COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 6 May 1996

relating to educational multimedia software in the fields of education and training

(96/C 195/03)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to the draft Resolution submitted by the Commission with the contribution of the Italian Presidency,

Having regard to action to support the development of high-quality education through cooperation between the Member States, while respecting their responsibilities in this area,

Having regard to Decision No 819/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 1995 establishing the Community action programme 'Socrates` (1),

Having regard to Council Decision 94/819/EC of 6 December 1994 establishing an action programme for the implementation of a European Community vocational training policy (Leonardo da Vinci) (2),

Having regard to Decision No 818/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 1995 adopting the third phase of the 'Youth for Europe` programme (3),

Whereas Decision No 1110/94/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 April 1994 concerning the fourth framework programme of the European Community activities in the field of research and technological development and demonstration (1994 to 1998) (4), also makes provision for research in the area of the application of information and communication technologies in responding to common social needs;

Whereas Commission communication COM(96) 12 final concerning the draft Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding the second amendment to Decision 1110/94/EC makes provision for an increase in the global amount of the Community's financial contribution to the fourth framework programme, and the allocation of financial resources to activities relating to educational multimedia software;

Having regard to Council Decision 94/802/EC of 23 November 1994 adopting a specific programme for research and technological development, including demonstration, in the field of information technologies (1994 to 1998) (5),

Having regard to Council Decision 94/801/EC of 23 November 1994 adopting a specific programme for research and technological development, including demonstration, in the field of telematics applications of common interest (1994 to 1998) (6),

Having regard to Council Decision 94/915/EC of 15 December 1994 adopting a specific programme of research and technological development, including demonstration, in the field of target socio-economic research (1994 to 1998) (7),

Having regard to the Commission proposal of 30 June 1995 for a Council Decision adopting a multiannual Community programme to stimulate the development of a European multimedia content industry and to encourage the use of multimedia content in the emerging information society (Info 2000) (8),

Having regard to Council Decision 95/563/EC of 10 July 1995 on the implementation of a programme encouraging the development and distribution of European audiovisual works (Media II - development and distribution) (1996 to 2000) (9), and Council Decision 95/564/EC of 22 December 1995 on the implementation of a training programme for professionals in the European audiovisual industry (Media II - training) (10),

Having regard to the Council Resolution of 4 April 1995 on 'culture and the multimedia`, which recognized the urgency of taking action to support the establishment and development of a market in cultural multimedia whilst respecting Europe's linguistic and cultural diversity (11),

Having regard to the Commission's White Paper 'Growth, competitiveness, employment: the challenges and ways forward into the 21st century`, which stresses the importance of education and training as catalysts in a changing society,

Having regard to the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 'Towards the information society in Europe: a plan of action`,

Taking note of the outcome of the G7 meeting in Brussels on 25 and 26 February 1995 on the information society and particulary the recommendations on pilot projects in the area of transcultural education and training,

Having regard to the potential offered by the use of educational multimedia for third countries in the interest of international cooperation, and in particular the countries of central and eastern Europe, the countries of the Mediterranean basin, and developing countries,

Taking note of the two reports of June and December 1995 from the advisory group on competitiveness forwarded to the President of the Commission and to the Heads of State and Government on the improvement of European competitiveness,

Taking note, as contribution to the discussion, of the report of the task force 'multimedia educational software`, which took stock of the situation as regards such software in Europe and proposed a plan of action in this area,

Having regard to the Commission White Paper 'Teaching and learning: towards the learning society` which recommended inter alia measures to encourage the development of multimedia instruments conducive to the acquisition of new knowledge,

Having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on a methodology for the use of Community resources in implementing information society applications and on the need for effective coordination between research and educational programmes,

Having regard to the advantages of cooordinated action for the use of educational multimedia software in services in schools and training establishments in order to:

- improve the quality and effectiveness of education and training systems, inter alia by introducing new patterns of teaching,

- strengthen social cohesion ensuring equal opportunities of access to users, particularly to those of the less-favoured regions and the small and medium-sized enterprises, allowing them to play an active role in the information society,

- give teachers, students and apprentices access to the information society by making them aware of the use of these new tools and of the training about it,

- encourage a solid partnership between educational establishments and the suppliers of hardware, software and services with a view to creating a big market in multimedia applications and services truly adapted to teaching needs,

Whereas the use of software and multimedia educational services requires the active participation of local authorities, schools and training establishments, teachers, trainers, and the business sector so that the best teaching methods can be tested and used;

Having regard to the contribution of multimedia telematics networks in linking up education and training establishments, teachers, pupils, and the outside world in order to provide access to information and to exchange and compare ideas and teaching experience,

Taking note of the results obtained within Community programmes, and of the richness and diversity of actions in progress, and of experience acquired by the Member States in the development and exchange of methods relating to the use of information and communication technology for educational and training systems,

CALLS UPON THE MEMBER STATES:

Within the framework and the limits of their respective political, legal, budgeting, educational and training systems, to:

- develop or follow up their actions in the fields of research, experimentation, evaluation and use of the new information and communication technologies in education and training systems as part of an enhanced approach to pedagogical needs and methods which take full account of the teacher's role, give the pupils and students a more active and participative role, customize learning, encourage a cross-curricular slant, and secure cooperation between teachers in defining teaching projects and in responding to specific needs,

- intensify the initial and in-service training of teachers and trainers in using multimedia software and on-line services and their use as tools to better prepare their teaching activities. Special attention should be paid to the analysis and understanding of the role of teachers and trainers, to providing teachers with the results of research on the introduction of multimedia into teaching, awareness actions showing the potential benefits of multimedia and the conditions of its correct use, to support and promotion of teachers' initiatives, and to cooperation between educational and training institutions and the business sector on experiments in new teaching practices,

- encourage research activity on products and learning processes, including distance learning, the creation and design of multimedia educational software; particularly in partnerships between the educational world, editors and multimedia companies, in order to comply with pedagogical and educational guidelines of the Member States, with reference to the European dimension of education, for:

- the development of methods for the design of multimedia teaching material taking into account the variety of languages and cultures in collaboration with teachers or trainers,

- methods to support the development and adaptation of educational multimedia software, involving teachers and trainers in the design of these products,

- reflection on the appropriate conditions of use, on financing schemes and on new ways to share resources,

- ways of opening up access to multimedia libraries and to educational software for schools and training establishments,

- the definition of quality criteria for educational software where they deem appropriate and the study of measures in order to encourage synergy with multimedia intended for the home market and a satisfactory level of consumer information,

- promote actions to develop and if necessary set up infrastructures in order gradually to allow, to the greatest possible number of users in educational and training systems, access to appropriate hardware, software and on-line multimedia services of good quality, as well as to the appropriate training and backup. This could be achieved by installing this equipment at the places concerned, e.g. schools, vocational training centres, universities, public libraries, resource centres, socio-educational centres for young people and families, associations, etc. Special attention should be paid to developing where appropriate multimedia support centres within the Member States, and to communication between teachers and education partners, and to training in its broadest sense,

- take steps to:

- experiment, in the context of working out and encouraging flexible patterns of school or university organization, their integration with the information and communication technologies, in order to increase their effectiveness and dissemination,

- ensure equal opportunities in access to the benefits of multimedia technologies for personal and professional development, and favour their use in rural areas or those suffering from industrial decline,

- experiment with the use of these new tools to fight against social exclusion and scholastic failure,

- encourage the evaluation and dissemination of best teaching practices based on experiments and on the use of multimedia educational software and services, spread the information on products and services and consider locally the establishment or consolidation of demonstration and promotion fora on this basis,

- seek out the most efficient management methods for coordinated actions between cultural, educational and training programmes and resarch programmes, taking account of the opportunities offered by the appropriate Community instruments.

CALLS UPON THE COMMISSION TO:

- undertake, with the collaboration of the Member States, a comparative study and follow up of the most advanced pilot experiments on the use of multimedia educational products and services in Europe and in the world, and disseminate the results of this analysis to the Member States,

- take account of the fields of education and training in the context of its overall initiatives on the information society,

- use all the potential offered by multimedia software and services in implementing relevant Commission-driven actions in the areas of education, training, languages and culture, including international cooperation,

- identify and encourage support activities which could be developed at European level, including information on products and services and on the locally performed evaluation of these, as well as on the procedure used, the dissemination of information inside and outside the Community about European products and services in the field of multimedia educational software, the establishment of links between producers, users and managers of education and training systems in order to promote quality in products and services and their use,

- encourage, in the framework of community programmes, pilot projects using among other things national networks in order to link educational and training institutions in different Member States which are interested in using new multimedia technologies to promote virtual mobility, exchange of information and experience, plurilinguistic practices and different themes of interest,

- establish a coordinated approach for its own actions in the field of multimedia educational software under the different Community programmes and instruments concerned and initiatives to develop trans-European telecommunications networks, around converging objectives, while respecting the decisions and the procedures applicable, and paying special attention to external visibility,

- encourage dissemination and exploitation at European level of best teaching practices based on the use of multimedia software and services, making as mush use as possible of existing structures, at all levels,

- submit no later than 31 December 1997 a report on progress achieved, obstacles encountered and additional action needed for the implementation of these actions looking ahead to the year 2000.

(1) OJ No L 87, 20. 4. 1995, p. 10.

(2) OJ No L 340, 29. 12. 1994, p. 8.

(3) OJ No L 87, 20. 4. 1995, p. 1.

(4) OJ No L 126, 18. 5. 1994, p. 1.

(5) OJ No L 334, 22. 12. 1994, p. 24.

(6) OJ No L 334, 22. 12. 1994, p. 1.

(7) OJ No L 361, 31. 12. 1994, p. 77.

(8) OJ No C 250, 26. 9. 1995, p. 4.

(9) OJ No L 321, 30. 12. 1995, p. 25.

(10) OJ No L 321, 30. 12. 1995, p. 33.

(11) OJ No C 247, 23. 9. 1995, p. 1.