1. European Commission DG Education and Culture 1 st European eLearning Forum for Education Conference 22-23 November 2004, Brussels Work of the European Commission on the use of ICT in education and training Maruja Gutierrez Diaz DG Education and Culture

2. European Commission DG Education and Culture A brief overview of European policy in the field of ICT for education since Lisbon Main actions and processes Some snaphsots of evolution Conclusions and perspectives

3. European Commission DG Education and Culture A vision for Europe: education to make it true For Europe to become the most dynamic and advanced knowledge-based society in the world, with more and better jobs, and increased social cohesion Education in Europe must also become the most advanced and dynamic education in the world realising the lifelong learning ideal eLearning is seen as a lever for change to the knowledge society and as a lifelong learning enabler

4. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning in the EU: three policy development contexts eEurope / eLearning An urgent action to build up the knowledge society foundations, with better co-ordination of EU actions Education & Training 2010 A shared work programme for adaptating European education and training systems to the knowledge society Framework Programmes for Research A long-standing support to the use of ICT in education

5. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning: three implementation contexts eEurope / eLearning Fix short term objectives; benchmark progress; ensure fast deployment of infrastructure and basic services [EU level action] Education & Training 2010 Facilitate and foster stakeholders participation; identify common concerns; share good policies and practices [MS level action]; preparation of the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013 Research Programmes Support and stimulate research on the use of new technologies to enhance education and on the required tools and infrastructures

6. European Commission DG Education and Culture eEurope / eLearning and related programmes Identifying priority objectives and benchmarks to measure their achievement Improving communication and synergy between the diverse EU programmes and instruments Establishing eLearning as a priority in all the relevant ones: eContent, eTEN, ESF - European Social Fund, ERFD - European Regional Development Fund Fostering information and communication amongst all stakeholders: government, industry, society, academy

7. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning in eEurope eEurope 2002:a call for action Nearly 100% of schools connected in Europe From 25 to 17 pupils per connected PC eEurope+: anticipating enlargement A different kind of challenge eEurope 2005: One of three key priorities eGovernment+eHealth+eLearning: bringing about the knowledge society

8. European Commission DG Education and Culture Benchmarking eEurope 2002 Increasing connectivity

9. European Commission DG Education and Culture SIBIS: Increasing digital literacy

10. European Commission DG Education and Culture Education & Training 2010 A shared work programme Three core objectives: Enhancing quality Increasing accessibility Connecting to society A new working method: open coordination Agreed indicators and benchmarking Periodical reporting A new approach to action Integrated lifelong learning programme 2007-2013

11. European Commission DG Education and Culture Education and Training 2010 Success hinges on urgent reforms - 1 Rates of early school leavers still too high  In 2002 almost 20% 18-24 yrs had only lower secondary education Too few women in scientific and technological fields  Still 2-4 times more men than women in science Completion of upper secondary education could be better  In 2002 only 76% of 22 yrs old completed upper 2nd school ‘Education and Training 2010’ Joint interim report of Council and Commission * * COM (2003) 685 final, Official Journal 30 April 2004 2004/C 104/1

12. European Commission DG Education and Culture Education and Training 2010 Success hinges on urgent reforms - 2 Young people failing to acquire key competences  Nearly 20% of young people don’t have key competencies Shortage of qualified teachers and trainers is looming  27% primary & 37% secondary teachers are more than 50 yrs old Too few adults participating in lifelong learning  In 2002 participation rate was only 8.5% ‘Education and Training 2010’ Joint interim report of Council and Commission * * COM (2003) 685 final, Official Journal 30 April 2004 2004/C 104/1

13. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning in Education & Training 2010 An ICT working group: Member States, education stakeholders such as EVTA, relevant organisations such as OECD, IEA Four policy recommendations: Embed ICT policies and strategies into long term educational objectives Ensure new support services for education Empower educational actors and train them for the management of change Develop research, establish new indicators and provide access to results

14. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning in the future Lifelong Learning (LLL) programme Integrated Programme Comenius School education Erasmus Higher education & advanced training Leonardo da Vinci Initial and continuing VET Grundtvig Adult education Transversal programme 4 key activities – Policy development; Language learning; ICT ; Dissemination Jean Monnet programme 3 key activities – Jean Monnet Action; European Institutions; European Associations

15. European Commission DG Education and Culture The eLearning initiative The first education initiative following Lisbon Four action lines Infrastructure and equipment Training at all levels Quality contents and services European networking and co-operation Four years: 2000-2003 27,2 million € 65 pilot projects and 7 strategic studies

16. European Commission DG Education and Culture The eLearning Action Plan: action through partnership The eLearning Action Plan helps co-ordinate community actions concerned with e-learning, mobilising the educational and cultural communities, as well as the economic and social players in Europe Partnerships between Commission’s services acting in the eLearning area: Employment; Information Society; Enterprise; Eurostat Fostering public-private partnerships: eLIG, the eLearning Industry Group

17. European Commission DG Education and Culture Facilitating exchanges The eLearning Portal elearningeuropa.info

18. European Commission DG Education and Culture The eLearning Programme Four areas of action: Promoting digital literacy10% budget European Virtual Campuses30% budget eTwinning of European schools45% budget Transversal actions 7,5% budget 44 Million Euro for three years (2004-2006)

19. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning in the Framework Programmes for Research A long standing support, started 15 years ago with DELTA and ESPRIT A substantial investment in applying new technologies to education, from CSL to GRID computing (only the 5 th FP under the IST programme invested 140 Meuro) A first attempt to improved cooperation: the Task Force for Educational Multimedia Software in 1977 A focus on technical issues, and on socioeconomic research; need to strengthen pedagogical aspects

20. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning evolution: a deep change Integration of ICT in education has moved From research to practice From awareness to take-up From pilot projects to mainstreaming From technological to cultural barriers But it still calls for political leadership

21. European Commission DG Education and Culture E-Learning readiness index

22. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning evolution: still a long way to go Lack of a common understanding of basic concepts: e- learning, digital literacy, Lack of comparable and timely data, of relevant output indicators and of adequate monitoring tools Lack of sufficient pedagogical research on the learning results of e-learning Investment in ICT has reached significant levels – yet, there is no clear evidence of a satisfactory ROI Is the integration of ICT attaining its objectives ?

23. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning policy: need for an integrated approach Between different learning levels: Lifelong learning eLearning as a transversal issue, as a thread linking different levels of learning and different types of learners Between research and practice Fostering technological, pedagogical, socio-economic and, in particular, user-oriented, learning-oriented research Between supply and demand Building a solid demand, creating fair conditions for supply Standards, interoperability, IPR & DRM, multilingual issues Fostering public-private partnerships

24. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning perspectives: a reason to continue Better and wider use of e-learning should contribute to increased: Empowerment: people, institutions, companies Equity: personal, social, geographical Productivity: personal, social, economic Creativity: innovation, imagination, change

25. European Commission DG Education and Culture Thank you for your attention ! e-mail : maruja.gutierrez-diaz@cec.eu.int