EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
The Development of eServices in an
Enlarged EU: The Case of eLearning
Kirsti Ala-Mutka
European Commission, JRC
Institute for Prospective Technological Studies
Information Society Unit
The views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the EC
1
Institute for Prospective Technological Studies
EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
2
IPTS: Part of DG JRC of the EC:
7 Research Institutes across
Europe
Mission: “to provide customerdriven support to the EU policymaking process by researching
science-based responses to
policy challenges that have both
a socio-economic as well as a
scientific or technological
dimension”
Outline
EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
● About the project
● EU-10 context
● ICT skills, access, usage in EU-10
● Opportunities and bottlenecks for ICT, learning and
innovation in
– Schools
– Higher education
– Adult learning
● Conclusion
3
About the project
EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
4
● Project: Next steps in developing IS Services in the EU-10: the
case of eLearning
– Started in 2006, now 10 country reports and a synthesis report under final
publishing process
– Parallel to a project on eHealth and eGovernment
● Objectives
– To build evidence about the current usage of ICT for learning in the EU-10
– To identify drivers and barriers for eLearning developments
– To analyse possible policy options and suggest future R&D priority areas
● Researchers: national experts + Coordinating experts from ICEG
EC + additional experts in synthesis report
● In this study, “eLearning” is defined to encompass both
– Learning through the use of ICT and
– Learning the necessary competences to make use of ICT in knowledge
society
EU-10 context
EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
● EU-10 are not a homogeneous group of countries
● Income inequalities, social divides
● Large regional disparities
● Long-term unemployment is persistent
● Educational context
– Good level of basic educational attainment
• Especially CZ, PL, SK, SI perform well in upper-secondary completion and
early school leavers – but MT another story
– Good MST graduate development
– Public education expenditure in % of GDP slightly higher than in
EU-15
– Low participation to Lifelong learning
• But SI has the highest values in the whole EU
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EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
Household access
Broadband 2007
Household access
Internet access 2007
Source: Eurostat database
si
ee
sk
hu
pl
cy
lv
lt
cz
ro
bg
Computer access 2007
eu
-1
5
%
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
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EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
2005
2007
ee
% Internet skills of individuals
lv
Internet skills
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Source: Eurostat database
sk
si
hu
cz
lt
pl
cy
bg
ro
eu
-
15
0
8
EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
Internet use Sparsely populated areas
Percentage of internet users
Densely populated areas
Source: Eurostat database (2007)
sk
ee
si
lv
cz
hu
pl
lt
cy
ro
bg
eu
-
15
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Schools
EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
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Opportunities
●
Skills of the learners
– In EU-10 there are more often separate ICT courses at schools
●
Skills of the (younger?) teachers
– Fewer teachers consider ICT skills to be a major barrier in EU-10 than in EU-15
Bottlenecks
●
Infrastructure
– There are less internet connected computers per school pupil in EU-10 and the quality of
computers is low
– Schools typically have basic internet access but the quality of the access is low in some
regions
●
Settings
– Reports suggest that requirements set by curricula and assessment systems prohibit
developing and using new methods for learning
Dilemmas
●
Large divides in teachers’ computer usage and skills
– Surveys show that teachers consider ICT possibly beneficial for their students
– Reports state that motivation is a large barrier for using ICT
Data sources: Benchmarking access and use of ICT in European Schools 2006 + project reports
Universities
EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
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Opportunities
●
Infrastructure
– HE institutions are generally well equipped with computers and internet
– Universities have ICT enabled distance studies and are using learning management
systems (LMS) also to support their local students
●
Skills of learners
– Almost all students have some level of ICT skills, in average same or better than EU-15
average
Bottlenecks
●
Settings
– Few universities have strategies for advancing ICT and innovative learning approaches
•
Teacher training, support, incentives for innovative development
– There seems to be little networking, large scale collaboration in organizing education
or sharing experiences of innovative approaches
●
Research?
– Not much visibility of R&D support and research units for develop innovative learning
approaches and support innovative teachers
Adult learning
EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
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Opportunities
●
Skills of employees and people
–
–
●
Attitude
–
●
Generally high level of basic education
Example projects for ICT skills supported by foundations and (international) companies
Enterprises have taken up eLearning for training of their employees, especially internationally
certified online courses (Cisco, Microsoft, ECDL)
There exists need for developing Lifelong learning (economic growth, labour market needs,
unemployment)
Bottlenecks
●
Settings
–
–
●
Attitude
–
–
●
Unequal access to learning opportunities among employees
Smaller companies have poorer internet access
Reports suggest that employers often consider learning to be on the responsibility of the employee –
hence not supporting
Suspicious attitude towards the quality of online learning both by learners and employers
Wide skills divides
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EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
Percentage of population with no computer skills
All
No or low education
Unemployed
55-74
%
Source: Eurostat database, year 2007
cy
pl
lt
lv
cz
ee
hu
si
sk
ro
bg
eu
-1
5
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Overall positive developments
EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
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● Preparedness for using ICT as a new learning tool has been
developing fast and catching up with EU-15
– Infrastructure, skills of learners
● There are examples of using ICT for extending learning
opportunities and enhancing ICT skills in all countries
– In formal education, workplaces and other adult education
● There is increasing policy attention and interest
– E.g. Slovenia and Malta are preparing national eLearning strategies
● Young learners and teachers may be even better prepared with
ICT skills than in EU-15
Overall bottlenecks
EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
● Infrastructure:
– Quantity and quality of ICT equipment and internet access, both in general
and in places of education
– Geographical divides
● Skills for learners and teachers:
– Large economical and social divides in ICT skills, age divides
– Training for innovating in learning/teaching with ICT has not been on the
agenda
● Settings:
– No overall vision of eLearning, coordination of policies, strategies for
institutions
– No encouragement or support for teachers to develop new forms of learning,
no encouragement for employers to support employee learning
● Objectives:
– eLearning seems to have been often considered as creating online materials,
“translating” existing courses as distance courses, not driving new
educational innovations
● Attitudes: Cultural differences, resistance to change
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Policy issues
EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
● Addressing low digital literacy, ICT infrastructure and access
– For different potential learner groups
– For teachers, headmasters and educational administrators
● Promoting awareness of the potential of ICT for innovation and
learning
– For educational institutions, companies, policymakers
● Improving participation to Lifelong learning
– Especially at workplaces, disadvantaged groups
● Supportive institutional settings for educational innovations
– Regulations, certifications, skill requirements, salary systems, incentives,
empowering teachers to innovate
– Promoting networking and collaboration for developing and sharing
innovations
● Supporting developing new innovative models and practices
– Structural funds
– Measurements and guidelines for advancing innovation in learning
● Overall policy vision and coordination to support ICT and innovation
for lifelong learning
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EDEN 2008 Annual conference 14th June 2008, Lisbon
Thank you for your attention
kirsti.ala-mutka@ec.europa.eu
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/