EUROPEAN COMMISSION
MEMO
Brussels, 25 September 2013
'Opening up Education' – frequently asked questions
What do we mean by 'opening up education'?
Opening up education means bringing the digital revolution into education. Digital
technologies allow all individuals to learn, anywhere, anytime, through any device, with
the support of anyone.
What are the main objectives of this initiative?
 Create opportunities for organisations, teachers, students and pupils to be
more innovative in the way they teach and learn by making more use of
digital technologies and content. The Commission will provide support for
organisations to review their strategies, promote reforms to improve teacher
training, set up ‘communities of practice’ among teachers, and encourage innovative
curricula.
 Boost the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) by ensuring that
educational materials produced with public funding, such as Erasmus+, the new EU
programme for education, are freely available to all. The new 'Open Education
Europa' portal, launched today, will provide a gateway to high-quality OER produced
in Europe, in their original language. OER are learning content, generally in digital
form, that can be used and shared, free of charge for users.
 Increase transparency for users of educational resources regarding copyright.
 ICT infrastructure and connectivity in schools is often poor. Opening up Education
will help schools and classrooms to get broadband access and support ICT
infrastructure for education and training. It will also stimulate the market to
produce new interactive content and learning tools by promoting the development of
open frameworks and standards for interoperability and portability of digital
educational content, applications and services.
 Strengthen cooperation with international organisations and stakeholders
to better understand the impact of technology in education and explore new modes
of teaching and learning.
What concrete actions are specified?
This Communication includes 24 actions that will greatly improve the use of digital
technologies in education and boost digital skills (see annex for full list).
MEMO/13/813
How will these 24 actions be funded/implemented?
The actions will receive EU funding from Erasmus+, Horizon 2020, the new programme for
research and innovation, as well as Structural and Investment Funds. For example, from
2014, Erasmus+ will offer funding to education providers to ensure they adapt their
business model to technological change, boost the assessment of digital skills and support
teachers’ development through open online courses. All educational materials supported
by Erasmus+ will be available to the public free of charge under open licences.
Implementation will also be supported through the Open Method of Coordination in
Education and Training 2020.
Why is Commission action needed now?
Because we use digital technology in every aspect of life, but many schools and
universities are not keeping pace with this revolution.
For example, a study shows that
 63% of 9-year olds study in schools which lack appropriate digital equipment, fast
broadband and high connectivity;
 Between 50% and 80% of students in EU countries never use digital textbooks,
exercise software, broadcasts/podcasts, simulations or learning games
 70% of teachers would like training to improve their ICT skills.
The EU lacks a critical mass of good quality educational content and applications in specific
subjects and multiple languages. This fragmentation of approaches and of markets could
lead to new digital divide between those who have access to innovative, technology-based
education and those who do not.
Chart 1: % of Grade 4 pupils (age 9-10) attending classes where
teachers' use of ICT in more than 25% of lessons
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Chart 2: % of Grade 8 pupils (age 13-14) attending classes where
teachers' use of ICT in more than 25% of lessons
Source: European Schoolnet and Université de Liège (2013)
What has the Commission done to address this problem so far?
Several projects and good practices have been developed so far, including with the
support of EU research and innovation funding. Many of these have been very successful,
for example ITEC: designing the future classroom, or Open Discovery Space. However, the
integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in education and
training has not yet been realised to its full potential.
Opening up Education addresses this by helping national administrations, educational
institutions, teachers, learners and stakeholders better coordinate their action and
discover new ways of working and learning.
What will be the impact of Opening up Education?
 More and better open learning environments (OLEs) – meaning widespread
uptake of ICTs in the classroom.
 Cost savings and better education outcomes through increased use of Open
Educational Resources (OERs) such as free-to-use textbooks, videos, tests, and
software which can be adaptable to specific learning needs. Since OERs are available
at no cost for users, they could make education and training cheaper, for
administrations, institutions and for users.
 Organisational change in schools, universities and training institutions to
support integration of new technologies and high-quality OER.
 Better ICT infrastructure and connectivity in schools
 Greater demand for new interactive content and learning tools, helping to
build new businesses in Europe around these educational needs.
When will we see an impact?
The timeline of the 24 actions vary. The Open Education Europa portal opens today, some
existing projects will increase in scale, and others such as EPALE, the Electronic Platform
for Adult Learning in Europe, will be launched in early 2015.
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What will the 'Open Education Europa' website do?
Open Education Europa is a one-stop shop for open educational resources in Europe. A
place where you can find material in your own language, which teachers and students can
use and share for free.
How does Opening Up Education relate to the Commission's
annual Country-Specific Recommendations for Member States?
Once a year the Commission reviews the economic and social performance of each EU
Member State and makes country-specific recommendations to guide national policies in
the coming year. Opening up Education is part of the Commission's response to this
objective at EU level.
All Member States received recommendations relating to education in the 2013 European
Semester Country-Specific Recommendations. The latest CSR report – Moving Europe
Beyond the Crisis, published May 2013, spells out the need across all Member States for
greater investment in education, in equipping young people with the skills needed for the
21st century economy and for boosting innovation and competitiveness.
STUDENTS: What will Opening up Education mean for students?
More of the digital skills they need to get good jobs, after completing their education,
especially for students without good internet and technology access at home.
TEACHERS: What will it mean for teachers?
More of the digital training and skills they need to be confident in the classroom. Opening
up Education will support teachers' professional development through open online courses,
in line with a project of the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs, and by creating new (or by
scaling up existing) European platforms for teachers' communities of practice across the
EU such as eTwinning and EPALE - the Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe.
GOVERNMENTS: What will it mean for national authorities?
Many national authorities have invested massively in ICT for education and training, yet
this investment rarely yields the expected returns. Opening up Education represents an
opportunity for Member States to work together and to learn from each others'
experiences, avoiding duplication and lowering costs.
INDUSTRY: What will it means for digital and education
businesses?
Besides educational institutions, education is also backed by an industry, which provides
textbooks, eLearning tools and applications for mathematics, for language learning,
learning games and other education material. Using technology more extensively in
education opens a new set of opportunities for industry, and coordinating at the European
level will speed up the growth of these markets.
How will traditional educational publishers be affected?
The European Commission recognises the disruption digital technologies bring to past
business models, but highlights the need for publishers to work closely with authorities,
institutions and ICT companies to take up the new opportunities that come with these new
ways of learning.
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Publishers are concerned that Open Educational Resources do not match the strict quality
control procedures that have characterised the print market; the Commission continues to
support high quality materials, and remains neutral as to specific business models.
What will this mean for intellectual property rights?
Studies show that more than 50% of teachers do not share their teaching material,
because they are concerned about the legal consequences. This prevents collaborative and
personalised teaching and learning practices.
Open Educational Resources are usually made available under licenses that allow free use,
re-use and sharing. While these open licenses do not challenge the current intellectual
property rights framework, they can still represent a challenge to the traditional business
models of publishers or universities.
Opening up Education will facilitate experiments to test the impact on business models,
and encourage the exchange of best practices. It also proposes to develop technical
solutions which provide transparent information on copyrights and open licences to users
of digital educational resources. For example, the industry initiative Linked Content
Coalition which aims at making it easier to identify copyright owners, therefore facilitating
the legal use of copyrighted materials.
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Actions under Opening Up Education
Action for …
What?
Open Learning Environments: opportunities to innovate for organisations, teachers and
learners
Support educational institutions in developing new business and Commission,
educational models and launch large-scale research and policy through Erasmus+
experiments to test innovative pedagogical approaches, curriculum and Horizon 2020
development and skills assessment;
Support teachers' professional development through open online
courses, following pledges made under the Grand Coalition for Digital
Jobs, 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;
Commission,
through Erasmus+
and Horizon 2020
Explore and test, in cooperation with stakeholders and Member States,
digital competence frameworks and self-assessment tools for learners,
teachers and organisations;
Commission,
through Erasmus+
and Horizon 2020
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. 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 nonFormal and Informal Learning;
Commission,
through Erasmus+
and Horizon 2020
Coordinate, facilitate exchange of experiences and results achieved in
national programmes between Member States, and provide targeted
policy guidance to clusters of Member States to help them identify
successful measures for meeting their challenges in view of the specific
country recommendations (SCRs) under the European Semester
/Europe 2020;
Commission,
through Erasmus+
and Horizon 2020
Support innovative teaching and learning environments, including
through the use of EU Structural and Investment funds (ESIFs);
Member States and
education
institutions
Member States and
education
institutions
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;
Member States and
education
institutions
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.
Member States and
education
institutions
Open Educational Resources: opportunities to use open knowledge for better quality and
access
Ensure that all educational materials supported by Erasmus+ are
available to the public under open licences and promote similar
practices under EU programmes;
Commission
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
Commission
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new business models and to develop technical solutions which provide
transparent information on copyrights and open licenses to users of
digital educational resources;
Launch the Open Education Europa portal linking it to existing OER
repositories in different languages and bringing learners, teachers and
researchers together, in order to improve the attractiveness and
visibility of quality OERs produced in the EU;
Commission
Stimulate open access policies for publicly-funded educational
materials;
Member States and
education
institutions
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.
Member States and
education
institutions
Connectivity and Innovation: partnerships for infrastructures, new products and services,
and interoperability
Promote the development of open frameworks and standards for
interoperability and portability of digital educational content,
applications and services, including OER, exploring potential
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;
Commission,
through Erasmus+
and Horizon 2020
Promote research and innovation on adaptive learning technologies,
learning analytics and digital games for learning, creating links with
innovative entrepreneurs;
Commission,
through Erasmus+
and Horizon 2020
Connect every school, ideally including connectivity to individual
Member
States
classrooms, to broadband, upgrade their ICT equipment, and develop
and
education
accessible, open national digital learning repositories using structural
institutions
and investment funds by 2020.
A concerted effort to seize the opportunities of the digital revolution
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;
Commission
through Erasmus+
and Horizon 2020
Establish a European Hub of Digitally Innovative Education
institutions, showcasing and piloting innovative ICT-based pedagogical
and organizational practices;
Commission
through Erasmus+
and Horizon 2020
Promote networks of volunteer teachers, digital communities and ICT
Member States
experts in launching initiatives (such as coding courses or back-toand education
school programmes) and establish teachers' awards for the good
institutions
pedagogical use of ICT for all educational sectors. Award of Digital
Excellence.
European Commission support for better knowledge and stronger evidence-based
policies
Carry out a comprehensive exercise of foresight scenarios for
education in Europe 2030, in consultation with relevant actors such as
European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT), European Association of
Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU), League of European Research
Universities (LERU), European University Association (EUA) and
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Commission
European Schoolnet on the basis of the work carried out by JRC-IPTS
and in line with the on-going FUTURIUM 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;
Commission
Launch a specific impact assessment on the economic and social
impact of an EU initiative to stimulate open access to educational
materials produced with public funds;
Commission
Exploring ways with rights-holders, 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.
Commission
For more information
IP/13/859 Commission launches 'Opening up Education' to boost innovation and digital
skills in schools and universities
ICT in schools study
Advances in technology enhanced learning
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