A2 - Policy documents

Here the eLene partners have referenced national ICT in Education policy documents / statements. Each partner has summarised the situation, especially if the policy document is only available in the national language.

EU

 Reports on the LIFELONG LEARNING STRATEGIES being implemented in each member state with regard to the Lisbon agenda can be found on the Europa website: EDUCATION AND TRAINING 2010, DIVERSE SYSTEMS, SHARED GOALS (http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/lll_en.html)

France

France's national policy for ICT in Education is part of an overall strategic three-year plan for Information Systems and Telecommunications, the S3IT 2008 (http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid4180/le-2008-schema-strategique-des-systemes-information-des-telecommunications-horizon-2008.html). Each academic year (2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009) has its own roadmap, one for primary and secondary education, one for higher education.

The policy is divided into 7 strategic axes.

4 of these concern Teaching, education and research:

• Learning paths and professional integration
• Pedagogy and ICT*
• Digital services
• Partnerships

The other 3 axes concern 'Support and management of HEIs' and 'Management of Information systems and infrastructure'.

*Pedagogy and ICT (teachers and students)

Promoting the appropriate use of ICT in higher education

• Continuing the development of Digital Thematic Universities
• Encouraging the publication online of courses and resources for teachers
• Mainstreaming the use of ICT to contribute to the success of the different target groups and reinforce the status of university-level education.

Italy

The italian Ministry of Public Education pursues the objectives estabilished at the Lisbon Council. The position has been confirmed in the program for 2008 (http://www.pubblica.istruzione.it/normativa/2007/atto_indirizzo_2008.shtml#top).

In the progress report 2005 (http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/natreport/it_en.pdf)  "IMPLEMENTING THE ‘EDUCATION AND TRAINING 2010’ - WORK PROGRAMME" is written:

..."MIUR (the Ministry of University and Research) is working intensely to strengthen the Development Programme for Educational Technologies, which involves the whole school system, from pre-school to upper secondary education.

A programme has been put in place for the initial and continuous training of school staff on the use of education technologies.

The Education Reform Act n. 53/2003 (here in italian (http://www.pubblica.istruzione.it/mpi/progettoscuola/allegati/legge53_03.pdf)) provides everyone - and young people in particular – with more and more concrete opportunities for accessing ICT. Computer science is studied starting from the first year of primary school.

This objective will be achieved through two complementary actions:

• the setting up of a computerised network infrastructure, with broadband cabling and satellite reception equipment in schools;

• the delivery of ICT training to school teachers through an integrated system of classroom activity and tutored self-directed learning."...

Many projects at local/national have been realised or are "on going" at the moment. Some of the most representative are presented by the Ministry of Public Education here (http://www.pubblica.istruzione.it/innovazione/brochure/Brochure_en.pdf) and can give a general idea of the effort for the development of ICT in educational field.

They concern e-learning (i.e. HSH: the project features the role of technology and multimedia communication ensuring uninterrupted studies and health care in cases where patients are hospitalised or housebound), international (i.e.: ENIS project, the net of european schools  in the forefront for ICT), right to study (i.e. @urora project: the e-school in prison) sciences and research (i.e. Portale Ricerca: the project aims at the creation of a web portal to better coordinate communication among different research insitutions), information systems and web services (i.e. e-libraries, e-museums, contents for self-training, podcasting for education) areas, for students of different levels, from primary school to university and life-long learning. Some projects, as ForTic (http://www.pubblica.istruzione.it/innovazione/progetti/tic.shtml), are specifically designed to train teachers on ICT.

Prof. Alberto Colorni, since 2003 until July 2007 president of the Italian national e-learning society (SIe-L), actually member of the commission “Lifelong learning & e-learning” of the Department of University, exposes his remarks about the actual italian situation:

Over the last two years, quite all the traditional universities in Italy created a support structure (similar to METID) for e-learning, and Rectors designated e-learning delegates. Some universities started delivering online degrees beside the traditional ones, especially in the fields of Education and Engineering (qualche dato !). The situation, therefore, is getting better.

There’s still a question concerning the open universities, regulated by an act of the previous government (2003): now there are 11 open universities, a couple really working. The present Minister of University started to define a set of minimum requirements [1] to consider distance universities at the same level of traditional ones. A decree on this topic might be published within 2007.

The situation of school presents a general delay, there are differences among different areas, there is not a national project, previous specific projects on ICT for teacher involved a great number of people but hadn’t great results. Actually the School Department doesn’t provide structured courses for teacher concerning and using e-learning tools. Single regions, instead, carry out projects (as Math On Line in Lombardia).

Regarding post degree master, Asfor (the manager training association) carries out surveys underlining that e-learning is fully working (with specific methodologies), models are effective (offer is stable in terms of topics and approach), there is a concentration process (5 society realize more than 50% of total offer), most courses are quite short. Asfor is carrying out blended master accreditation: the activity is in progress (the procedure regards Politecnico too).

In this context, the field of Lifelong Learning is essential. Here the situation is at the beginning, there are few experiences. The Department of Labor is very interested in this sector: Apprendo project regards just this field that in the future – in my opinion – will become one of the most dynamic and important.

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[1] Review process starting is included in the 2006 Financial Law Institution (art. 37, code 3). The text can be found to the address: http://www.parlamento.it/leggi/decreti/06262d.htm. Examples of minimum requirements are: the presence of research activities, a sufficient number of permanent teachers, clearness in administration and decision procedures, participation of students to management, an adequate (showed by documents) technological equipment, clear criteria to recognize individual previous study experiences.

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Germany

Germany has not a national policy for ICT in Education, but pursues a national strategy. In 2000 the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) published a concept for action called “Online - Offline” - IT in Education[1], which is seen as the national contribution to the implementation of the European Union’s action plan (eEurope Initiative). One aim is that Germany’s educational system must make an efficient use of ICT in teaching and learning.

For Institutions of Higher Education the BMBF (in co-operation with the 16 regions, the so-called Länder) carried out funding programmes since the end of the 1990s in

• building infrastructure,
• developing new teaching and learning concepts,
• developing content software for higher education teaching,
• developing concepts for a German Virtual University and
• strengthening ICT training at higher education institutions

The Universities proposed specific projects that comply with the funding programmes and a selection of the best proposals will be funded. The Länder set up regional funding programmes too, e.g. Bremen in T.I.M.E. or HWP (Hochschul-Wissenschafts-Programm.

The Bund-Länder Commission for Educational Planning and Research Promotion (BLK) in 2002[1] and the rectors’ conference (HRK) in 2003[2] recommended the support of a long-term e-learning implementation on university level (“e-learning as the management’s task”).

As a result of this recommendations universities realized different variations, e.g. set-up e-learning centres and networks. Examples in northern Germany are in Bremen “The Centre for Multimedia in Higher Education, ZMML”, in Hamburg the “Multimedia Kontor, MMKH”, in Lower Saxony the “eLearning Academic Network Niedersachsen, ELAN”, in Schleswig-Holstein “onCampus”.

From 2000 to 2004 priorities of funding (more or less 200 Million Euro) has been building of IT-Infrastructure (Wireless Lan[3]), the development and testing of high-quality E-Learning content (100 project networks with regard to content development, NMB[4]) and 25 concepts for mobile learning (Notebook University[5]).

The current BMBF support programme “E-Learning Services for Science” [6] (2005-2007, 40 Million €) includes two action lines:

1. E-Learning Integration

funds the development and testing of organisation models in order to enhance the use of e-Learning and e-Teaching in higher education.

2. E-Learning Transfer

“serves the elaboration of organizational concepts and business models for services that, in particular, facilitate the subject-related production and utilization of e-Learning at universities.”[7]

A detailed overview about the German situation “from Project Development to Sustainable Implementation” is published at http://www.elearningeuropa.info/directory/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=6491&doclng=6.

In 2008, the BMBF is planning a new support programme about “Web 2.0”. A group of experts suggests a strategy for strengthening education and innovation in Germany with social software[8].

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[1] http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/multimedia/aktuelles/blk_nm_strategiepapier_2002.pdf.

[2] http://www.hrk.de/de/download/dateien/Neue_Medien.pdf

[3] http://www.dlr.de/pt_nmb/WLAN_Bericht.pdf

[4] http://www.bmbf.de/pub/nmb_kursbuch.pdf

[5] http://www.medien-bildung.net/notebook/notebook_3.php

[6] http://www.bmbf.de/foerderungen/2576.php

[7] http://www.elearningeuropa.info/directory/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=6491&doclng=6

[8] http://www.bmbf.de/pub/expertenkommission_web20.pdf

Spain

NATIONAL POLICY AND OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS ON THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

In Spain there is not yet a national policy for ICT in Education. There is a multiple scenario of initiatives and programmes to what digital literacy and ICT is concerned. Some of these initiatives come from private institutions, others from public institutions, others from the Spanish government, and others from the government of the different Autonomous Communities. There have been campaigns, from the Ministry, to broadcast the benefits of the Information Society among society.

The competencies in telecommunication and Information Society were transferred to the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce in order to move forward, situate Spain in the Information Society and avoid the digital gap. Some of the initiatives include creating infrastructure in schools, computers for every two students, connect school libraries into the net, implementing free software,…

 Plans of projects aimed at introducing ICT into secondary  education  have  been  initiated and are being developed through the Centro Nacional de Información y Comunicación Educativa (CNICE), directly run by the Ministry, and the different Autonomous Communities, covering three levels of education (primary, lower secondary, upper secondary).

Most of these initiatives are either short term (up to three years), or for an indefinite period and are granted a new budget every year.

THE CURRICULUM FOR THE TEACHING OR THE USE OF ICT. PRIMARY EDUCATION,

The curriculum does not specify any objectives, as ICT is used solely as a tool for other subjects and is not taught as a subject in its own right. No objective is clearly specified. Differences between the percentages of schoolteachers who use computers in the classroom and those who consult the Internet with their pupils are lower in secondary than in primary education.

ANNUAL NUMBER OF HOURS RECOMMENDED FOR TEACHING ICT AS A SUBJECT IN ITS OWN RIGHT. GENERAL LOWER SECONDARY EDUCATION,

The number of hours devoted to technology courses them depends on the stage of educación secundaria obligatoria (compulsory secondary schools) concerned. The curriculum also emphasises the value or reliability of information and the role of ICT within society.

In Spain all those intending to teach at primary level receive training in ICT. On the other hand, corresponding provision for future secondary school teachers depends on the institution at which they undertake their initial training. Training institutions are free to offer training in ICT to future teachers in general lower secondary education institutions are also free to decide on the number of hours of teaching devoted to ICT.

In Spain institutions are fully autonomous as regards the provision of ICT-related teaching. Not only are they free to decide whether to offer it and, if they do, to specify its content, but they are equally free to determine how much time should be devoted to such teaching.

NATIONAL OR OFFICIAL BODIES WITH A REMIT FOR SUPERVISION AND/OR PROMOTION OF NATIONAL POLICY FOR ICT IN EDUCATION

Centro Nacional de Información y Comunicación Educativa (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte) , Programa de Nuevas Tecnologías de la Educación de Canarias, Xarxa Telemática Educativa de Catalunya , Centro Multimedia de Galicia, Red telematica Educativa de Andalucia, etc.

The names of the official bodies listed may vary from one Autonomous Community to the next.

TRAINING TEACHERS FOR ICT

The amount of time spent on ICT in initial teacher education is also entirely at the discretion of the institutions.

SECONDARY EDUCATION

One of the aims of the new common core curriculum for compulsory secondary education is the acquisition of skills related to the use of ICT, so that they may be used as a learning tool in the different subjects. ICT also exists as a compulsory subject in its own right in the first two years of compulsory secondary education. In the common core curriculum for Bachillerato, ICT will be used as a learning tool in the different subjects and will be included as an independent subject in the type of Bachillerato known as Sciences and Technology.

In general upper secondary education the development of programming skills is not specified at this level of education.

TIME DEVOTED TO ICT IS FLEXIBLE IN MANY CASES

In some secondary schools, there are optional subjects on ICT. In the type of baccalaureate known as ‘Technology’, which includes 6 subjects related to this topic, the total number of hours corresponding to the core curriculum is 1155.  420 of these hours are distributed among those six subjects (70 hours per subject per year).

PURCHASE AND MAINTENANCE OF EQUIPMENT GENERALLY ASSUMED AT LOCAL LEVEL

The Autonomous Communities are responsible for supplying hardware and software to schools and the maintenance of their facilities. In addition, the municipalities may also launch their own initiatives and programmes to contribute to the purchase and maintenance of equipment. In 2002, the Central Government launched a programme through the Ministries of Education, Culture and Sport, and Science and Technology to offer strong support to the actions of the Autonomous Communities.

The difference between the level of computerisation in public-sector and private schools is significant.

In Spain education in ICT is compulsory for those intending to teach at primary level. On the other hand, ICT education for future secondary school teachers depends on the institution where they undertake their initial education.

http://promitheas.iacm.forth.gr/i-curriculum/Assets/Docs/Basic%20Indic%20ICT.pdf

http://www.todos.es/es-es/index.html (http://www.todos.es/es-es/index.html) http://www2.mityc.es (http://www2.mityc.es/)

Finland

Since the mid-1990s, the national-level ICT strategies for education in Finland have emphasized that ICT must be integrated in the curriculum. It cannot be a separate area in education but a natural part of knowledge creation. ICT is not seen as a set of technical tools but more as a group of new pedagogical approaches. The value of educational ICT use is judged on the basis of how much it adds to the process of learning, makes students active learners, and increases a participatory, collaborative culture and problem solving.

The Information Society Programme for Education, Training and Research 2004 – 2006 (http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Julkaisut/2004/koulutuksen_ja_tutkimuksen_tietoyhteiskuntaohjelma?lang=en&extra_locale=en) followed by the previous national strategies (1995-1999, 2000-2004) set up a goal for 2007 by when at least 75 % of teachers have the knowledge and skills to use ICT in teaching. Today the ICT use in teaching has been integrated into the curricula of the teacher education departments, and universities provide in-house training in pedagogical use of ICT for their teachers.

As part of the national information society strategy for education and research, a project called “OPE.fi“ (Training for Teaching Personnel) has provided common standards to advance ICT competencies in educational institutions and universities. The OPE.fi project has three different levels, which helps strategic progress towards teachers’ ICT competence. The project deals with both pre- and in-service teacher education. It set the aim for 2004 that all teachers should have at least basic ICT skills, and that half of all the personnel in educational institutions should have more advanced skills. Ten percent of the teachers should achieve an expert level competence. The levels of ICT competence illustrated in the table below, are still valid when planning and providing training for teachers.

Level	Skills / Competencies
I	Every teacher can use computers and other ICT facilities, and has knowledge of the principles of using them in teaching and learning. These skills are related to word processing, e-mail, WWW and educational technology in teaching and learning.
II	At least half of the teachers have more advanced ICT competencies, such as: · implementing e-mail, WWW and ICT based platforms for group work, · managing toolkits for the enhancement of teaching · knowledge of the main principles of producing and using digital material in their own teaching area and good competencies in pedagogical applications of ICT, and · keeping up with the development of technological tools and programs
III	Ten percent of the teachers should have special competencies in ICT, such as · content- or profession-specific applications, e.g., picture management, multimedia, distance education applications, simulations, · high-standard expertise of pedagogical applications and skills, to support colleagues as ICT users, to work as ICT trainers and developers of schools and learning communities and as partners in expert networks, · special skills in computer programming, · producing digital material, · ICT management and administration in schools, and · anticipating ICT innovations in teaching and doing research on them.

The Development Plan for Education and Research 2003-2008 (http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/default/OPM/Julkaisut/2004/liitteet/opm_190_opm08.pdf?lang=fi) adopted by the Government pays special attention to ICT use in teaching. The development plan states:

• In the development of teacher education, special attention will be paid to […] the use of information and communications technology in teaching.
• The education policy priorities in teachers’ continuing education are […] the use of information and communications technology in teaching.

The present Government aims to steer Finland towards a competitive information society with a human touch. Based on the National Knowledge Society Strategy 2007–2015 (http://www.tietoyhteiskuntaohjelma.fi/esittely/en_GB/introduction/_files/76222690188788831/default/Strategia_englanti_181006final.pdf) the Government outlined the aims of the national information society policy for 2007–2011 in a resolution adopted on 21 June 2007. It also appointed an Advisory Board for the Ubiquitous Information Society. The work of the Board will centre around five key areas one of which is utilising the benefits of ICT in education, research and culture, coordinated by the Ministry of Education. The Advisory Board will also examine the use of ICT in teaching and studying.

Sweden

There is no national policy in Sweden for ICT in educational, but rather an overall strategy. As the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education states:

The use of information technology in higher education affects everything from forms of teaching to the development of new courses and programmes of education. Institutions of higher education have a particular responsibility for providing cross-disciplinary programmes in which IT is integrated with other areas of education. All students should learn to use IT for learning, for advanced information-seeking, for communication and for running simulations. All institutions of higher education should have a strategy and an action plan for their combined IT efforts.

The Swedish Net University

Sweden has recently invested heavily in technology driven distance education through the Swedish Net University. This is a collaborative effort that involves 35 Swedish universities and colleges. The student web portal www.netuniversity.se (http://www.netuniversity.se/) plays a central role in this initiative. Among other things, it contains a searchable data base with 2,700 courses and study programmes.

In 2001 the Swedish Net University was launched as a dual or multi-modal university based upon the courses and education already given by the Swedish universities and university colleges. As an initial incentive, these institutions of higher education were given an extra disbursement (totally 211 million kronor for year 2002) from the government, for courses given within the Swedish Net University. Participation within the Net University is voluntary for the universities and university colleges. In order to run the project the Swedish Net University Agency was set up. The primary task for the agency is to co-ordinate the different courses and education given by the various Swedish universities. The agency has an annual budget of about 35 million kronor. Most of this funding is used for different purposes such as stimulating improvements in skills and competence among distance education teachers and other personnel. It is also used to identify topics and areas that would benefit from more distance education.

NSHU - The Swedish Agency for Networks and Cooperation in Higher Education - has the task of promoting educational development in higher education as well as stimulating widening participation. NSHU work within four main areas where the demand for renewal is deemed to be most acute: widening participation, educational development, the Bologna Process and IT-supported distance education:

In order to develop IT-supported distance education NSHU collaborates with institutions and student organizations in many different ways to:

• Create meeting places, conferences, and workshops that facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience,

  
  

• Support and encourage institutions to collaborate in subject and thematic networks,

  
  

• Finance educational development projects.

  
  

Knowledge Foundation

A large number of IT projects in higher education are run and funded by the Knowledge Foundation (www.kks.se).

One of the Knowledge Foundation’s briefs is to promote the development of IT in Sweden. Schools constitute an important area of work in meeting this brief. In 1995, the Foundation began a major project to develop teaching in the schools with the help of IT. The Foundation has become one of the major participants in school development using IT. Since 1995, the foundation has provided funding to some 3,000 school development projects in preschools, elementary schools and secondary schools. The aim has been to encourage schools to use IT and develop new ways of teaching based on IT support.

The Knowledge Foundation has taken the initiative in developing a national postgraduate programme on learning and ICT/IT, LearnIT. In LearnIT, research is being conducted in how IT affects learning, knowledge formation and education at the societal, organisational and individual level. Göteborg University is hosting the programme, which runs from 2000-2007 and whose goal is the long-term development of knowledge about learning and IT.

LearnIT: http://www.learnit.org.gu.se/english/?languageId=100001&disableRedirect=true&disableRedirect=true&returnUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.learnit.org.gu.se%2F (http://www.learnit.org.gu.se/english/?languageId=100001&disableRedirect=true&disableRedirect=true&returnUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.learnit.org.gu.se%2F)

Reports concerning IT-supported distance education

Almost 60 joint projects have been initiated between 2002 and 2005 within the collaboration of the Swedish Net University. The projects are to enhance the quality of IT supported distance education in Sweden.
The Swedish Netuniversity Agency Projects 2002-2005 (http://www.nshu.se/english/download/2940/projectbook20022005_eng.pdf)

Virtual meetings and physical gatherings

The aim of this evaluation is to compile good examples of library support for flexible higher education and to categorize quality indicators.
Summary of Virtual meetings and physical gatherings (http://www.nshu.se/english/download/2839/summary_eng_200509.pdf)

Facts and figures 2002-2005

Facts and figures 2002-2005 describes how IT-supported distance education has developed during the past three years within the Swedish Net University and among the participating universities and university colleges.
Facts and figures 2002-2005 (http://www.nshu.se/english/download/3588/factsandfigures20022005.pdf)

the Netherlands

[1]

Policy

In the HOOP (Higher Education and Research Plan) 2004 the agenda is written down for higher education in the Netherlands. One of the topics is to increase the participation in higher education to 50%. This means for the Netherlands that more students from not-traditional target groups will need to participate. In other words, higher education will be confronted with a grown diversity of target groups.

This agenda is part of a broader knowledge strategy of the government cabinet focusing on the realisation of the Lisbon ambitions. The agenda can partly or more easily realised with the help of e-learning. The government has two main ambitions with respect to e-learning:

1. Use e-learning for more innovative and flexible education to anticipate on the expectations of nowadays students.
2. Use e-learning for specific strategic purposes that need special attention, like international students, students in technics and care, and the working and the work seeking population (life long learning).

Current state of the art

The Netherlands has a good technical infrastructure and there exists enough support for teachers and students in higher education. ICT is used for the provision of information, administration, standard applications, virtual learning environments etc. The use of ICT hardly starts from an educational point of view. Most innovative project do not start form a central educational vision on education, like for example: problem based learning, competention based learning or team learning. But ICT is used to support traditional education. Furthermore, ICT is hardly used for assessment. There exists no policy with respect to new target groups and although ICT is used for administrative functions but less for the composition of individual learning paths.

In a study initiated by the European Commission and performed by the Danish consultancy PLS Ramboll Management: ‘Studies in the Context of the E-Learning Initiative: Virtual Models of European Universities, we can read that 16% of all 200 universities (n=32) that cooperated in this research were marked as ‘front-runners’ with respect to ICT integration and e-learning. Spain and the UK have the largest proportion of cluster one universities (22% and 19%), the percentage for Finland and Italy is 13%, and for the Netherlands and Sweden 6% (http://www.elearningeuropa.info/index.php?page=doc&doc_id=4969&doclng=6&men.)

Furthermore, 15% of the universities is sceptical and uses hardly any ICT. Italy and Germany (29% and 23%) have relatively many sceptical universities. In the Netherlands 0% is sceptical. Most universities, like those in the Netherlands, are relatively advanced in their ICT-integration in ‘campus-based’ education. In other words, e-learning is not a ‘normal’ mode in higher education. Institutions are not focused developing more innovative and flexible education based on a specific vision on education. Furthermore, e-learning is hardly used form a strategic point of view.

Partners involved

In higher education, the providers of education are the most important players in practising e-learning. Since 1985, collaborate all funded institutions for higher professional education and universities on ICT in higher education within the SURF[2] foundation. They collaborate systematically on: innovation, knowledge development and transformation. The most important activity is the tendering of projects (partly finance). Other activities SURF organises are: expertise networks, network tables, conferences, seminars, websites and the annual SURF education days. Next to SURF, about one third of the institutions for higher professional education and universities are organised within a consortium. Currently, three consortia exists: the Digital University (DU), E-merge and Apollo. Furthermore, various domain specific consortia exists, like Law online, Economy compact and Ellips (language education). In 2007, SURF and the DU merged and it is not clear yet if the other consortia will continue to collaborate since they won’t receive any more money from the government.

In addition, the Netherlands has an Open University (OUNL). The OUNL has an explicit task to contribute to innovation in higher education. Therefore, the OUNL participates in the various consortia like the DU.

Role of the government

Institutions for higher professional education and universities are responsible for their own infrastructure and supplies as well as the arrangement of education. The role of the government is to facilitate and to stimulate. While, normal exploitation costs regarding ICT in higher education are not depending on direct financial support from the government, further developing and innovation actually is. ICT supplies in higher education as we know at the moment are realised by the institutional boards en mainly financed out of the institutions normal budget.

The SURF foundation is realised by the institutions for higher professional education and universities.

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) together with the Ministry of Economic affairs financed the strong national ICT-infrastructure for higher education and research: SURFnet. Furthermore, various other initiatives are financed by OCW, like supporting the SURF ICT and Education programme (€4 million per year until 2006), supporting the strategic plan 2003-2006 of the DU (€2 million in 2004 and €3 million in 2005). Furthermore, OCW facilitates the innovation of education via the OUNL. The OUNL functions as a knowledge centre for ICT and e-learning in higher education. They have a legal innovation task for higher education and it is expected that they will spend at least €6,8 million on this task.

From 2006 on the government aims to focus their subsidy on the strategic use of e-learning.

National Action Plan e-Learning[3]

In June 2005, SURF, the DU and the other consortia agreed with the State Secretary to write an action plan e-learning that focuses on how the Dutch institutions for higher education can contribute to  strengthen the international position of the Netherlands in the global knowledge society. This resulted in the National Action Plan e-Learning (NAP), co-ordinated by SURF (see: http://www.surf.nl/download/05.4145_NAP_okt05.pdf).

The National e-Learning Action Plan aims to increase the level of participation in higher education in the Netherlands through the deployment of e-Learning. The Action Plan focuses on using e-Learning to increase the inflow and outflow of higher education and reducing the rate of drop-outs. The Action Plan provides frameworks for the manner in which institutions can contribute to this aim though e-Learning.

In 2006 institutions for higher education were provided with the opportunity to initiate projects within the theme: continuing learning paths).

National Action Programme 2007-2010

The National Action Plan e-Learning has been effected through a collaboration between the ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences, the Association of Universities in the Netherlands and all Dutch institutions for higher education. May, 7^th 2007 it was announced that € 12 million will be available for this second phase.

The NAP 2007-2010 strives to transcend the traditional borders of higher education, by bringing together actors from the labour market as well as from abroad with higher education in the Netherlands. This programme poses a great challenge for SURFfoundation and the institutions for higher education. The SURFfoundation Strategic Plan as well as the Ministrys policy memos emphasise the problems regarding participation in higher education, the flexibility that these problems demand and the need for quality control. The focus is largely on employing ICT to approach these problems and the new roads to be taken to achieve the aims.

[1] Information in this chapter is mainly based on: http://www.minocw.nl/documenten/brief2k-2005-doc-7219b.pdf

[2] SURF is the higher education and research partnership organisation for network services and information and communications technology (ICT).

[3] Source: http://www.surffoundation.nl/smartsite.dws?ch=ENG&id=5327

Poland

In the mid of 2005 Polish Ministry of National Education and Sport released a draft document on Model of Implementation of Distance Education System in Poland. It became a subject of interesting discussion among different academic e-learning experts - although we don’t have legal regulations in Poland, there many projects and HE institutions quite experienced and advanced in e-learning. From this debate one can deduce a picture of Polish plans for e-learning national policy, best practices and experiences of DL projects, and quite universal opportunities and threads of this type of education.

We present different opinions about topics like:

1. advantages and disadvantages of creation of universal national models of distance education, especially in the field of e-learning

2. who should be trained in such a system?

3. who should teach?

4. how? What techniques/methods are the best?

5. what areas/topics are the most suitable to teach in this manner?

6. what about the IT infrastructure?

7. how to implement such a national system in order to achieve synergy of different assets and competencies?

8. and finally, last but not least, who will cover initial costs?

The presentation National policy of e-learning in Higher Education in Poland: opportunities, threads, present day, future perspectives ends up with short summary on present day and future perspectives of e-learning in Poland seen from the perspective of Polish Virtual University.