How to utilize technology in order to improve learning and teaching in Europe has been a concern in the last two EU funding cycles, especially in the context of uneven access to modern technology for learning both at home and especially in the classroom across the EU member states.

During the 2007-2013 funding period, the EU invested €185 million across 50 technology-enhanced learning (TEL) projects as part of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Innovation of the EU (FP7) and €5,7 million in 6 projects covering e-learning, STEM and ICT for learning for all as part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) [1].

The concern for this area remains in Horizon 2020, the programme relevant for the 2014-2020 funding period. For 2014-2015, €70 million has been allocated to the goal of inclusive 24/7 digital learning for all, in order to bridge gaps in how ICT is used in education and training systems, limiting its potential impact for learning across Europe, as at present 88% of EU 9 year olds are not in “highly digitally-equipped schools” (that is, schools with appropriate equipment, fast broadband and high connectivity) and there is only 20% of teachers who are digitally confident and supportive, even though 70% of teachers recognise the importance of ICT-supported pedagogies [2].

The European Commission has recognized this issue. In 2013 it has launched the Opening up Education initiative [3] with the goal of stimulating ways of learning and teaching through ICT and digital content, with a focus on development and availability of Open Educational Resources (OERs). It has also developed the Open Education Europa portal as the central portal to catalogue OERs in Europe allowing students to build knowledge from open and free sources other than their teachers or institutions, fostering wide use and creation of OERs in different EU languages as well as serving as a central location for creating communities of practice to share teaching materials and best practices for ICT-based teaching across borders and languages.

The European Parliament has also taken up the issue. In March 2015 the Scientific Foresight Unit (STOA) of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) published a study on learning and teaching technology options [4]. It concludes that the time for question if governments should invest in educational technology has passed and that the question now is which approaches to pursue and allocate funding for in order to add the most value to the educational system. 

It recommends to policy makers to consider and balance, in the interest of EU society, a mix of policies.  Those policies should have a technology aspect such as policies of extensive deployment of technology at the school level, standardizing schools at a minimum threshold of infrastructure, but also targeted pilot deployments and frameworks for leveraging student devices and open and collaborative environments. Stakeholders’ engagement policies are also crucial at both teacher, industry and family level, as are competitiveness policies of adapting the curriculum and assessment methods, increasing the recognition of informal learning and shaping the role of MOOCs, especially in lifelong learning. Tools to properly evaluate the policies and therefore allow for different allocation of priorities in the future should also be developed alongside the implementation of the policies.

The report was followed up by a workshop during the May 2015 plenary session of the European Parliament [5], which showed a variety of opinions by TEL practitioners and methodologists.

The continuous interest by European stakeholders through different initiatives shows that the importance of ICT in teaching and learning is recognised but, as noted by the STOA study, there is and should be a variety of approaches being explored in different member states and at the EU level, with no one clear approach at this time, making this a key period for learning by doing and therefore setting up the practical fundamentals of technology-enhanced learning technologies and methodologies in Europe.
 

References
[1]    European Commission, “Research and Innovation for ICT in education,” Digital Agenda for Europe, 2015. [Online]. Available: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/research-and-innovation-ict-education.
[2]    European Commission, “Education and Learning,” European Commision Official Web Site, 2015. [Online]. Available: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/connect/en/content/learning-and-skills-youth.
[3]    European Commission, “Opening up Education: Innovative teaching and learning for all through new Technologies and Open Educational Resources,” 2013.
[4]    R. R. Pastor and C. T. Quirós, “Learning and teaching technology options,” 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/547407/EPRS_STU(2015)547407_EN.pdf.
[5]    European Parliament, “How could technology change the way we teach & learn?,” Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA), 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/stoa/cms/home/workshops/teaching.

The positions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not represent any official position of the European Parliament.