15 Opening up education: innovative
teaching and learning through new technologies
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Cleared from scrutiny
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| Document details | Commission Communication: Opening up Education: Innovative teaching and learning for all through new Technologies and Open Educational Resources
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| Legal base | —
|
| Department
Document numbers
| Business, Innovation and Skills
(35336), 14116/13 + ADD 1, COM(13) 654
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
15.1 The Commission Communication examines the impact of new digital
technologies and open learning environments on education and training
systems across the EU. Concerned that the EU is falling behind
the USA and some Asian economies which are already using ICT-based
strategies and open educational resources (OER[63])
to transform their education systems, the Commission proposes
a number of actions to support education and training institutions
in adopting and adapting these technologies, not least to help
to achieve broader EU objectives, notably competitiveness and
growth, a more skilled workforce and increased employment. The
Communication identifies three priority areas in which the impact
of new digital technologies merits further consideration and support:
· the
development of open learning environments in which all educational
institutions, teachers and learners have the capacity to exploit
new technologies and digital content and to promote innovation;
· the
increased use of OER to expand access to educational materials
and encourage more personalised learning; and
· investment
in local ICT infrastructure and the promotion of open frameworks
and standards for interoperability and portability of digital
educational content.
15.2 The Commission advocates a more integrated approach
by Member States across all of these areas and describes how EU
funding (notably, from the Erasmus +, Horizon 2020 and
European Structural and Investment Funds) can be used to support
further action. The Commission does not propose any new legislation.
Rather, it encourages Member States and other stakeholders to
work with it, and one another, to meet the challenges and policy
goals described in the Communication.
15.3 The Government considers that the UK is at the
forefront of digital education. Whilst describing the actions
contained in the Communication as "reasonable", it also
noted that a "one-size-fits-all strategy" would be inappropriate
and that it should be for Member States to develop and implement
national solutions. In particular, the Government:
· made
clear that the EU should not attempt to set up any EU-wide quality
assurance initiatives for OER;
· questioned
the need for an EU role in relation to teachers' professional
development by means of open online courses; and
· cautioned
against the use of Council Conclusions to prescribe particular
actions to be taken by Member States in schools.
15.4 We agreed with the Government that the Commission
should concentrate on those areas in which the EU could add demonstrable
value to activities undertaken at national level, avoid a "one-size-fits-all"
approach, and retain a degree of flexibility in "an extremely
fast-moving area". Noting that the Council was expected
to agree Conclusions based on the Communication, we asked the
Government to report back to us on the outcome of discussions
at the (then) forthcoming Education, Youth, Culture and Sport
Council and to indicate how its concerns were to be reflected
in the anticipated Conclusions. We also asked the Government to
explain what it meant by its reference to "non-binding"
Council Conclusions — the implication being that they might,
in other circumstances, be binding. The Minister who was
at the time responsible for Universities and Science (Mr David
Willetts) sent a prompt response in December 2013.
15.5 The delay in reporting the Minister's response
to the House is due to an administrative oversight on our part,
for which we apologise. The delay has, however, enabled us to
consider the Conclusions agreed by the Council last February.
We are satisfied that the Government has been able to achieve
its objectives. The Conclusions do not encroach on areas of Member
State competence or seek to prescribe a "one-size-fits-all"
approach to the challenges presented by the rapid development
of new online technologies. We are therefore content to clear
the Communication from scrutiny.
Full details of
the documents: Commission
Communication: Opening up Education: Innovative teaching and
learning for all through new Technologies and Open Educational
Resources: (35336), 14116/13 + ADD 1, COM(13) 654.
Background
15.6 Our Twenty-third Report, agreed on 20 November
2013, provides a detailed overview of the Communication and the
Government's accompanying Explanatory Memorandum.
The Government's response
15.7 In a letter dated 12 December 2013, the Minister
then responsible for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)
describes the discussions that took place at the Education, Youth,
Culture and Sport Council on 25 November 2013. The Minister notes:
"All Member States were keen to develop
open educational platforms at national level but equally there
was a strong feeling that the importance of traditional teaching
should not be overlooked. It was felt that the sector was still
evolving and any regulation at this stage would be premature and
run the risk of hindering and not helping developments.
"There was general agreement that the role
of Governments — and by extension the EU — should
be one of assisting educational establishments to explore how
best to use the new technologies. The Erasmus + programme
was cited as a possible vehicle to support open education initiatives
and projects."
15.8 The Minister expected Council Conclusions to
be drafted and considered during the Greek Presidency (January
to June 2014) and added:
"Based on the November debate, my view is
these Conclusions will be general in nature and ones which we
would support. There was no support for EU-wide action. Rather,
the majority of Member States did feel the EU might add value,
potentially in funding, quality assessment or qualification recognition
and it is likely therefore these areas are where the Conclusions
might concentrate.
"On the specific issue of schools, although
there was some concern over the ability of teachers to make best
use of the new technology, again there was no support for any
EU-wide action. I think it fair to say therefore my concerns in
this area have receded significantly."
15.9 Turning to the reference made in the Minister's
Explanatory Memorandum to "non-binding" Conclusions,
the Minister explains:
"It is of course correct that all Council
conclusions carry equal weight, although they cannot require Member
States to take action. Our intent was simply that our position
would be to try and ensure that the Conclusions would not be drafted
in such a way that they would be seen by the European Commission
as a call or encouragement to develop regulatory proposals."
The Council Conclusions
15.10 The Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council
agreed a set of Conclusions on Efficient and Innovative Education
and Training to invest in Skills — supporting the
2014 European Semester at its meeting on 24 February 2014.
The Communication is one of a number of education and training-related
documents referred to in the Conclusions. These include a general
commitment to modernise and improve educational methods by supporting
investment in ICT infrastructure, promoting new technologies and
digital content, and encouraging continuing professional development
in the use of digitally supported teaching methods.
15.11 The Conclusions invite Member States ("with
due regard for the principle of subsidiarity and in accordance
with national circumstances") to:
· support
education and training institutions in exploiting the potential
of new technologies and digital content;
· help
teachers acquire a high level of digital skills and adopt innovative
teaching practices; and
· make
use of Erasmus + and European Structural and Investment
Funds to achieve these objectives.
15.12 Member States are also invited to work with
the Commission to:
· encourage
partnerships at national and EU level between creators of educational
content with a view to increasing the supply of open educational
resources and other digital educational materials in a variety
of languages;
· make
use of the new Open Education Europa portal as a reference
point for existing open educational resources produced in the
EU; and
· organise
a summit on the challenges posed by new technologies and open
educational resources, with a particular focus on quality assurance
and assessment and certification of skills acquired through new
modes of learning.
Previous Committee Reports
Twenty-third Report HC 83-xxi (2013-14), chapter
6 (20 November 2013).
63 Open Educational Resources (OER) are digital materials
that can be used, re-used and repurposed for teaching, learning,
research and more, made freely available online through open licences
such as Creative Commons. OER include a varied range of digital
assets from course materials, content modules, collections, and
journals to digital images, music and video clips. Back
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