29. apríl 2011, Mentor

Dear conference delegates

As I welcome all of you to this international conference on School development here in Iceland I would like to reflect a little on the history of Icelandic schooling. In 1907 the first laws on compulsory education of children were passed. This means that my great grandparents were educated according to those laws by teachers that kept track of all their work by paper and ink. As for my grand parents and my parents, this was also the norm. Education was done by paper and ink. The legal framework changed quite dramatically over the years, the structure and content of education was altered but the means still stayed the same, paper and ink and of course the invaluable input of the teachers.

During my school days there were some changes; different media was starting to emerge and became a part of the „stable diet” of students in schools. Today Icelandic school system is very well equipped of computer facilities and softwares. Technology have changed the way of how we teach and learn to communicate.

School development is in my view not just about changing the legal frameworks and curriculum, but also that educational structures have the flexibility to adopt and adapt the changing realities that all people participate in.

The pioneers of Mentor did exactly that, seized the opportunities that were offered by the computer age and developed applications that allowed teachers to adopt and adapt the fresh emphasis on the students' passage through the education system. Mentor has been a part of the Icelandic School system for more than 20 years, which is really a long time. Putting this into the historical perspective, this means that Mentor has been an option for schools in Iceland for around 20% of the history of compulsory education.

This afternoon you will be hearing from speakers from four countries, Switzerland, Sweden, the UK and Iceland. The topics will vary from teaching children and looking at key components in design of schools, to looking at formative assessments and quality control of education.

The topics are all very relevant to what is happening in Iceland at the moment, as we are now implementing laws on education from 2008. New national curriculum is being issued next month. The main emphasis in the new curriculum is on building responsive and equal school community and educating critical individuals to be active participants in a democratic and sustainable society. Six pillars are presented in the curriculum that will lay the foundations of the entire Icelandic education system for years to come. These six core pillars are democracy with the emphasis on human rights and ethics, sustainability, equality, literacy, creativity, and well-being.

Undoubtedly, teachers and schools will develop many different strategies to implement these fundamental pillars into their everyday work Keeping in mind that they do not only demand change in content, but development of the educational approaches and understanding of learning and teaching. It is therefore of great importance that schools have access to the means, the toolbox, that allows for the flexible communication that Mentor offers.

I rest assure that Mentor will keep on developing the toolbox that large part of schools in Iceland use. Dear foreign guests, I hope you enjoy your stay here in Iceland and have a nice flight back home. I wish you all the best in your discussions today.