E-learning Skill and Use in EU Countries – A Statistical Analysis

The article investigates the division between member states of the European Union considering the aspect of their level of information and communication technology (ICT) development focusing on e-learning. With the help of discriminant analysis the countries are categorized into groups based on their ICT maturity and e-learning literacy level of development. Making a comparison with a benchmarking tool, the ITU (International Telecommunication Union)’s ICT Development Index (IDI) the results are confirmed partly correct. The article tries to find economical explanations for the re-grouping of the countries ranking. Finally the author examines the reliability of Hungary’s ranking results and the factors which may affect this divergence from the real picture.

Teaching Sorting in ICT

This article is aimed at considering how an algorithmic problem - more precisely a sorting problem - can be used in an informatics class in primary and secondary education to make students mobilize the largest possible amount of their intellectual skills in the problem solving process. We will be outlining a method which essentially forces students to utilize their mathematical knowledge besides algorithmization in order to provide an efficient solution. What is more, they are expected to use efficiently a tool that has so far not been associated with creative thinking. Sorting is meant to be just an example, through which our thoughts can easily be demonstrated, but - of course the method of education outlined can be linked to several other algorithmic problems, as well.