The European Commission’sscience and knowledge service

Joint Research Centre

Promoting Open and Effective Digital-Age Learning in Europe:

Results from research to support policy

Y. Punie, J. Castaño & A. Inamorato dos Santos

DG JRC – Directorate Innovation and Growth Unit B4 Human Capital and Employment

1. Grand challenges 2. MOOCs: institutional take-up 3. Evidence on MOOC learners4. MOOCs and skills for migrants and refugees 5. Open Education framework for HEIs6. Final remark

Content

1. Grand challenges

About 70 million Europeans lack sufficient reading, writing and numeracy skills

24% of EU population has no upper secondary education diploma

45% of EU population and 37% of UE labour force have unsufficient digital skills

40% of European employers report they cannot find people with the right skills for growth and innovation

A large number of high-qualified young people work in jobs that do not match their talents

Youth unemployment rates remain high (EU: 19% - GR: 50%)

The refugee crisis and the European project

2. MOOCs: institutional take-up

Number of MOOCs continues to grow

Source: online course report State of the MOOC 2016: A Year of Massive Landscape Change For Massive Open Online Courses

Source: MOOC Scoreboard

Europe much more involved in MOOCs

António Teixeira & Darco Jansen

Offer of MOOCs differs in EU countries

OVERALL France Germany Poland Spain United Kingdom0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

21.8%36%

10.1% 8.4%

33.8% 35.1%

19%

26.2%

13%23.7%

14.5% 12.3%

59.2%

37.8%

76.9%67.9%

51.7% 52.6%

MOOCs offered MOOCs planned No plans or don't know

%

Number of valid responses after weighting :117 (for overall) and 144 (for country comparison) –Data from OpenSurvey study. JRC-IPTS 2015.

9António Teixeira & Darco Jansen

Significant differences within EU but also between HEIs within a country, as well as within HEIs themselves

Lots of experimentation / reflections, approaches / aims

Many of the enablers and bottlenecks for wider and deeper take-up of MOOCs at institutional level are know+ Widening access, reputation, visibility,

education as a public good, quality, pedagogy, cost reduction, financial gains, etc.

- Recognition, credits, business models, quality, pedagogy, real added value, staff reluctance, etc.

However, the digital transformation of HE is not only or not just about MOOC offerings

Awareness of OER among educators in Scotland is very low (54%)

3. Evidence on MOOC learners

18.72%

81.28%

Level of education

Less than HE Higher Education

Num

ber o

f MOO

Cs …

Source: MOOCKnowledge pilot. Data on MOOC learners. N=2412 Source: MOOCKnowledge pilot. Data on MOOC learners. N=1910

Profile of MOOC learners Digital Competence

Interaction Skills > Information skills for

participation in MOOCs

MOOCs are more likely to be followed as LLL/CPD alternative for individuals with high educational level who are:

unemployed (data from Spain) do not have employer support for professional

development Substitution effect: Workers with employer

support for CPD participated more in other non-digital professional development activities – except for those with higher digital skills, especially interaction skills: both more traditional and online learning

Source: Castaño-Muñoz, J; Kreijns, K; Kalz, M; and Punie, Y. 2016

Literature review (Calonge & Shah, 2016, IRROD) on MOOCs, graduate skills and employability: Lots of potential, little evidence

Competence areas Competences

1. Information and data literacy

1.1 Browsing, searching and filtering data, information and digital content 1.2 Evaluating data, information and digital content 1.3 Managing data, information and digital content

2. Communication and collaboration

2.1 Interacting through digital technologies 2.2 Sharing through digital technologies 2.3 Engaging in citizenship through digital technologies 2.4 Collaborating through digital technologies 2.5 Netiquette 2.6 Managing digital identity

3. Digital content creation 3.1 Developing digital content 3.2 Integrating and re-elaborating digital content 3.3 Copyright and licences 3.4 Programming

4. Safety 4.1 Protecting devices 4.2 Protecting personal data and privacy 4.3 Protecting health and well-being 4.4 Protecting the environment

5. Problem solving 5.1 Solving technical problems 5.2 Identifying needs and technological responses 5.3 Creatively using digital technologies 5.4 Identifying digital competence gaps

https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcomp

DigComp 2.0

4. MOOCs and skills for migrants and refugees

MOOCs and free digital learning opportunities for migrants and refugees

Tasks (1) Literature review; (2) Map of inititatives (currently 64); (3) 8 case studies (E.g. Kiron University, Jamiya, UNHCR learn lab); (4) 4 focus groups with migrants and refugees (Nicosia, Berlin, Trollhättan-Sweden, Brussels) (5) Final report (January 2017)

How can these opportunites help to develop and recognise the skills and competences of migrants and refugees for inclusion, integration, re-engagement in formal or non-formal education, employability and civic participation?

Team: E. Colucci, H. Smidt, A. Devaux (RAND Europe), Vrasidas, C. (CARDET) & M. Safarjalani. JRC team: Castaño, J, Carretero, S. and Punie, Y.

Differentiating target groups and their starting points

Importance of facilitated approaches

Tailored, culturally-sensitive pedagogical approaches

Digital skills and language skills

Digital infrastructure and device limitations

Scalability and sustainability

Awareness and coordination of initiatives

Lack of research (and evidence) on S-E impact of such initiatives EC SKILLS COM: Skills Tool Kit for Third Country Nationals

Literature review: Success (and failure) factors

- e.g 1st phase online + 2nd phase f2f HE

- MOOCs for refugees- Information apps

- e.g. Online +f2f language learning

- Apps for language learning - General MOOCs-Videos

OnlineBlended

Non-targeted (33)

Targeted (31)

FocusFormal (higher) education

Civic integration (financial, health, values, bureaucracy..)

Employment

Language learning

Mixed topics (e.g CLIL)

Mapping of initiatives (64)

Forthcoming… http://moocs4inclusion.org/

5. Open Education framework for HEIs

JRC OpenEdu framework

The framework was designed to support HEIs in Europe to make strategic decisions on open education.

It defines and describes what OE is, highlighting the specific relevance of each element for HEIs.

It is a hands-on tool created by the OpenEdu Project as a response to the 2013 EC COM on 'Opening up Education', on behalf of DG EAC.

OpenEdu Framework

For each dimension of OE, the framework contains:

√ Definition √ Rationale √ Components

Descriptors

In total, >150 descriptors

JRC study on "Policy Recommendations for opening up education", on behalf of DG EAC

Research and analysis of open education polices at regional and national levels covering all 28 Member States.

Carried out by JRC Seville (Inamorato dos Santos, Punie) in collaboration with Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (Burgos, Nascimbeni, Aceto, Bacsich, Atenas et al).

Final report with analysis and recommendatins by spring 2017

What's next?

6. Final remark

• Digital learning is becoming more widespread and having a deeper impact on learning and on HEIs

• But still need more progress on all levels (holistic) to realise full potential for more inclusive and relevant learning in Europe

• Addressing "grand challenges" is important• Need for strong scientific evidence and

multi-stakeholder (longer term) commitment to accompany the process of change

https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcomphttps://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/entrecomphttps://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcompconsumershttps://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcomporg https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/computational-thinkinghttps://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/open-educationhttps://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digital-education-policieshttps://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/research-topic/learning-and-skills http://moocs4inclusion.org/

Thank you

yves.punie@ec.europa.eu