Digital Agenda
Mainstreaming eLearning in National Policies: How can we make change happen?
This paper is based on a dialogue that summarises and responds to Workshop 08 of the Digital Agenda Assembly: Mainstreaming eLearning in National Policies, which took place on June 16th, 2011. It explores new ideas regarding how to make change happen by asking: do we have concrete ideas on how to introduce change in our educational systems? The workshop generated debate on issues related to both policy and practice in order to involve stakeholders from the educational sector in a discussion on the best strategies for improving learning environments.
The Digital Agenda Assembly explored new ideas regarding how to make change happen in the educational system. At the eG8, Robert Murdoch recalled that education was a pending challenge for our already digital societies. However, the question remains: do we have concrete ideas about how to make changes in educational systems?
The politics and practices surrounding the integration of technology and education raise many questions, and the extent to which this integration enacts real change is currently a critical debate within our field. Therefore, this discussion opens with a series of challenges related to the discourse on change, expressed in terms of four key areas: innovation, infrastructure, impact and pedagogical vision.
Innovation has been identified as a necessary element for creating change but the best way for introducing innovative practices is not always clear. How can we capture the innovation that takes place at the local level? Are we sure that we can transfer innovation as it is, or would it be better to concentrate on the inspirational dimension of some initiatives, in order to generate a myriad of new ones?
2nd Digital Agenda Assembly
The Assembly consists of an online engagement space launched ahead of the event (read more here), 8 workshops on key Digital Agenda topics (such as cloud-computing, social media and innovation and entrepreneurship) and a plenary session to report feedback on previous discussions and hold debates on the way forward.
Background information
The Digital Agenda for Europe is the European Union's roadmap for bringing the benefits of a digital society and economy to Europe's citizens.
Objectives
The main objectives of the Assembly are to:
- Assess progress to date on implementation towards the Digital Agenda's goals and actions and seek ways to improve delivery;
- Identify challenges ahead for the implementation of the Digital Agenda and for the information society in general;
- Mobilise stakeholders' actions to make further progress and address challenges.
The conference website provides direct links to join workshop-related discussions on the online engagement platform and a list of twitter hashtags for each workshop. Follow and discuss online!
Digital Agenda for Europe - new online platform launched
A new online platform has been launched to discuss the Digital Agenda for Europe. Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission, published the news in her blog.
The forum of the Digital Agenda Assembly is an online space for discussion and feedback to prepare the Digital Agenda Assembly 2012 ("DAA12") on 21-22 June in Brussels, as well as the review of the Digital Agenda for Europe ("DAE"), planned for adoption in October.
Join the discussion, provide comments and launch new discussion topics.
What is the Digital Agenda?
From the official press release:
“The European Commission launched in March 2010 the Europe 2020 Strategy to
exit the crisis and prepare the EU economy for the challenges of the next decade. […]
The Digital Agenda for Europe is one of the seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy, set out to define the key enabling role that the use of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) will have to play if Europe wants to succeed in its ambitions for 2020.
The objective of this Agenda is to chart a course to maximise the social and economic potential of ICT, most notably the internet […]. Successful delivery of this Agenda will spur innovation, economic growth and improvements in daily life for both citizens and businesses.”
The Digital Agenda and e-learning
For the purpose of boosting the economy a list of planned actions has been put together, some of which relate directly to e-learning, others influence e-learning indirectly.
Pillar VI is exclusively focussing on enhancing e-skills, but other categories of actions, such as Pillars I (Digital Single Market) and IV (Very Fast Internet), also contain actions which could have an imapct on the European e-learning market.
One of the actions most relevant to e-learning - Action 68 - calls on member states to mainstream e-learning in national policies. The Commission in turn will raise awareness on the benefits of adopting e-learning, sharing knowledge about results, practices and solutions available in Europe and laying the foundations for future plans.
The elearningeuropa.info community members have gatherred a variety of materials about this topic. Join the elearningeuropa.info community about 'Mainstreaming eLearning in National Policies' to contribute to the discussion.
Access the online forum of the Digital Agenda Assembly online space and post your views.
A Digital Single Market by 2015 - European High Level Conference
On 27-28 February 2012 decision makers from Member States and European institutions, along with high level representatives from business, civil society and academia are invited to a forward looking dialogue on the political challenges of creating a truly European Digital Single Market.
The overall aim of this conference is to address the barriers to a fully-fledged Digital Single Market - and to identify the steps needed to achieve this goal. The conference will focus on the establishment of a functioning internal market for e-commerce and digital services, thereby contributing to economic growth and creating new jobs.
The establishment of a functioning Digital Single Market will help achieve greater European competition and productivity - and thus strengthen the EU's global competitiveness and promote economic growth. The European Heads of State and Government have decided that a fully functioning Digital Single Market should be established by 2015.
The opening session will focus on visions for the Digital Single Market and its economic and social benefits. Two high level roundtables and six thematic sessions will help to identify the opportunities and challenges for the realization of the Digital Single Market. A summery session will conclude on key messages and the necessary political steps on Europe's path towards the Digital Single Market.
Minister for Business and Growth, Mr Ole Sohn, will open the conference together with a representative from the European Commission.
The conference is organized by the Danish Business Authority in cooperation with the European Commission. The conference is in English. Attendance requires invitation.
There will be plenty of opportunity to follow the debate and voice your opinion online before, during and after the conference on twitter using the hashtags, live webstream and on the Digital Agenda blog.
Confirmed speakers include
- Esko Aho, Former Prime Minister of Finland
- Ed Vaizey, UK Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries
- Bruno Lanvin, co author of the WEF Global Technology Report
- Ole Sohn, Danish minister for Business and Growth
Conference web: www.dsm2012.dk
Digital Agenda for Europe – Background Analysis
The overall objective of the study (SMART 2007/0030) was to provide analysis of the impacts of different policy options for the preparation of the Digital Agenda for Europe, one of the flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy. The final report contains an individual assessment of several policy areas: next generation access deployment; net neutrality and digital rights; digital content; user empowerment and the role of the EU in the international ICT arena. The analysis included outcomes from existing studies, surveys, hearings and consultations.
Digital Agenda Progress Report 2011
The annual report provides an overview of progress on the actions of the Digital Agenda for Europe, updating the list of completed actions since the Digital Agenda Scoreboard in May 2011, and outlining the work ahead. This document is part of the efforts of the European Commission on the implementation and governance of the Digital Agenda, further to other activities in 2011 including the Digital Agenda Scoreboard, the Digital Agenda Assembly, and the Digital Agenda Going Local.
The overall aim of the Digital Agenda is to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits from a digital single market based on fast and ultra fast internet and interoperable applications. The Digital Agenda is a key component of the Europe 2020 strategy to provide growth and jobs in a sustainable and inclusive manner.
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