COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Opening up Education: Innovative teaching and learning for all through new Technologies and Open Educational Resources
Date: 2013-09-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: digital literacy, digital technology, innovation, new technology, open university, teacher, teaching quality













EUR-Lex - 52013DC0654 - EN











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52013DC0654

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Opening up Education: Innovative teaching and learning for all through new Technologies and Open Educational Resources /* COM/2013/0654 final */










Technology
and Open Educational Resources as opportunities to reshape EU education

This Communication sets out a European agenda
for stimulating high-quality, innovative ways of learning and teaching through
new technologies and digital content. ‘Opening up education' proposes actions
towards more open learning environments to deliver education of higher quality
and efficacy and thus contributing to the Europe 2020 goals of boosting EU
competitiveness and growth through better skilled workforce and more employment.
It contributes to the EU headline targets for reducing early school leaving and
increasing tertiary or equivalent attainment[1] and
builds on the recent initiatives 'Rethinking Education'[2],
'European Higher Education in the World'[3] as well as the flagship initiative
Digital Agenda[4].
It proposes actions at EU and national levels,
notably:
-   helping learning institutions, teachers and
learners to acquire digital skills and learning methods
-   supporting development and availability of open
educational resources
-   connecting classrooms and deploying digital
devices and content
-   mobilizing all stakeholders (teachers, learners,
families, economic and social partners) to change the role of digital
technologies at education institutions
Even though the key for success depends foremost
on Member States, the EU also has a role to play. It can promote best practices
and support exchanges across Member States. It can deliver benefits from
economies of scale and interoperability, thus avoiding fragmentation. It can support
the deployment and availability of digital technology and content through
financial support, public-private partnerships and recommendations.
EU education is failing to keep pace with the digital
society and economy…
Digital technologies are fully embedded in the
way people interact, work and trade; yet they are not being fully exploited in
education and training systems across Europe. A recent study[5] on the state of digital provision in schools in the Union
revealed that 63% of nine year olds do not study at a 'highly
digitally-equipped school' (with appropriate equipment, fast broadband and high
'connectivity'). While 70% of teachers in the EU recognize the importance of
training in digital-supported ways of teaching and learning, only 20-25% of
students are taught by digitally confident and supportive teachers. Most
teachers use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) mainly to prepare
their teaching, rather than to work with students during lessons[6].
Today’s learners expect more personalization, collaboration and
better links between formal and informal learning much of it being possible
through digital-supported learning. However, between 50% and 80% of students in
the EU never use digital textbooks, exercise software, broadcasts/podcasts, simulations
or learning games. The EU lacks a critical mass of good quality educational
content and applications in specific subjects and multiple languages as well as
connected devices for all students and teachers. A new digital divide in the
EU, between those who have access to innovative, technology-based education and
those who do not, is on the rise as a consequence of this fragmentation of
approaches and of markets.
The EU also risks lagging behind other regions
of the world. The USA and some Asian countries are investing in ICT-based
strategies to reshape education and training. They are transforming, modernizing
and internationalising education systems with tangible effects in schools and
universities on access to and cost of education, on teaching practices and
their worldwide reputation or branding. A case in point is that much of the
supply of digital content comes from players outside Europe, including from
educational institutions offering their courses globally through Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOCs).
…and yet
technology provides the opportunity to increase efficiency and equity in
education.
The potential benefits of the digital revolution
in education are multiple: individuals can easily seek and acquire knowledge
from sources other than their teachers[7] and institutions, often for free; new groups of
learners can be reached because learning is no longer confined to specific
classroom timetables or methods and can be personalised; new education
providers emerge; teachers may easily share and create content with colleagues
and learners from different countries; and a much wider range of educational
resources can be accessed. Open technologies allow All individuals to learn,
Anywhere, Anytime, through Any device, with the support of Anyone.
Most importantly, education and knowledge are
able to travel far more easily across borders greatly increasing the value of and
potential for international cooperation. Thanks to Open Educational Resources
(OER)[8], and namely MOOCs, teachers and education institutions
can now reach thousands of learners from all five continents simultaneously,
showcasing that language is not always a barrier. Cooperation is enhanced by
allowing learners, educators, researchers and institutions to create, share and
discuss content with peers from all over the world.
In addition to broadening access to education,
wider use of new technology and open educational resources can contribute to
alleviating costs for educational institutions and for students, especially
among disadvantaged groups. This equity impact requires, however, sustained
investment in educational infrastructures and human resources.
Open technologies provide the opportunity for
Europe to attract new talent, equip citizens with relevant skills, promote
science and research and fuel innovation, productivity, employment and growth.
Europe should act now providing the right policy framework and a stimulus to
introduce innovative learning and teaching practices in schools, universities,
vocational education and training (VET) and adult learning institutions. The EU
policy framework (the Open Method of Coordination in Education and Training
2020) and EU programmes (particularly Erasmus+, Horizon 2020 and the Structural
and Investment Funds) can provide incentives and create framework conditions
for this to happen. This can help all Member States and regions, particularly
those less developed, to also benefit from quality education, and improve their
growth potential, thus maintaining economic and social convergence.
The actions proposed in this document will be
supported by the EU as mentioned above and reflect the results of consultation
with a broad range of stakeholders which took place since summer 2012. The
results and detailed evidence base are also presented in a Staff Working
Document (SWD) that provides an analysis of the current situation in Member
States with significant differences among them, highlights best practices, and
analyses the main obstacles at EU level impeding the introduction of innovation
in education through digital content and technologies. What is at stake
obviously varies between different learning sectors (i.e. compulsory education,
higher education, vocational education and training and adult education) and
non-formal and informal learning.

1. Open
Learning Environments: opportunities to innovate for organisations, teachers
and learners
1.1      Innovative organisations

Education and training
institutions need to review their organisational strategies…
All educational institutions need to improve their
capacity to adapt, promote innovation and exploit the potential of technologies
and digital content. In effect, however, institutional strategies tend to oppose
openness to education that ICT provides. In school education and VET,
restrictive regulations on curricula and assessment practices impede the full
exploitation of technology-enabled approaches to teaching and learning. In
higher education other factors such as inflexible funding and governance
structures, compounded by restrictions on budgetary resources, inhibit change. In
adult learning too, ICT offers huge potential for structural change: a survey
carried out in Finland[9] shows that only 41% of respondent organisations
in Finnish industry had used online learning in their 2012 staff training. Yet
using ICT in training can reduce costs and increase flexibility in terms of
time and space.
Only if educational institutions change
the framework conditions in which they operate will they grasp the
opportunities that ICT provides. Open learning environments require the leaders
of educational institutions to play an active role by: providing a strategic
vision; transforming siloed institutions into connected learning communities
and rewarding professionals for innovative teaching approaches. Leadership has
to be accompanied by organisational change and institutional development plans.
Educational institutions should consider assessing how fit and ready they are
to use ICT and reviewing their organisational and business models if necessary.
This implies, for example assessing what efficiency gains can be made by
digitising back-offices, whether ICT is safely integrated as can be done via
the eSafety label for schools[10] or, whether learning and teaching are digitally
supported. It may also require a review of whether it is the institution's vocation
to transmit knowledge and/or to certify its acquisition.
The appearance of disruptive innovation like
MOOCs has the potential to transform higher education and create new
competition and centres of excellence among universities worldwide. Even though
the first Open Courseware project began in Germany, the biggest shifts are
taking place in the USA. While the three main MOOC providers in the USA offer
around 400 courses, with three million users worldwide, few European
universities are providing MOOCs. A recent survey[11] shows that one third of the 200 European universities
consulted were not even aware of what a MOOC is, and only one third were
considering any MOOC-related initiative.
Exploiting this potential can best be achieved
through strategic partnerships. One positive example is the recent launch of
the European MOOC Initiative by the European Association of Distance Teaching
Universities[12]. Such an initiative proves that working across
borders provides the necessary scale to generate new education solutions which
would otherwise be out of reach if designed by each institution on its own.
… to stimulate innovative learning practices.
A stronger use of learning experiences,
combining face-to-face and online (blended learning), can increase student's
motivation and the efficacy of learning. In apprenticeship-type training, for
example, technologies can be used to simulate real-life situations where
learners improve their technical skills and their problem-solving abilities.
Technology also allows for new ways of learning and assessing, focussing more
on what the learner is capable of doing rather than on the mere acquisition of
information or on what the learner is capable of repeating.
Technology makes it possible to develop new
solutions for better personalised learning, by allowing teachers to have a more
accurate and up-to-date follow up of each learner. Through learning analytics[13], new and more
learner-centred teaching methods can emerge since the evolution of learners who
use ICT regularly can be closely monitored: teachers may know the exact
learning outcomes of each individual and identify needs for additional support
depending on each individual's learning style.

1.2       Innovative teachers

Teachers should
be able to acquire high digital competences…
Teachers have been, over the years, constant
promoters of innovation in our educational institutions. However, when
considering the integration of ICT, many
do not possess the necessary competences for the pedagogic use of ICT. Only
seven countries[14] have 30 to 50% of students at grade 4 and/or
grade 8 taught by digitally confident and supportive teachers, with high access
to ICT and who face low obstacles to their use at school. Studies also show
that 70% of teachers in the EU would like to have professional development on
ICT skills.
Initial teacher education should place a strong
emphasis on digital-supported teaching methods (digital pedagogies). A joint EC-OECD survey shows that six
teachers out of ten have not received any training on how to use ICT in the
classroom. An urgent emphasis on digital pedagogic competences is also needed
during continuing professional development to keep teachers updated. Addressing
this challenge is at the heart of interests of several stakeholders who, in the
context of the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs, have already pledged to
develop European MOOCs to train teachers in specific skills so as to contribute
to boost their digital skills. Among others, the Commission will build further
on the European Schoolnet[15] Academy to develop and deliver large scale
online professional development courses for teachers in specific areas such as
maths, science and technology as well as will support a network of
organisations involved in pre- and in-service training for teachers.
… to connect through strong communities of
practice…
The use of educational
content and OER is constrained by the difficulty in finding adequate resources
for each user's specific needs: teachers tend to mainly use resources that have
been recommended by other colleagues. Communities of practitioners at EU level
have proven to be solid solutions for exchanging good practices and for peer
support, as shown by the massive engagement of teachers in the e-Twinning[16] platform,
with more than 200.000 registered users, in SCIENTIX, the community for
science education in Europe[17], and in Open Discovery Space[18].
In order to ensure that large communities of practice benefit from professional
development through online resources and peer learning, the Commission will
explore ways to leverage the existing networks and create new ones including
the future EPALE (Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe).
Attention will also be devoted to explore the potential of collaborative work
in teaching and learning in higher education, currently less developed than in
research.
… and be rewarded for new teaching methods.
Teachers are influenced
by the way their performance is evaluated. While performance measurement
differs between countries and educational sectors, it rarely includes
parameters associated with open pedagogical practices. Member States, regional
authorities and education and training institutions need to revisit performance
evaluation schemes to create the right stimulus for teachers to introduce and
embed innovative teaching.

1.3      Innovation for learners

Learners expect to acquire the digital skills for the 21st century…
Individuals must acquire
new skills for a digital world[19].
Although digital competences are essential for employment, today's young people
lack the ability to use them creatively and critically. Being born in a digital
era is not a sufficient condition for being digitally competent. Studies show
that, on average, only 30% of students in the EU can be considered as digitally
competent; and still 28% of students in the EU have practically no access to
ICT, neither at school or at home. Only around half of initial VET students in
Europe attend classes where teachers use ICT in more than 25% of the lessons.
Furthermore, the low or non-existent digital skills of many adults hinder their
productivity and innovation capacity at the workplace and limit their
participation in society[20].
Through the Grand
Coalition for Digital Jobs, the Commission is already working in partnership
with industry to promote the necessary skills for ICT practitioners. However,
more individuals need to acquire better digital skills and become accustomed to
actively using technology to increase their job prospects. It is essential to reinforce
digital skills through informal and non-formal learning and through new school
curricula, where coding for example is becoming commonly used.  Special
attention is also needed to disadvantaged groups such as learners at risk of
low achievement in e.g. science & technology or with learning difficulties.
…and
have their digitally-acquired skills easily certified and recognised for
further learning or work.
Learners expect their
skills to be recognised by potential employers or for further learning and seek
out education and training providers who can award relevant qualifications.
Assessing and certifying
learners' achievements are challenges facing those who provide online
education: it implies integrating online learning practices into formal
curricula and finding ways to validate technology-supported learning in
non-formal and informal settings. Some providers have started to offer 'open
badges' certifying that a learner has completed a given course or acquired a
certain skill. However, these are not yet recognised by qualifications
authorities and are often unknown in the labour market.
Validation and
recognition instruments used in formal education must adapt to the emergence of
a much more diversified educational offer, including new education providers
and the new forms of learning made possible by technology. In parallel, new
tools may need to be created both to ensure that technology-supported learning
taking place outside formal education is validated and to encourage learners to
become more engaged in open practices. These new tools should respect the
principles set out in the Council Recommendation for the Validation of
Non-formal and Informal Learning[21] in synergy with established validation and recognition tools and
contribute to the creation of a European Area for Skills and Qualifications[22], the latter aiming to address the diversity of
practices across Member States and promote an effective recognition across
borders.
Key Transformative Actions in this Area
Through the new programmes Erasmus+ and Horizon
2020, the Commission will:
·        
Support educational
institutions in developing new business and educational models and launch
large-scale research and policy experimentations to test innovative pedagogical
approaches, curriculum development and skills assessment;
·        
Support teachers'
professional development through open online courses, following pledges made
under the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs[23], and by
creating new and scaling up existing European platforms for teachers'
communities of practice (e.g.: eTwinning, EPALE) to establish collaborative
peer-based teaching practices across the EU;
·        
Explore and test, in
cooperation with stakeholders and Member States, digital competence frameworks
and self-assessment tools for learners, teachers and organisations;
·        
Explore how established and
emerging tools for the validation and recognition of skills, such as 'open
badges', can be tailored to the needs of learners.
·        
Coordinate, facilitate
exchange of experiences and results achieved in national programmes between MS
and provide targeted policy guidance to clusters of MS to help them to identify
successful measures for meeting their challenges in view of the country
specific recommendations (CSRs) under the European Semester /Europe 2020
Member States and education institutions should:
·        
Support innovative teaching
and learning environments, including through the use of structural and
investment funds (ESIFs);
·        
Ensure that transparency and
recognition instruments for formal education are adapted to new forms of
learning including validation of skills acquired online, in line with national
tools in the context of the Council Recommendation for Validation of non-Formal
and Informal Learning,
·        
Support teachers in
acquiring a high level of digital competences and adopt innovative teaching
practices through flexible training, incentive schemes, revised curricula for
teachers' initial education and new professional evaluation mechanisms;
·        
Reinforce digital skills in
education and training institutions, including among disadvantaged groups, and
revisit learners assessments in order to ensure that all skills acquired
through digital learning can be recognised.

2. Open
Educational Resources: opportunities to use open knowledge for better quality
and access

Knowledge is open when it is provided through
tools accessible to all citizens. OERs are important for stimulating innovative
learning environments where content can be adapted by users according to their
needs. Stimulating supply and demand for high-quality European OERs is
essential for modernising education. Combined with traditional educational
resources, OERs allow for blended forms of face-to-face and online learning. They
also have the potential to reduce the costs of educational materials for
students and their families as well as for public budgets when these cover the costs
of educational materials.
High-quality European OER must become more
visible and accessible to all citizens…
In the past decade, the supply of OERs in the
world has grown exponentially. However, while there is an increasing variety of
subjects, OERs are generally produced in a limited number of languages (mostly
English), and used by specific education sectors (especially higher education)
and specific disciplines (e.g. ICT). The use of OERs in Europe is still too
fragmented and not sustained[24].
Efforts need to be stepped up to ensure that
European content is visible and widely accessible as well as that users,
learners and teachers are capable of finding resources and are assured of their
high quality. For many teachers the lack of cataloguing, selection and
availability of adequate quality resources is an important obstacle to the
wider use of OER.
Based on the initial experience of the e-Learning
Portal and building on the strong involvement of stakeholders, the
Commission will launch, with Erasmus+ funding, a single gateway for OERs
produced in Europe, federating existing platforms with advanced browsing and
search features to help users find the appropriate content. In terms of quality
assessment of content, the potential of peer and crowd assessment[25] will be explored next to other approaches to
increase the visibility of high-quality OERs, and to develop quality frameworks
for OER and mapping with curricula.
European education and training institutions,
teachers and learners should also be encouraged to share their own educational
materials freely with peers through the use of open licenses[26]. In line with the Paris Declaration of the
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)[27], a common European approach should allow publicly
funded educational materials to be freely available for all those wishing to
use them for learning or teaching. Furthermore, technical tools such as Open
Quality Standards should help OER producers to raise the visibility of the
quality of the creation process and the resource itself. Moreover, currently
the value added tax (VAT) rate applied to digital (educational) textbooks is,
in most countries, higher than the VAT rate applied to physical (educational)
textbooks. A range of stakeholders urge to address this difference in rates in
order to enhance the uptake of digital resources. The Commission has an
on-going process and will come before the end of 2013 with the follow-up to the
VAT action plan. Moreover, the 2013 European Semester recommendations also
highlight that the inefficiency that is built into the design of some national
tax systems (for example some reduced rates and other tax exemptions) needs to
be tackled.
Finally, stakeholders involved in the provision
of 'traditional' educational materials can also help to make high-quality
digital content more available: textbook authors, publishers and booksellers
can contribute to joint collaborative efforts to find new innovative technical
solutions ensuring that high-quality resources are available to all. The complementarity
of traditionally published resources and OERs, as well as freedom of choice for
teachers and educators, should remain key guiding principles.
…and the rights and obligations of users of
educational materials under copyright should be more transparent across
borders.
The absence of clear
information on authorised uses for a specific online learning material (e.g.
text, images and videos) deters users[28]. Similarly, it is difficult for authors of new
content to define the usage rights and/or limitations they wish to associate with
a certain resource. Promoting open licences among both communities of teachers
and policy makers, as well as developing of technical tools to integrate
metadata[29] in
each resource available on the web, will increase transparency.
The EU copyright framework[30]
includes exceptions for the use of material for teaching purposes. The
implementation of these exceptions varies across Member States. Given the
cross-border potential of innovative practices in using educational content, it
is important to assess whether the current legal framework ensures in practice
sufficient transparency and legal certainty for users. The Commission is
currently carrying out a review of the EU copyright framework as announced in
its Communication of 18 December 2012 on Content in the Digital Single Market.
Key Transformative Actions in this Area
The
Commission will:
·        
Ensure that all educational
materials supported by Erasmus+ are available to the public under open licenses
and promote similar practices under EU programmes; 
·        
Use the new programmes
Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020 to encourage partnerships between creators of
educational content (e.g. teachers, publishers, ICT companies), to increase the
supply of quality OER and other digital educational materials in different
languages, to develop new business models and to develop technical solutions
which provide transparent information on copyrights and open licenses to users
of digital educational resources;
·        
Launch with this
Communication the Open Education Europa portal linking it to existing
OER repositories in different languages and bringing learners, teachers and
researchers together, so to improve the attractiveness and visibility of
quality OERs produced in the EU. 
Member States and education institutions should:
·        
Stimulate open access
policies for publicly-funded educational materials;
·        
Encourage formal education
and training institutions to include digital content, including OERs, among the
recommended educational materials for learners at all educational levels and
encourage the production, including through public procurement, of high-quality
educational materials whose copyrights would belong to public authorities.

3. Connectivity
and Innovation: partnerships for infrastructures, new products and services,
and interoperability

The lack of hardware devices or the low
penetration of broadband impedes the optimal use of technology, impairs the
potential to use OER and educational software and compromises the 'Bring
Your Own Device' principle[31]. In many places broadband exists at institutional
level but not at classroom or device level, and different devices with
different technical specifications (e.g. different software or brands) are
currently not providing equal access to educational resources.
Enhancing local ICT infrastructure (broadband,
content, tools) is still needed in some parts of Europe…
The level of infrastructures should no longer be
a factor impeding innovative ways of teaching and learning. Nor should
differences in availability be a cause for inequalities between citizens or
different geographical areas. The infrastructure divide not only creates equity
problems among learners but also erodes the potential gains from a greater participation
by citizens in the economy.
Member States are investing in upgrading their
national educational infrastructure (ICT, digital educational resources,
broadband) but fragmentation and incoherence among EU Member States persists.
On average, 93%[32] of EU students access the internet at home, but
only 72% have access to it at a place of education, sometimes not in the
classroom. Regional disparities also persist: only 45-46% of students who use
the Internet in Greece and Croatia can access it at a place of education, as
opposed to more than 90% in Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic[33].
Investment in infrastructures should be fostered
in those regions lagging behind the rest of Europe. Structural and Investment funds
should be channelled towards education and training[34] to enhance local ICT infrastructures and joint procurement
for innovation of different contracting authorities. This would produce
economies of scale, lower prices, administrative cost savings and a pooling of
different skills and expertise.
… and open interoperability standards are
necessary to ensure economies of scale…
Learners using different devices, including
different hardware and software configurations, should not be prevented from
using the same educational resources. Neither should producers of digital
content see their chosen format limit the potential number of users of their
resources. Interoperability and portability standards for educational resources
have to be defined and ensured across devices, platforms and brands to provide a
level playing field for all market players. Standards should also ensure that
resources could be used across different platforms thus enhancing their
effectiveness. Furthermore, such standards must remain open to avoid market
dominance by any single company owning standards and able to shape the market
according to its individual goals.
…so that European digital apps and digital contents markets can grow.
While worldwide investment in broadband and
entrepreneurship is creating important business opportunities, the business
potential for educational software and content in Europe remains largely
untapped. Developments in cloud technologies and gaming, personalisation of
learning and mobile devices will drive growth in the educational technology
market. Encouraging growth and innovation-based entrepreneurship for a new
educational ecosystem as well as mechanisms to scale solutions appropriately
across education and training sectors is imperative if European companies are to
be internationally competitive and create jobs.
Key Transformative Actions in this Area
Through
the new programmes Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020, the Commission will:
·        
Promote the development of
open frameworks and standards for interoperability and portability of digital
educational content, applications and services, including OER, in cooperation
with European standardization organisations and programmes, and develop
components for an efficient educational technologies market place including the
coordination of joint specifications for public procurement of innovative
solutions to help the deployment of affordable devices, software and content;
·        
Promote research and
innovation on adaptive learning technologies, learning analytics and digital
games for learning, creating links with innovative entrepreneurs.
Member
States and education institutions should:
·        
Connect every school, ideally including
connectivity to individual classrooms, to broadband, upgrade their ICT
equipment, and develop accessible, open national digital learning repositories using structural and investment funds by 2020.

4.  A concerted effort to seize the opportunities of the digital
revolution

We need an integrated approach …
Developments in the use of ICT and digital
content have varied in the Member States. Many have recognized the potential
impact of technology on education and many e-learning initiatives have been
launched. However, initiatives have been fragmented and isolated; investments
in infrastructure were often not accompanied by efforts to increase the
capacity and motivation of teachers and learners to use it. For this reason,
despite the large investments made, projects have rarely succeeded in moving
from a pilot phase into mainstreaming. 
Past lessons show that merely introducing
technology into classrooms is not enough. Only an integrated approach, where
access to digital content, ICT infrastructure, the right level of digital
skills, and the right organisational strategies are secured, can generate an
educational offer able to sustain innovation. 
… a concerted effort by all actors …
Triggering large-scale sustainable changes
requires shared efforts and focused actions, involving and engaging all
stakeholders, learners, teachers, families, school managers, educational policy
makers and the local communities.
Large scale demonstrations and experimentations,
engaging pupils with exciting learning opportunities inside and outside schools
and involving all stakeholders, including regional and local actors, should
contribute to building bridges between the education and the workplace, to
produce for more flexible and effective mechanisms for integrating working and
learning experiences.
Key Transformative Actions in this Area
Through
the new programmes Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020, the Commission will:
·        
Launch a platform open to
all stakeholders (teachers, learners, families, digital communities, economic
and social partners, etc.) to record and benchmark the digital state of
educational institutions;
·        
Establish a European Hub of
Digitally Innovative Education institutions, showcasing and piloting innovative
ICT-based pedagogical and organizational practices, complemented by a specific
European Award of Digital Excellence.
Member States and education institutions should:
·        
Promote networks of
volunteer teachers, digital communities and ICT experts in launching
initiatives (such as coding courses or back-to-school programmes) and establish
teachers' awards for the good pedagogical use of ICT for all educational
sectors.
…and a better understanding of all opportunities
that the digital revolution is yet to unfold.
Member States and other stakeholders are invited
to work actively with the Commission to implement, in a systemic way and with vigour,
the priorities proposed in this Agenda as part of their national education and
training reforms. The Commission will follow the progress made at national
level on the key challenges identified in this Communication via the annual
Education and Training Monitor.
This Agenda is not an end but a starting point. In
the longer term, technological change will radically affect education and
research in ways that are difficult as yet to predict. Sustained effort and
on-going international cooperation is required to improve our knowledge-base
and take full advantage of the impact of technology on education. 
By the end of 2013, the Commission will present studies
on innovation in Higher Education, on the changing pedagogical landscape in
Higher Education due to new modes of teaching and learning, and on the use of
ICT and OER in adult learning. Furthermore, it will continue to work and
cooperate with national regional and local authorities, social partners,
business, students, new educational providers and other international
organisations such as UNESCO, the International Council for Open and Distance
Education (ICDE) and the OECD, to better understand the implications of
technology in the education world while harnessing the potential of these
changes it brings.
 European Commission support for better knowledge and stronger evidence-based policies The Commission will: ·         Carry out a comprehensive exercise of foresight scenarios for education in Europe 2030, in consultation with relevant actors such as ERT, EADTU, LERU, EUA and European Schoolnet on the basis of the work carried out by JRC-IPTS[35] and in line with the on-going FUTURIUM[36] project. As regards higher education, the Commission will also pursue work with the High Level Group for Modernisation of Higher Education to establish recommendations on the new modes of learning. ·         Develop measuring tools and indicators to monitor more closely the integration of ICT in teaching and training institutions, and support Europe-wide quantitative surveys. ·         Launch an impact assessment on the economic and social impact of an EU initiative to stimulate open access to educational materials produced with public funds. ·         Exploring ways with rightholders, teaching institutions and other educational stakeholders to understand and assess the current practices and needs of sharing educational materials (including open educational resources), including those resulting from copyright and licensing regimes, multilingualism, quality assurance, etc. both in national and cross-border contexts. 
[1] 2012/C 70/05
[2] COM(2012)669
[3] COM(2013)499
[4] COM(2010)245
[5] See http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=1800 
[6] See accompanying Staff Working
Document for all data and evidence used in this Communication 
[7] The word teachers is
used as meaning 'teachers, trainers, professors and other educators from all
educational levels and sectors’
[8] OER are learning resources
that are usable, adaptable to specific learning needs, and shareable freely.
[9]  http://www.ek.fi/ek/fi/tutkimukset_julkaisut/2013/4_huhti/henko_tiedustelu2013.pdf 
[10] http://www.esafetylabel.eu/ - the eSafety label is an
initiative developed by some Ministries of Education of the European Schoolnet
network 
[11] http://www.eua.be/news/13-0225/Massive_Open_Online_Courses_MOOCs_EUA_to_look_at_development_of_MOOCs_and_trends_in_innovative_learning.aspx

[12] http://www.openuped.eu
[13] Learning analytics are defined
as the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners
and their contexts. See http://www.solaresearch.org/
[14] BG, EE, IE, PT, SK, SI, SE
[15] Network of 30 European
Ministries of Education dedicated to the innovative use of educational
technology
[16] http://www.etwinning.net/
[17] http://www.scientix.eu
[18] Open Discovery Space (www.opendiscoveryspace.eu)
provides communities of practice round use of OER
[19] Digital competence is one of the 8 key competences for lifelong
learning (Recommendation 2006/962/EC)
[20] 48% of Europeans aged 16-74 have
low or no ICT skills.
[21] Council Recommendation (2012/C
398/01)
[22] COM (2012)669
[23] http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/grand-coalition-digital-jobs-0 
[24] See outcomes public consultation in the accompanying Staff Working
Document
[25] Crowd rating refers to ratings being
attributed to available resources by their users (crowd). 
[26] As defined by OECD: "Open
licensing provides a way of controlled sharing with some rights reserved to the
author. Open licenses have the benefit of introducing certainty and clarity
into the process of obtaining permission to use the work of others". http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/37351085.pdf 
[27] http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to-knowledge/open-educational-resources/what-is-the-paris-oer-declaration/
[28] See public consultation: 84
% of respondents indicate the lack of a clear legal framework in
this respect.
[29] Specific data on each resource allowing
for automated classification of its content or its characteristics.
[30] Directive 2001/29/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonization of certain
aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society.
[31] According to which learners
are expected to use their own computers or mobile devices to access educational
materials in the classroom.
[32] Eurostat, 2011 data.
[33]http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/mapToolClosed.do?tab=map&init=1&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tin00081&toolbox=types
[34] http://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Conferences/Ireland-s-Presidency-of-the-EU/Conference-21-22-May-2013/Channelling-cohesion-policy-funds-towards-education-and-training.pdf
[35]  http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/eLearning.html
[36]  http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/futurium/