PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON INFORMATICS IN EDUCATION

The topic ''Informatics and Changes in Learning'' of this conference is very rich and may be considered from historical, present and futuristic points of view. The history of the informatics influence on learning is rather short, but very important as a basis for predicting the future. The present situation is extremely dynamic and far from settled. This opens the door for many futuristic deliberations. In this opening keynote speech, I will share my experience and my visions in using informatics and information technologies in educational theory and in everyday educational practice. I will also discuss some general problems of education in the information era from the point of view of human development and world stability. One of the theses in this paper is that informatics is shaping a new era in the developed world where changes in education are influenced through information technologies, but in the future the character of the information technologies will depend mostly an the enacted education.