Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament entitled 'The eLearning Action Plan - Designing tomorrow's education'"

(2002/C 36/14)

On 19 April 2001 the Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned communication.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 5 September 2001. The rapporteur was Mr Rupp and the co-rapporteur was Mr Koryfidis.

At its 385th plenary session (meeting of 17 October 2001), the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 85 votes with two abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1. The eLearning initiative complements, analyses, and develops that part of the European Commission's eEurope communication relating to education(1).

1.2. The initiative was adopted in the form of a communication(2) by the European Commission in May 2000 and is an important means of achieving the strategic objective, set by the Lisbon European Council on 23 and 24 March 2000, of becoming "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion(3)."

1.3. The eLearning initiative also ties in with the Commission's Report on the Concrete Future Objectives of Education Systems(4).

1.4. The action plan(5) under discussion gives substance to the above-mentioned Communication in greater detail.

1.5. The eLearning action plan will also be of major importance in the public debate on the Commission's Memorandum on Lifelong Learning(6).

2. Gist of the Commission document

2.1. The action plan in question covers the period 2001-2004 and sets out specific education-related objectives and measures for the 2001/2002 period. More specifically, the plan's objectives include the following:

- Infrastructure(7): accelerating the deployment of a high-quality digital infrastructure at a reasonable cost to the European Union.

- New knowledge and skills(8): In the framework of the European employment strategy and national strategies for life-long learning, the aim is to step up education and training initiatives at all levels, in particular:

- promoting a "digital culture";

- providing proper training for teachers and trainers, in particular in relation to technology applications in education and to managing change;

- transforming schools, universities and training centres into "local knowledge acquisition centres which are versatile and accessible to everyone"(9).

- Development of content, services and learning environments which are sufficiently advanced and relevant to education: The eLearning initiative focuses on creating appropriate conditions for the development of content, services and learning environments which are sufficiently advanced and relevant to education, in terms of both the market and the public sphere.

- Stronger cooperation and dialogue: The ultimate aim of the eLearning initiative is to strengthen cooperation and dialogue and improve links between measures and initiatives at all levels - local, regional, national and European - and between all players in the field of education.

2.2. The contribution of eLearning towards achieving and developing the educational objectives of eEurope consists in establishing a framework and programme for cooperation between the relevant Community departments and the Member States. To this end, joint recommendations will be made and joint priorities established, those involved in education and training mobilised, and Community instruments used.

2.2.1. A preliminary list of measures taken to date that are relevant to the objectives of the eLearning Action Plan reveals substantial diversification at both national and Community levels.

2.3. Resources for Community action. There are no plans to provide any additional budgetary resources for the eLearning initiative; it is to be funded instead under existing programmes and using existing instruments and resources(10).

2.4. Key measures(11). Four main lines of action have been identified - infrastructure, training, high-quality multimedia services and content, and dialogue and cooperation at all levels.

3. General comments

3.1. The ESC strongly supports the eLearning initiative(12), which it sees as the modern and alternative approach to learning that will address, explore and solve the problems of the digital age. It therefore urges all the European Institutions, national governments and regional and local authorities, organised civil society and businesses to work together to implement this action plan.

3.1.1. For the comprehensive eLearning blueprint to be a success and to make the most of the major opportunity it offers to enrich traditional education and training methods, the Commission must emphasise what the initiative will contribute to education. This contribution will obviously be quite specific in the case of school education.

3.1.1.1. The ESC would therefore draw particular attention to the importance of the educational framework within which eLearning is to be developed. There must be a broad and serious effort to accurately and precisely identify and define this framework. Furthermore, the need to develop appropriate European learning products, content and methods for every specific area of education and training is an urgent priority.

3.1.1.2. To that end, the ESC also believes there should be a public platform for dialogue, to guarantee the credibility of the new environment.

3.1.1.3. In any case, a critical approach to the use of the new media must be developed, also from the users' point of view. More important still, however, is the need to promote the development through education of individual systems for filtering information and checking the authenticity of knowledge(13). Such systems are the key to effectively addressing the problems associated with the information society.

3.2. In its opinion on eEurope(14) the Committee stated that "Europe has responded slowly to the major challenge of the Internet" and that it must "catch up". The eLearning action plan responds to these concerns and offers real hope that the European public will soon adapt to the information society.

3.3. The transition to the information society era must not lead to any form of exclusion(15).

3.3.1. The ESC believes that the danger of excluding individuals, groups or regions from the information society is already present in education owing to:

- teachers and trainers being unable, for whatever reason, to learn about and have access to digital technologies;

- a dividing line being drawn between children with a computer at home and children without;

- purely technological reasons, i.e. not being able to keep up with technological changes and the pace at which they occur;

- and the great difficulties faced by people with special needs in accessing knowledge and modern forms of education.

3.3.1.1. One of the recommendations made in the above-mentioned opinion was "to supply educators at all levels with free computer equipment (PCs with free access to the Internet)"(16). This proposal as it stands or in modified form (with strong government support) must be implemented as soon as possible; not only to solve the problem of teachers' knowledge of ICT, but also to boost Internet use by this particular social group, producing an immediate multiplier effect.

3.3.1.2. Europe must find a means of providing the public (young people, adults and the elderly) with more equal access to ICT. In this respect, the Lisbon objectives in relation to computers and schools are definitely a real help. In the medium term, what is needed, of course, is a new social and economic approach to electronic infrastructure as a learning tool. This must be a comprehensive approach of the kind used for school text books or public libraries. First and foremost, however, help must be given as a matter of priority to young people who do not have access to ICT at home. This will require major but feasible readjustments in schools in terms of organisation and staff. The ESC would favour addressing these issues within the framework of a universal service.

3.3.1.2.1. Another idea that could promote broader social measures is to reinforce excellence in education and adapt it to the requirements of the digital age. The ESC recommends strengthening and adapting excellence, so that the relevant funds provided by all tiers of government and other sources for student awards are now used to cover their electronic infrastructure needs. The Union could help to promote this development.

3.3.1.3. The ESC also notes that there is a need for Europe to further step up its efforts to make electronic means of information and communication more reliable, fast and economical.

3.3.2. Another serious issue relating to eLearning, which affects both young and old, is that of new skills. The ESC believes it is necessary to tackle the skills gap in order to promote the mobility of all employees and therefore enhance their productivity, both in enterprises and more generally in the economy, in accordance with the employment strategy. The provision of rigorous training in ICT will undoubtedly have a highly beneficial impact on the employment strategy if all employees and job-seekers receive properly targeted training.

3.3.2.1. Life-long learning can play an important role here(17).

3.4. The ESC draws particular attention to the danger of a generation gap emerging in the use of digital technology. It reiterates that "the ease with which individuals can become digitally literate is generally inversely proportionate to their age. In practice, this means that the effort required to adjust depends on how old a person is(18)."

3.4.1. In this context and in the light of demographic trends in Europe, it is really worth paying special attention to eLearning among adults(19). This means for instance encouraging adults, employed or unemployed, to recognise and be aware of the benefits of the eLearning action plan within the context of life-long learning.

3.4.1.1. Older people no longer in gainful employment are invited to acquire the skills they need to access ICT, for their own benefit and to ensure they are actively involved in the digital age.

3.5. The ESC is pleased to note that telecommunications costs for the EU public and EU enterprises in the last few years have already fallen, though obviously not to the same extent in every country and not sufficiently in comparison with the US. If the objectives of the eLearning initiative are to be achieved, there is a need for a further reduction in these costs and also the costs associated with Internet access.

3.6. As long as it remains a priority that everyone in the EU should make full use of modern education and communications opportunities, every EU citizen could in future have Internet access (and a personal e-mail address). In order to achieve the highest possible level of public Internet access, high-speed connections need to be further developed and existing technologies improved (above all digital television, digital radio, satellite technology and ADSL). The new Internet Protocol Version 6 (Ipv6) should also be introduced as quickly as possible.

3.6.1. The above also applies to the production environment for these technologies. The ESC believes it is important to support the competitive framework for production and distribution of new technologies and their products, and is against any monopolistic trend.

3.7. The ESC emphasises the key objectives for education and the role of teachers in the new educational environment, where digital technology is changing the teacher-student relationship.

3.7.1. The report on "The European dimension of education" refers to: "... the indispensable role of the family and teachers in young people's education and the change in teachers' role in relation to knowledge, whereby the teacher has been transformed from a source and holder of specific and circumscribed knowledge into a human intermediary who coordinates and manages the means of accessing and acquiring global knowledge in its entirety. This change gives the teacher a key role in the collective process of scientific, technological, social and economic development. Ultimately, it is a change that demands a new approach to education, selection, further education and the remuneration of teachers".

3.7.1.1. The ESC believes that the issue of teachers' pay in particular must be addressed without delay, pointing out that:

- in some Member States teachers' pay is as little as one third of the pay received by people with similar qualifications working in other sectors;

- this fact leads many teachers, and above all the best ones, to leave the education sector;

- there is no flow of new and talented teachers into education systems, which affects the modernisation of these systems and their ability to respond to the needs of the digital age.

3.7.2. With reference to this role of teachers, the ESC also notes "... the need for education to continue to be based on the global values of humanity. It therefore recommends that all educational planning options be compatible with these values"(20). Given the nature of the problem, it is teachers who will assess whether, and ensure that, the compatibility criterion is met. Compatibility will also have to be re-evaluated in the light of the current key objectives of the EU, such as sustainable development.

In this context, the ESC believes that the existing delay with respect to the Lisbon timetable and to training teachers in modern technologies is unjustifiable and risky. Organised eLearning cannot exist without teachers who understand ICT and its modern role. For this reason, the ESC calls on the Member States and the applicant countries to step up their efforts here. It also urges the Commission, against the background of the conclusions of the European Council in Stockholm on 23 and 24 March 2001, and in particular the view that IT and digital skills should be a "top priority" for the EU, and in the context of considering ethical questions relating to the use of electronic learning and education, to evaluate and report on the nature and scale of the problem. Such an effort on the part of the Commission, if accompanied of course by promotion of best practice in the area, would definitely give fresh impetus to related activities in the Member States.

3.8. The ESC's above comments and observations express the deep concern of organised civil society as to whether Member States' education systems will ever meet modern requirements and challenges.

3.8.1. The digital age has already arrived, as have the changes that it has brought to the learning process. Changes in ways of and opportunities for accessing information and knowledge (with the consequent risks of exclusion referred to above), the change in the learning/time ratio (change in the speed of processing information), the change in the link between learning and space (teleconferencing, distance learning, etc.), and the change in the teacher-pupil relationship, are all without doubt developments that will affect tomorrow's education, and which clearly all affect education today as well.

3.8.2. The Committee recommends that the Commission profit as much as possible from the positions on eLearning and life-long learning recently put forward by organised civil society at European level. More specifically, the Commission should take advantage, or more advantage, of:

- its support for the development of life-long learning(21);

- the proposal for including eLearning (and life-long learning) in the European Domain of Education and Learning(22);

- its support for the promotion of multilingualism and European digital content on the Internet(23);

- its support for the development of anti-exclusion policies and in particular policies relating to people with special needs(24).

4. Specific comments

4.1. The ESC unreservedly supports the proposed plan for equipping schools and other educational bodies with computers and providing them with rapid access to the Internet. However, it would emphasise the differences existing between countries and invites the Commission to do everything within its power to take regulatory measures.

4.2. The ESC calls on the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, as well as national, regional and local governments, to pursue a policy of increasing investment in human resources so as to enable schools and other educational and research bodies to make full use of the networks. These bodies must in future become local multi-purpose learning and education centres(25), which would provide access to lifelong learning for everybody.

4.3. The uncertainty felt by many teachers taking professional training courses and their acknowledged weaknesses in their use of ICT must be tackled without delay by providing proper ICT training.

4.3.1. It is becoming clear that ICTs are a learning tool to be used in the appropriate context and that they are not designed to replace teaching.

4.3.2. The aim is to revolutionise instruction and to present educational content more effectively. In part this means gearing learnware to the needs of pupils.

4.3.3. With a view to making the learning process more effective, curricula should be expanded to include instruction in the technical skills required to operate computers, on the one hand, and to make proper use of application programmes, on the other (Internet, multimedia software, etc.).

4.4. In addition to the question of technical training, it is particularly important to devise the best methods of teaching, in terms of content, which will be of benefit to both trainers and pupils (benchmarking, best practice).

4.4.1. Teachers and educational associations, in particular, need to be involved in this process. The eLearning initiative should therefore encompass both pupils' concrete learning requirements and their desired forms of eLearning ("bottom-up") and the new opportunities for teachers and instructors to structure learning ("top-down"), with the aid of ICT, so as to provide eLearning learnware of a high educational value.

4.4.2. In this context, the ESC feels that benchmarking should not be limited to Europe. The experience of other countries should also be turned to account (e.g. the USA, from the planned OECD statistics).

4.5. It is very important for the properly-targeted development of common learning platforms and programmes in Europe that appraisals be made of the ICT media employed. Initially it will be vital to draw up eLearning indicators to monitor progress in the use of ICT; these indicators are to be presented by the Commission before the end of 2001.

4.5.1. The ESC notes the importance of preserving Europe's cultural diversity in the new digital environment. It points out that this diversity, which will become even greater as a result of EU enlargement, may make it appropriate to use different learning models in different geographical areas and must therefore be safeguarded. Thus eLearning could be used and promoted as part of a new framework of cross-cultural research and communication.

4.5.2. There is a need to specify in detail the actual areas in which eLearning media should best be used. Different forms and areas of learning should be tackled differently with the aid of media-supported training, since these media provide a real opportunity for more intensive learning in the case of many forms and areas of learning(26).

4.6. The ESC believes that schools and other educational establishments should recruit ICT experts with appropriate (supplementary) training to be responsible specifically for the use of the media and network maintenance, etc.

4.7. The ESC backs the Commission plan to press ahead as quickly as possible with the networking of schools and other establishments and to facilitate exchanges through virtual discussion forums via appropriate portals. Broad exchanges of views in these forums and widespread networking are designed as an effective means of giving all eLearning stakeholders the opportunity of taking part in the debate, sharing experiences, collecting data and thus ultimately developing the best possible methods and programmes.

4.7.1. In this context, the Commission can specifically speed up this process by setting up clearly structured specialist forums in the portals of the eLearning website. These portals need to be comprehensive and to include all stakeholders.

4.7.2. Experience to date has shown that the only way to make all learning models and learning products (learnware) accessible to a wide European public is to establish a close partnership on a multilingual basis.

4.8. The ESC feels intensive language promotion is essential so that those involved in virtual forums and virtual campuses can communicate usefully. The European Year of Languages (2001) and relevant European programmes (Leonardo da Vinci, Lingua) have made a positive contribution here. In the interests of effective ICT skills acquisition, however, learning software must ultimately be available in students' native language. This will involve high costs, particularly since account must be taken of languages used by minorities, and it underlines the importance of benchmarking.

4.9. If Europeans are aware of the benefits of the Internet and trust that it is reliable, they are sure to use it, which will make them revise their concept of learning. This presupposes measures to boost public confidence in the Internet, and measures to make it accepted and accessible (European and multilingual content).

4.9.1. Clearly, eLearning also helps to bring greater flexibility to living, learning and working in the modern world of work as it gives people the chance to choose their own individual lifestyles and working arrangements. The social partners are urged to establish the conditions for the meaningful integration of eLearning at the workplace under plant-level and industry-wide agreements.

4.10. The ESC calls for the Europe-wide framing of a basic skills set which every EU citizen should acquire and be able to acquire (learning how to learn; independent learning; life-long learning using learning software, including outside of work etc.). The EU public's acceptance of eLearning will depend to a considerable degree on the attractiveness of the proposed learnware and learning environment. Financial incentives are also needed to foster a positive attitude, e.g. tax breaks for licensed learning software and lower VAT for learning software products.

4.10.1. It also recommends that the Commission step up measures to promote the establishment of a European certification system for qualifications and skills in this area, while also developing ways of moving between formal and informal education and training.

4.11. Given the importance of eLearning for the future of Europe in the globalised world, the ESC would ask the Commission to manage the planned measures coherently at an internal level via the relevant eLearning working groups. It must also co-ordinate these measures efficiently (since eLearning extends across all areas and aid schemes and across the Commission's DGs) and assess them on the basis of the factors set out in the action plan, without glossing over any problems (above all in relation to progress made in the Member States).

4.11.1. CEDEFOP - the EU body for promoting vocational training - should be given an important role in this context, as should the Seville Institute for Prospective Technological Studies.

4.12. The promotion of gender equality is particularly important in ICT. Steps must be taken to raise the proportion of women in ICT jobs and to promote new opportunities for career and social advancement for women in this field. The Committee thus emphatically supports the action plan's moves to attract the younger generation to science and technology and in particular to improve the position of women(27).

4.13. The ESC very much endorses the decision to establish a working group on ethical questions (development of rules of conduct on content and provision of services).

4.13.1. In this connection, the ESC is very concerned about the protection of children on the Internet(28) (pornography, violence, gambling).

4.14. The ESC feels it is essential to protect intellectual property rights and secure the fair payment of authors. Any work done in this field must be worthwhile in order to guarantee the long-term willingness of all those concerned to offer their services. Considerations on how to consolidate open source software must not therefore conflict with the justified interests of authors.

4.15. Data protection in relation to eLearning is equally important. This applies in particular to companies and public services. eLearning agreements must be in place internally within a company or an administration before it is introduced. These agreements must meet the minimum requirements set out in the data-protection laws of the Member States.

4.16. Lastly, the ESC stresses the advantages of public-private partnerships (PPP). For public services, this cuts budget costs and uses competition to secure service and product quality. For the private sector, it can boost public support and act as good pretraining for future staff. It must be noted, however, that legal requirements are needed for learning software use (e.g. no inappropriate product advertising in the software or on-screen) and that responsibility for the content of certified eLearning software must remain with the government bodies or administrations concerned.

4.16.1. In this context the ESC calls on the Commission to speed up its work on the inventory of quality-certification systems, which is designed to enhance consumer protection in the EU and on which it is collaborating with the Member States. Only products which are really suitable for use in the learning process should be made available.

4.16.2. Steps should also be taken to promote standards for SMEs that already focus heavily on eLearning(29). SMEs would benefit from the use of effective, standardised products, as it is not economically viable for companies of this size to develop their own learning software(30).

4.16.3. eLearning standards should be developed in collaboration with the private sector and by appropriate means, and brought into effect throughout Europe with a view to enabling standardised learning contents and products to be used universally, irrespective of language. The European Commission is urged to press ahead with its work in this field, with a view to achieving this goal by 2002.

4.17. The ESC calls for closer cooperation with the business world with a view to (a) closing the gap with the USA in particular in the development and supply of learning software and (b) providing products geared to the special content requirements of the European market and to European educational objectives.

4.18. While recognising that responsibility for education lies with the Member States, the Commission should nonetheless urge Member States to prioritise and to implement eLearning within their own education systems.

4.18.1. The ESC for its part calls on all Member States and applicant countries to incorporate eLearning into their national educational and training systems and to put it into effect as quickly as possible.

4.19. At the same time, the Commission is asked to make use of all the structural and educational policy aid programmes at its disposal. The main aim is to organise and evaluate additional pilot projects in order to provide a sufficient number of examples of best practice, which can be made universally available via appropriate platforms, thereby achieving the widest possible impact in Europe.

4.20. The ESC believes that there should preferably be broader representation in the coordination and development of the measures planned for 2001/2002. It therefore feels it could usefully share responsibility for the development of, for instance, "key measures to strengthen cooperation and dialogue" (point 3.4 of the Action Plan).

5. Proposals

In support of the Commission's "electronic learning" initiative and with the aim of optimising the development of the relevant action plan, the ESC wishes to make the following proposals:

5.1. The contribution of the initiative to education should be made clearer (see point 3.1.1). This means:

- spelling out the role of electronic learning at the different levels of education;

- developing troubleshooting mechanisms for dealing with any problems created by the information society;

- creating conditions in which the whole system can function reliably.

5.1.1. The ESC points to the particular connection between school education and digital technology, and recommends that particular attention be paid to decisions taken here (see point 3.1.1.1).

5.2. Ways should be sought of mitigating the risks of exclusion that exist while the initiative evolves. These include (see point 3.3):

- closing the gap noted in the acquisition of a "digital culture" and digital skills by teachers;

- supporting children who do not have a computer at home, with schools providing the relevant services, adapting and strengthening excellence in education and reducing infrastructure costs;

- developing a system for monitoring technological changes and making the relevant information available to teachers and users.

5.3. The lag with respect to relevant skills should be addressed decisively and with the help of lifelong learning in order to promote employment (see point 3.3.2)

5.4. Particular attention should be paid to adults in the context of the electronic learning initiative (see point 3.4).

5.5. An effort should be made to further reduce any costs relating to Internet access; to improve existing technologies in order as far as possible to provide unrestricted Internet access for everybody in Europe; and to effectively address the development of monopolies in this area (see points 3.5, 3.6 and 3.6.1).

5.6. Given the indispensable role of teachers in the education of young people, efforts should be stepped up to respect the timetable for training teachers in the use of new technologies, and particular care should be taken to ensure that education continues "to be based on the global values of humanity" (see point 3.7).

5.7. The views of organised civil society on electronic elearning and lifelong learning should be brought to bear as much as possible (see point 3.8).

5.8. Lifelong learning should be used to maintain Europe's cultural diversity in the new digital environment (see point 4.5.1).

5.9. Foreign language learning, virtual mobility, cooperation and a multicultural framework of access to education models and products should be further enhanced (see point 4.8).

5.10. Measures should be developed to improve public confidence in the Internet (see point 4.9).

5.11. The ESC recommends that the Commission should promote without delay the setting up of an integrated European system of certification for key skills and qualifications, while developing ways of moving between formal and non-formal education and training (see point 4.10.1).

5.12. The ESC explicitly supports the need identified in the Action Plan to attract young people's interest to science and technology, and to promote the access of women in particular to jobs in this sector (point 4.12).

5.13. The ESC is very aware of the problems relating to protection of children on the Internet and calls on the Commission to be prepared to address the issue effectively. The ESC will contribute by presenting its views on the matter(31) (see point 4.13.1).

5.14. While the ESC supports the cooperation between the public and private sectors investigating, producing, distributing and applying the products of electronic learning, it also stresses the need to develop modular, open source and adaptable software. This approach will meet the needs of the European market and satisfy Europe's education objectives. It notes in any event the need for legislation governing the use of electronic learning, and the need for governments to continue assuming responsibility for the content of certified softwares.

5.15. The ESC invites the Member States and the European institutions, especially the Commission, to take every opportunity and use every legal means at their disposal to develop electronic learning. One approach that may prove effective is to relate electronic learning to all EU policies and promote it through them. The ESC is prepared to do everything within its power to promote this objective.

Brussels, 17 October 2001.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke Frerichs

(1) COM(2000) 330 final, 14.6.2000, http://europa.eu.int/comm/information_society/eeurope/news/index_en.htm, http://ue.eu.int/en/info/eurocouncil/. The eEurope initiative was launched by the European Commission in December 1999. Its aim is to accelerate the introduction of digital technologies throughout Europe and to ensure that all Europeans have the necessary skills to use these technologies. It became necessary owing to increased awareness of the crucial role played by the application of digital technologies in economic development and employment and to the obvious realisation that a new, electronic economy is evolving whose linchpin is the Internet and that despite Europe's leading role in certain digital technologies such as mobile telephony and digital television, the use of computers and the Internet in Europe remains comparatively low (points 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 of OJ C 123, 25.4.2001, http://www.ces.eu.int/pages/avis/01_01/op_January_en.htm).

(2) COM(2000) 318, 24.5.2000. Communication. "e-Learning - Designing tomorrow's education" (http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/elearning/doc_en.html).

(3) European Council in Lisbon (23 and 24 March 2000), Presidency Conclusions (point 5), see relevant Internet site (footnote 1).

(4) COM(2001) 59 final of 31.1.2001.

(5) COM(2001) 172 final, 28.3.2001. Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - "The eLearning Action Plan - designing tomorrow's education" (http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/elearning/doc_en.html).

(6) SEC(2000) 1832 of 20.10.2000 - the debate is to culminate in the establishment of an action plan by the end of 2001.

(7) See point 1.1 of COM(2001) 172 final (http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/elearning/doc_en.html).

(8) For specific objectives, see COM(2001) 172 final, point 1.1.

(9) See COM(2001) 172 final, third paragraph of point 1.1.

(10) For further information, see point 2 of COM(2001) 172 final. See also the guide to related programmes and instruments already issued by the Commission (SEC(2001) 526), which makes it easier to understand the various programmes, as well as how they work and the conditions for participating in them.

(11) For more information, see point 3 of COM(2001) 172 final.

(12) In its opinion on the European dimension of education (OJ C 139, 11.5.2001, point 4.5), the Committee notes: "The ESC sees the eLearning initiative as the cornerstone of Europe's effort to bring its citizens into the digital age, and more specifically to promote Internet use, the networking of educational establishments and the development of virtual mobility. It therefore recommends removal as soon as possible of the obstacles standing in the way of effective development of the initiative, foremost among which are the cost and quality of the relevant electronic infrastructure, connection costs, digital content and the linguistic reality of the Internet."

(13) See OJ C 157, 25.5.1998 (point 2.3.8): "In a context of unlimited possibilities for conveying information it may be time to address the question of how, through education and training, we might create a culture of refining information and checking the authenticity of knowledge."

(14) See OJ C 123, 25.4.2001 (point 1.5).

(15) See also OJ C 123, 25.4.2001, points 3.2.2 and 5.1.3.

(16) See OJ C 123, 25.4.2001 (point 3.4.3, 2nd proposal).

(17) See SEC(2000) 1832 and the relevant CES own-initiative opinion (OJ C 117, 26.4.2000).

(18) See OJ C 123, 25.4.2001, point 4.2.1.1 (3rd observation) and OJ C 117, 26.4.2000. (ESC analysis and recommendations on mass familiarisation of the general public with information society technologies).

(19) "The ESC recommends conducting studies into the response of the adult population to attempts to familiarise it with the information society. These studies should first be addressed to the leading political, social and economic players. Such studies merit special attention, as for the first time in world history, children and teenagers are better placed in terms of 'knowledge' (of communications technologies) than a large section of people of working age (especially those currently in charge of production processes)" (1st proposal, point 3.4.3, OJ C 123, 25.4.2001).

(20) OJ C 139, 11.5.2001 (point 4.7).

(21) See OJ C 311, 7.11.2001, section 3 (ESC own-initiative opinion in preparation).

(22) See OJ C 139, 11.5.2001 (point 2.5).

(23) See OJ C 116, 20.4.2001 (point 7.3).

(24) See OJ C 123, 25.4.2001 (point 5.1.3).

(25) See point 4.3.1.1 of (ESC opinion on "Lifelong learning", in preparation).

(26) Communication-oriented areas of learning would, for example, seem to be less suited to the use of e-learning than are scientific areas of learning. Hybrid learning methods are highly conducive to pupil development since they permit flexible instruction, geared to pupils' specific learning requirements and rhythm of learning in the individual EU Member States (interplay between computer-based training (CBT), web-based training (WBT), events involving a physical presence, on-line tests etc.).

(27) The publication on "Women and Science" (Employment DG) is useful in this connection.

(28) See ESC opinion in preparation on "A programme for child protection on the Internet".

(29) See (ESC opinion in preparation on "Helping SMEs to 'Go Digital'"). See also in this context data available from CEDEFOP: eLearning: "What is the extent of eLearning in Europe?" - Survey, special report for the European eLearning Summit in La Hulpe, Belgium, on 10-11 May 2001 (www.trainingvillage.gr).

(30) From a business point of view, investments usually pay only in companies with a workforce of more than 2000.

(31) The ESC is drawing up an own-initiative opinion on this subject.