EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

On 25 September 2013, the Commission presented its communication entitled ‘Opening up Education: Innovative teaching and learning for all through new Technologies and Open Educational Resources’. The document identifies challenges in three fields:

o (1) Innovation in education and training institutions;

o (2) Use of Open Educational Resources (OER);

o (3) Availability of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructures and equipment.

The Commission’s suggestions for the Member States and education & training institutions include:

o (1) Increasing recognition of skills acquired online and supporting teachers’ acquisition of digital competences;

o (2) Promoting open access to publicly-funded educational materials;

o (3) Improving broadband connectivity and ICT equipment at the classroom level.

The rapporteur believes that, in light of the current economic crisis, and against the backdrop of high youth unemployment, one increasingly important challenge facing the Member States is to provide young people with a quality education.

The uneven availability of digital infrastructure across the Union poses a second challenge. The rapporteur believes that the resolution to this problem lies in the use of EU programmes, and in cooperation between Member States and regions.

Moreover, the rapporteur fears that the Union could fall further behind the United States and Asia in the digital competence of its workforce. European education and training systems are still unable to integrate ICT in their mainstream practices. There is a major difference between the day-to-day use of digital technologies and their use in education and training institutions. Cooperation between European education and training institutions should be encouraged to facilitate the development of OER.

Ground-breaking shifts are happening in the field of education and training. We are witnessing a massive growth in educational courses and other resources available via the internet, either free as OER or as paid-for resources: knowledge is increasingly available for everyone, and often for free.

Furthermore, our lives are becoming increasingly digital. This presents both opportunities and challenges for the education sector: the benefits of new technologies must be reaped without neglecting the value of traditional methods.

Making more use of digital technologies is creating opportunities for education and training institutions, teachers, students and pupils to teach and learn in innovative ways. Educational institutions will have the chance to choose individual resources and modify them according to their specific needs, thereby creating a greater diversity of learning environments. OER can help to enhance collaborative approaches and personalise the learning process.

While a ‘digital native’ generation is fast emerging, today’s educators must be properly trained to embed ICT in their pedagogical practices. For this reason, the rapporteur believes that the European Union should support teachers’ education and professional development on ICT and promote the use of OER.

Many institutions use OER materials. While open licences allow the free exchange of digital educational resources, there are still some challenges to be faced related to the copyright of teaching and learning materials. It is important to properly monitor and analyse these issues.

In the field of education and training, it is essential to continue to improve existing and promote innovative methods of teaching and learning. OER can make a strong contribution towards reaching the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy and making lifelong learning a reality.

Keywords

Europe 2020 strategy · OER government policy · professional development · universal digital education