogeneous . I interviewed students from 17 to 25 with very different backgrounds, from large cities like Tampere to very small ones across Finland. My first group, somehow reminded of my students: usually very young, with a lot of doubts about the course and the future and somehow still trying to figure if they are in the right path or not. They were very shy at start but then I guess they become more relaxed and asked me some questions. Their knowledge about Brazil was not so deep but they were impressed about the size of country, the huge contrasts we have in social and economic affairs.  Was shocking for then to know that a doctor earns as much as 20 times more than a bus driver . Here in Finland the difference is about 3 times. Of course they think a doctor who studies for 10 years deserves a better salary, but they don’t think they are so more valuable than other professions for example .

The other groups were in someway more experienced in the field, or at least had a previous experience in work. Most of then went to vocational schools in the field and after some period working decided to have more education as a way to progress in career. It was also a remarkable fact, because in Brazil, specially in ICT field, we value a lot more the skills acquired in practice than theoretical knowledge of a university. They actually see, through the University of Applied Sciences, that learning is a good way to upgrade your career.

Of course most of then have different levels of expectations about the course and different reasons to choose HAMK (it’s nearest to some, the only choice they had from vocational school) but all of then think that this course can help then in the future to get better jobs or even create their own company. And they don’t think that the courses of applied sciences are somehow worse than the courses of traditional universities. They actually think that is a faster way to learn and in the future they will receive the same salary. And they are very excited about this new method of modules that HAMK is developing.

Regarding the internationalization , most of then never went abroad . Perhaps those ones who went were not that mature to analyze the differences in cultural relations as we see here in Finland but all of then said that they have a desire to go to another countries. In that aspect I was questioned why Brazil doesn’t receive so many exchange students. In our reflection we found that the language barrier is very big and also in Brazil this idea to go abroad is not that stimulated . Maybe because of the language but I think there’s something else… I think that the notion of living in a different country is so unusual for us that most students don’t even plan to do it . Our nation is so big and we don’t know all of it, what to say about other nations ?

I think the interview was a very interesting method to help us to understand the puzzle we are facing: Why the Finnish educational system is so good? Because now we really can testify it is good ! The students are so different from Brazil? Maybe not . So I think that the most important whole is played by the school and teachers. And what can we bring to Brazil when we go back? I’m still learning ….

Bye !

Science Fairs and Google Apps for Education

Hello , just a quick update !

Yesterday me and Angela gave a lecture about Science Fairs and Google Apps for Education . Unfortunately we didn’t had the time to apply all activities planed, but let’s see, maybe a round 2 ?

Here is the link !

Cya ! !

 

Lepaa and a visit to a primary school

Hi !

Has been a while but I will try to update the blog more frequently .

On Monday we (Me, Angela , Regina and Vicente) went to Lepaa to talk to our stakeholders here in HAMK. I had a pleasant meet with Markku Kippola to discuss about my project. Markku developed a very interesting project in Valkeakosky HAMK to compete in the Field Robot Competition , using sensors , cameras and motors do build a robot. As we share similar interests, Markku gave some valuable tips about sensors and different technologies they use here in Finland in the agriculture field. Later we discussed the educational system in Finland and Brazil, how to engage students in projects and most important how to evaluate then based on different competencies. We are both enthusiasts of developing projects as an educational tool to improve students learning. In some way we acknowledged that the work we have been done outside the class has good results but some how we need to bring this inside the class as new way to evaluate students in many different levels. Markku is hoping that the new HAMK module method based on projects can help him to achieve his goals. I and have hope to change something in Brazil to start this process….

This Tuesday we went to Seminaari Elementary School, the same School Artur, son of our friend Fernando, is attending. It was a very interesting visit, as we were very well received (as usual) from the staff members of the school.

I think that, so far, was the most enriching experience in terms of actually seeing what happens inside a school in Finland. And I must say that I was really impressed. Something that always come to our eyes is the beauty and organization of the space. It really gives you pleasure to stay in such environment . The furniture is well designed to provide flexibility to teachers and students. It is noticeable the concern in create a environment where everyone feels relaxed and comfortable.

The facilities to teach crafting and textile reminded of my old school in Brasilia, where I had the same classes. Maybe not in such modern machinery but the concept was there and I remember how I enjoyed create something by myself. I was thinking if my school still apply these kind of methodology… I need to do some research .

It was striking, like the principal of the school stressed, how the classes are prepared to handle children with special needs and how they are incorporated with the regular classes. The use of technological tools inside the classroom (All classrooms have digital boards and digital projectors) can really help develop the learning of those children and how is important create new tools to improve the technology use.

And finally my two major observations: First, the principal line, that his main goal is to promote a good environment in the school so teachers and students enjoy work there. I think that his line was remarkable because we could think that someone in Brazil would talk about numbers and so on, and he spoke about something very simple and tangible . And I think that he pinpointed perfectly : A good environment of work make all the rest easy. When you are motivated, has freedom to speak and know that your opinion will be taken in consideration , I think that all the rest goes more easily.

Second, the Discovery room ! The international community has been discussing for a long time the need to show to children even on early age the world of programming. Code.org promotes this idea with interviews of several famous developers. But I think that nothing has more impact to children than tangible objects. In the discovery room they have 2 3D printers and the possibilities of this kind of equipment inside the school are really amazing. Learn math trough computer graphics , engineering in practice, fast prototype and even make toys are one of the infinity possibilities.

 

 

Sports competitions in Finland

Hi Everyone ,

 

I know that has been a while , I had some very busy weeks but I will try to update the blog more often this week .

Just a quick post to reply to Ale, that asked me about schools sport competition in Finland.

I really had difficult to find some answers about this subject. Luckily I went to Valkeakoski to know a High School and a Vocational School and could be more in touch with the students. Well, they do have sports competitions . I don’t know if I could say that this kind of competition is discouraged as a politic, but certainly the students don’t show the same level of enthusiasm as Brazilian or American’s students do. I saw a wall with trophies and medals displayed of course, but asking to the students about those competitions they don’t seemed to care . I think that much of that behavior is connected with the way Finns view their society as a role. They value equality above exceptional and I guess that they see sports much more as a fun activity than a way to test themselves against each other. And of course they don’t have here the economical factor we have in Brazil, as a way to drive people away from poverty using exceptional physical skills as something to excel .

Of course the ice hockey season did not started yet and I’m excited to meet the inner beast of Finns rooting for the Hameelinna team ! LoL .

More about Valkeakoski in the following chapters !

Thtat’s all folks !

Cya

 

 

Entrepreneurship and university/companies relationship

Greetings !

Prof Carlos asked how entrepreneurship is taught here in Finland . Funny fact , we just had a class with Salla Niittymäki’s  about that subject this week. It was a very interesting class in many aspects. First , we could see how to apply a project based learning in a approach oriented towards international business students. It’s interesting to realize how is the relationship between companies and universities here in Finland. It’s almost symbiotic. As I mentioned in a earlier post, international companies line inside the university and benefits from it’s resources and knowledge.

The projects in entrepreneur are applied in the 3rd or 4th year of undergrad courses, always as practical projects inside a company. There’s a specialized staff responsible for find the companies interested in join the university  in a project. And to be meaningful for the students, the project is real need from the company and is expected to deliver a product like would be expected from a employee of the company. I found this very disturbing, compared to our reality. In Brazil I can’t imagine a company delegating an important task to a trainee, even more to a group of students. But in most cases the companies found students projects better than their own projects. That’s confidence in Finland educational system. They know the universities will deliver a high quality result. And because of the internalization of the educational system, they can take advantage of specialized knowledge about the inside of certain countries they are trying to reach.

As an odd note , When we asked about Junior enterprises and incubated companies, their answer was that they didn’t focus in this kind of approach . As something we give great value in entrepreneur in Brazil, was interesting to see that they think in the companies/ university in a completely different way .  My interpretation is they have such  a high integration with the market that they don’t need a special tool to develop the companies, the students are able to create their own business because they lived the company’s routine in practice. And the professors don’t think is inadequate this kind of relationship, as something in Brazil we often call “turn education in a market product”. They value this relationship as something important to the students career and university itself as a path to keep updated. It’s important to remember that teacher’s in Universities of Applied Science were prior to teacher career , employees of the private sector with a large experience on their field .

I will try to answer the questions in shorter periods of time. And the next post will be about … collecting Mushrooms !

Cya

Fatos estranhos sobre a Finlandia

O Emanuel me perguntou sobre alguns costumes estranhos da Finlandia . Vou escrever em portugues por que nao sei eles podem se sentir ofendido com alguma das minhas impressoes.

Bom , para ser honesto eu nao achei nada muito estranho ate agora. A comida e bem parecida com a nossa, eles so comem muito menos carne vermelha do que a gente pois o preco e exorbitante. O kg de carne custa em torno de R$ 60,00. Peito de frango em torno de R$ 50,00. Carne de porco e um pouco mais barata, da para achar em torno de R$ 25,00 o Kg. Eles comem muito peixe aqui, especialmente salmao, mas nao e assim tao barato, custa em torno de R$ 50,00 o Kg mas as vezes acha em promocao por R$ 25,00. Outras coisas sao bem mais baratas, por exemplo queijos da melhor qualidade por R$ 18,00 o Kg.

Fora o preco a variedade de produtos e absurdamente maior do que qualquer supermercado do Brasil . Aqui no site do K CityMarket voces podem ver algumas coisas .  Mas fora uns peixes sem cabeca em conserva eu nao vi nada absolutamente nada fora do normal aqui. As bebidas sao usualmente quentes, algo que particularmente me irrita as vezes. As cervejas tambem sao bem diferentes, tem cerveja de tudo quanto e coisa . A aline adorou a cerveja de gengibre . Ate agora nao tomei nada muito estranho … alias ontem eu comprei uma maquina de fazer refrigerante em casa ! Voce compra os sabores e faz com agua normal mesmo, ate agora estou achando bem legal. E da sodastream, tem no Brasil tambem mas aqui e uma febre, todo lugar vende  ! A minha e essa aqui :

Bom uma coisa que eu notei e que os Finlandeses sao muito gentis e comunicativos. Em todos os blogs que eu li antes de vir para ca falavam que era um povo fechado e etc e em alguns momentos sao mesmo. Por exemplo, fui num bar semana passada e ng abria a boca, o povo ficava sentado bebendo e so … para a gente foi bem estranho. Agora se voce comeca a falar com alguem eles sao muito simpaticos e prestativos e falam bastante mesmo !

Acho que como coisas estranhas posso destacar o doce tradicional deles, o Salmiakki. Eu nao gostei, mas aqui tem muita coisa de salmiakki, sorvete, bala , etc.  E o mais preocupante de tudo, que deixou o pessoal em polvorosa la em Brasilia : a sauna pelado e pular no buraco akakakaka.

Todo lugar tem sauna aqui na Finlandia. Toda casa tem, tem saunas publicas, um monte de coisa. E e um lugar comum de encontrar as pessoas, e tipo um evento social . E dependendo do grau de proximidade ficam todos nus dentro da sauna. Essa parte eu realmente vou pular no quesito conhecendo a Finlandia. Outra coisa e que eles pulam no lago gelado, ou tomam um banho super gelado, ao sair da sauna. E aparentemente muita gente faz isso aqui . Eu achei um site explicando alguma coisas sobre esse costume Finlandes. Ainda nao experimentei, em outubro quando ja estiver tudo congelado vamos ver  !

Abracos !

 

Teacher training in Finland

Hello Everyone. I started early today, so lets answer another question.

Tatiana Duran wrote :

“Hi. You mentioned that the Finish invest in teacher training so, what kind of programmes do they offer? Other than exchange ones for teachers. It could be Masters or Doctorates…”

 

Tati, in HAMK we have a teacher training for International Teachers. You can find more information here . They presented to us the requirements of this teacher training and is quit different of we are used to in Brazil. The standarts are very high and usually you need to be a master or a PhD to join the program.

Here is a interview with Brian Joyce, one of our estimates teachers, speaking about the International Teachers Training in HAMK.

In Helsinki there are some master’s and doctoral degrees in education, most of then are in Finish and require a Education Bachelor Degree. I will do some research with the professors and get some specific directions about those programs . Here you can find some international programs in University of Helsinki and here you can find degrees in TAMK, in Tampere. In HAMK we have Business Management and Social and Health Care.

 

Hey ! Finally some questions !

Ok , My first questions ! Yayyyyyyyy and in English !

So, Emanual Vaz question was :

“How is the valorization of teachers? Which the points make the finnish education better than the brazilian? Do you know if there is brazilian exchange programs for study in finland?”

I must say that the whole scenario that makes Finish education better than Brazil one is very complex.
The first question that arises is : how to measure education quality ? The easiest answer, and by no means complete, is take a look at PISA reviews (You can find it here)

As predicted it shows FInland near the top of the ranking and Brazil well below. Leaving aside critics for the test itself, what we discussed here is that Finland is very equal. And you can see it in every aspect of Finish culture and economy (I wont answer this one here, I need more questions LoL ). But in average a Finish student is very very good and everybody have mostly the same skill level.

The foundation of Finish educational system is the teacher . We are very respected here , on the same level as a doctor or a lawyer . I can’t give no data , but on their presentations , the university staff told us that become a teacher is the most desired career in Finland . And that’s not because Finish professors are so well paid (they have a very good salary , but it’s not exceptional for their standards). What drives this desire is a strong respect and admiration for the profession.

To be a teacher in Finland you need previous experience in private sector. That’s right . You had to work in a company and know deep inside how it works. Opposite from Brazil, where the notion that academia is a completely different environment from company, in Finland they actually HAVE company’s INSIDE university. And I’m not talking about incubated company or start ups but international company’s.

Here at HAMK, they have the Innopark, a large facility that is a part of the university and at same time houses large company’s and incubated company’s . Below you can see some pictures I took last Friday :

 

The core revolution of Finish education revolution was centered in Teacher Training . Teachers are the creme de la creme not only in their field of expertise, but also in communication skills, pedagogical tools and technological tools to create and positive and engaging environment to learn.

We have respect here in Finland because they know a teacher is a very talented professional, prepared to do his work as a member of the educational system and society as a whole.

The exchange program. In Finland they promote the internationalization of their institutions. And they are very proud of it. It’s kind of weird because , everyone, I really mean everyone speaks English in Finland. Aline was amazed in the first week because at the supermarket the cashier spoke in English very well with us. Some of our friends brought their child with then and he is attending to a Finish school . When they first met the school the staff was in vacation, so the cleaner showed the facilities and explained how the school works. The cleaner. In English. It’s kind amazing for us such observations.

So of course, if you want to come to Finland and be part of a exchange program the first thing you must know is … English. And be very good on it . Here you can find more details about the program. But I know , for example, that the International Business Degree has students from more than 35 countries  ! How about you become one of then ? The staff didn’t know for sure but they are almost certain that we have at least 2 brazilian students in HAMK right now. As the classes only start in September we were unable to be in contact with then yet.

Ana Paula, I will talk with some professors tomorrow and I promise to answer your question .

Cya !!

 

Welcome !

Welcome !

Para aqueles que não me conhecem , aqui vai uma breve apresentação : About me !

Para os meus estudantes, amigos e companheiros de profissão, gostaria de convidá-los, ou melhor , desafiá-los em uma tarefa.

Desde meados de agosto estou morando em uma cidade chamada Hämeenlina, na Finlândia !

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Como todos devem imaginar, Haamenlina e a Finlândia em geral possuem muitas diferenças com o Brasil. Mas talvez possua algumas similaridades também … Ao invés de criar um blog tradicional, onde o fluxo parte sempre de mim para vocês, gostaria de tentar uma atividade diferente : Que tal vocês criarem o conteúdo desse blog ?

O acordo é o seguinte : Postem comentários nesse post e , na medida do possível, vou responder a todas as dúvidas utilizando fotos, vídeos, textos ou qualquer coisa possível.  Estou interessado em questões de relevância educacional, mas obviamente vou me divertir respondendo questões de âmbito geral, como costumes, clima, música, comida e etc.

Prontos para o desafio ?

PS : Obviamente ainda não falo Finlandês, então para deixar a coisa mais multicultural e vocês treinarem o inglês de vocês vou apreciar muito comentários em inglês ! Don’t be afraid and don’t be shy !