1. European Commission DG Education and Culture Training of Teachers and Trainers in the eLearning Action Plan TTnet Conference,CEDEFOP, 13 December 2001 Brian Holmes Multimedia for Education, Training and Culture DG Education and Culture European Commission

2. European Commission DG Education and Culture Training of Teachers and Trainers in the eLearning Action Plan 3 Political imperative 3 eLearning Initiative and Action Plan 3 eLearning Call for Proposals 3 eLearning implementation 3 Teacher/Tutor training 3 Future directions

3. European Commission DG Education and Culture The Political Imperative Towards a Knowledge Society Europe should become …. European Council Lisbon March 2000 “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”

4. European Commission DG Education and Culture The Political Imperative The role of eLearning "eEurope is a roadmap to modernise our economy. At the same time, through its eLearning component, it offers everyone, but particularly young people, the skills and tools they need to succeed in the new knowledge based economy." Romano Prodi President of the European Commission

5. DG Education and Culture The Political Imperative The role of eLearning The Lisbon Summit placed education at the top of the political agenda, and called for the adaptation of education and training systems to the knowledge society eLearning helps to answer this request by fostering the integration of ICT in education as a lever for change, and as an opportunity for increased quality and diversity

6. European Commission DG Education and Culture The eLearning Initiative To mobilise the educational and cultural communities, as well as the economic and social players in Europe…... in order to co-ordinate community actions concerned with e-learning, such as those in eEurope, in the Employment Guidelines, in the research programmes, etc

7. European Commission DG Education and Culture The eLearning Action Plan 2001-2004 Four action lines : Infrastructures and equipment Training at all levels Quality contents and services Co-operation and dialogue Developed in ten key actions, chosen for their capacity to federate different actors

8. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning Implementation Implementation measures include: Tender for strategic studies covering schools, universities and links to cultural institutions Working groups with national experts on ICT indicators, ICT skills, women and ICT, special needs Support for the eLearning standards programme in co-operation with CEDEFOP Joint action on public learning centres Co-operation in the follow-up to the Report on the objectives of education systems Co-operation with the IST programme for research, with the European Investment Bank for financial instruments and with Eurostat for statistics.

9. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning Call for Proposals Preparatory and innovative actions Call launched : 9 June 2001 First closing date : 17 August 2001 Second closing date : 16 November Themes: eLearning European information services European laboratory for innovation in eLearning New learning environments Virtual models of education and training Teachers and trainers on use of ICT for learning eLearning demonstrators for key areas (science, technology, art, culture, languages and citizenship). Refer to http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/elearning/call.html

10. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning Call for Proposals Results after first deadline For the closing date of 17 August 2001: 65 proposals received, 4 ineligible, 61 evaluated Standard was high (well focused, many actors, global co-operation, etc) 11 being considered for funding (total funding around 5 Million €) Good coverage of themes Two selected proposals address training of teachers/trainers: U-LEARN, ILAB

11. European Commission DG Education and Culture eLearning Call for Proposals Projects on teacher/tutor training U-LEARN: Design a model for lifelong learning systems for ICT in Education Definition of a common syllabus for ICT skills Implementation of a pilot system on ICT in Education System to ensure transferability and scalability ILAB: Establish a virtual laboratory and a network of at least 96 participants from the eight countries involved in the project. Develop recommendations for national policy makers and guidelines for teacher training institutions in two key areas: - teacher training - evaluation of e-learning and e-learning materials

12. European Commission DG Education and Culture Benchmarking European youth into the digital age 9 out of 10 teachers confident with ICT 7 out of 10 have internet connection at home Older teachers level with younger ones Females tend to use e-learning less than male colleagues (more than 2/3rds of primary school teachers are women) Eurobarometer Report Interesting figures

13. European Commission DG Education and Culture Ongoing Dialogue DG EAC has established a focus group on teacher training. Important issues have already been mentioned: - the need for support and maintenance - the need for incentives - the need for appropriate training Networking of teachers is as important as training Several initiatives already underway to support teacher networking & training: - European Schoolnet (EUN) - eSchola

14. European Commission DG Education and Culture Future Directions Important challenges ahead Interest in eLearning is increasing - from politicians, academia and industry - and expectations are high. However... Organisational issues and teacher/tutor training need greater consideration Evaluation methodologies need to be developed for these new learning paradigms Learners need to see the tangible benefits and added-value Decision makers need appropriate benchmarks and indicators Emphasis must now be placed on quality, standards and pedagogy Research must be strengthened with increased emphasis on sharing experience and best practice Public-Private-Partnerships need to be explored and the market for eLearning content needs to be developed

15. European Commission DG Education and Culture Future Directions eLearning - realising the potential eLearning is now at the top of the political agenda, but many key issues still need to be addressed if the potential is to be realised As we move towards the Knowledge Society, Europe - with its excellent Education and Training Systems - is well placed to take advantage of the revolution in learning By mobilising and co-ordinating Europe’s efforts, the eLearning Initiative is playing an important role in helping Europe to realise its potential to be the world leader in learning products and services.

16. European Commission DG Education and Culture Thank you for your attention ! For more information : Directorate-General for Education and Culture Unit : Multimedia - Education, Training, Culture (B100 3/7) B-1049 Brussels e-mail : eLearning@cec.eu.int http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/elearning