1. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 1 The Development of eServices in an Enlarged EU: The Case of eLearning Kirsti Ala-Mutka European Commission, JRC Institute for Prospective Technological Studies Information Society Unit The views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the EC

2. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 2 IPTS : Part of DG JRC of the EC: 7 Research Institutes across Europe Mission : to provide customer- driven support to the EU policy- making process by researching science-based responses to policy challenges that have both a socio-economic as well as a scientific or technological dimension Institute for Prospective Technological Studies

3. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 3 Outline About the project EU-10 context ICT skills, access, usage in EU-10 Opportunities and bottlenecks for ICT, learning and innovation in –Schools –Higher education –Adult learning Conclusion

4. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 4 About the project Project: Next steps in developing IS Services in the EU-10: the case of eLearning –Started in 2006, now 10 country reports and a synthesis report under final publishing process –Parallel to a project on eHealth and eGovernment Objectives –To build evidence about the current usage of ICT for learning in the EU-10 –To identify drivers and barriers for eLearning developments –To analyse possible policy options and suggest future R&D priority areas Researchers: national experts + Coordinating experts from ICEG EC + additional experts in synthesis report In this study, eLearning is defined to encompass both –Learning through the use of ICT and –Learning the necessary competences to make use of ICT in knowledge society

5. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 5 EU-10 context EU-10 are not a homogeneous group of countries Income inequalities, social divides Large regional disparities Long-term unemployment is persistent Educational context –Good level of basic educational attainment Especially CZ, PL, SK, SI perform well in upper-secondary completion and early school leavers – but MT another story –Good MST graduate development –Public education expenditure in % of GDP slightly higher than in EU-15 –Low participation to Lifelong learning But SI has the highest values in the whole EU

6. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 6 Household access Source: Eurostat database

7. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 7 Internet skills Source: Eurostat database

8. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 8 Internet use Source: Eurostat database (2007)

9. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 9 Schools Opportunities Skills of the learners –In EU-10 there are more often separate ICT courses at schools Skills of the (younger?) teachers –Fewer teachers consider ICT skills to be a major barrier in EU-10 than in EU-15 Bottlenecks Infrastructure –There are less internet connected computers per school pupil in EU-10 and the quality of computers is low –Schools typically have basic internet access but the quality of the access is low in some regions Settings –Reports suggest that requirements set by curricula and assessment systems prohibit developing and using new methods for learning Dilemmas Large divides in teachers computer usage and skills –Surveys show that teachers consider ICT possibly beneficial for their students –Reports state that motivation is a large barrier for using ICT Data sources: Benchmarking access and use of ICT in European Schools 2006 + project reports

10. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 10 Universities Opportunities Infrastructure –HE institutions are generally well equipped with computers and internet –Universities have ICT enabled distance studies and are using learning management systems (LMS) also to support their local students Skills of learners –Almost all students have some level of ICT skills, in average same or better than EU-15 average Bottlenecks Settings –Few universities have strategies for advancing ICT and innovative learning approaches Teacher training, support, incentives for innovative development –There seems to be little networking, large scale collaboration in organizing education or sharing experiences of innovative approaches Research? –Not much visibility of R&D support and research units for develop innovative learning approaches and support innovative teachers

11. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 11 Adult learning Opportunities Skills of employees and people –Generally high level of basic education –Example projects for ICT skills supported by foundations and (international) companies Attitude –Enterprises have taken up eLearning for training of their employees, especially internationally certified online courses (Cisco, Microsoft, ECDL) There exists need for developing Lifelong learning (economic growth, labour market needs, unemployment) Bottlenecks Settings –Unequal access to learning opportunities among employees –Smaller companies have poorer internet access Attitude –Reports suggest that employers often consider learning to be on the responsibility of the employee – hence not supporting –Suspicious attitude towards the quality of online learning both by learners and employers Wide skills divides

12. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 12 Source: Eurostat database, year 2007

13. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 13 Overall positive developments Preparedness for using ICT as a new learning tool has been developing fast and catching up with EU-15 –Infrastructure, skills of learners There are examples of using ICT for extending learning opportunities and enhancing ICT skills in all countries –In formal education, workplaces and other adult education There is increasing policy attention and interest –E.g. Slovenia and Malta are preparing national eLearning strategies Young learners and teachers may be even better prepared with ICT skills than in EU-15

14. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 14 Overall bottlenecks Infrastructure: –Quantity and quality of ICT equipment and internet access, both in general and in places of education –Geographical divides Skills for learners and teachers: –Large economical and social divides in ICT skills, age divides –Training for innovating in learning/teaching with ICT has not been on the agenda Settings: –No overall vision of eLearning, coordination of policies, strategies for institutions –No encouragement or support for teachers to develop new forms of learning, no encouragement for employers to support employee learning Objectives: –eLearning seems to have been often considered as creating online materials, translating existing courses as distance courses, not driving new educational innovations Attitudes: Cultural differences, resistance to change

15. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 15 Policy issues Addressing low digital literacy, ICT infrastructure and access –For different potential learner groups –For teachers, headmasters and educational administrators Promoting awareness of the potential of ICT for innovation and learning –For educational institutions, companies, policymakers Improving participation to Lifelong learning –Especially at workplaces, disadvantaged groups Supportive institutional settings for educational innovations –Regulations, certifications, skill requirements, salary systems, incentives, empowering teachers to innovate –Promoting networking and collaboration for developing and sharing innovations Supporting developing new innovative models and practices –Structural funds –Measurements and guidelines for advancing innovation in learning Overall policy vision and coordination to support ICT and innovation for lifelong learning

16. EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14 th June 2008, Lisbon 16 Thank you for your attention kirsti.ala-mutka@ec.europa.eu http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/