This is a joint initiative
to encourage the Member States, social partners and
industry, and teachers and learners, to connect schools and training places
to the Internet and multimedia and, in doing so, to link European societies to
the information age. The eLearning Action Plan
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identifies concrete
measures to achieve these goals. The measures for higher education are
outlined below.
The exploration and development of new models and ideas for virtual Euro-
pean universities and virtual campuses is encouraged. The idea is to map
out possibilities for different types of
partnerships at European level, and to
be clear about their advantages and disadvantages. The aim is also to ex-
plore possible types of virtual products: European degrees combining
courses and materials from different universities or other structured combi-
nations of virtual and face-to-face learning with a European scope.
Virtual European campus structures should facilitate access by students and
teachers to virtual learning resources and to European cooperation networks
at all levels. This could mean, for example, European-wide access to univer-
sity libraries, research laboratories and seminars as well as to professional
and academic associations’ debates and information resources.
The Action Plan also
foresees more research into, testing of, and forward
studies of new learning environments and the use of ICT in education, both
from a pedagogical and technological viewpoint, focusing on a critical-reflec-
tive use of new pedagogical methods and approaches, and assessing the
added value and benefits of e-learning environments for the learners and
communities involved. New educational visions of what can be achieved with
emerging technologies are an integral part of the development work.
A further intention is to create a virtual network for cooperation, “a European
laboratory for innovation in e-learning”. This is to
be a European platform for
meetings and exchanges, a bridge between education and research, linking
pedagogical, technical, organisational and socio-economic research on
e-learning, and providing communication channels between researchers and
practitioners in the field.
Promotion of virtual mobility is at the forefront. It can be seen either as a pre-
paration for or as a complement to physical mobility, as well as the provision
of enhanced opportunities for a European experience for those unable to
become physically mobile.
A virtual mobility scheme, “virtual Erasmus”, could, for example, be en-
visaged as a three-phase scheme in which a period
of physical mobility is
preceded and followed by a period of online studies at the host university
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The eLearning Action Plan – Designing tomorrow’s education. Communication from the Commission to
the Council and the European Parliament. COM (2001) 172 final.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/elearning/doc_en.html
(virtual mobility). This would enable continued contact with host university
and teachers in the longer term, even in cases where the actual mobility
period is short. The virtual components would therefore improve the quality
of the study abroad period.
The virtual components should be open to non-mobile students as well.
These students would benefit enormously from a virtual component in their
studies, which could be arranged as cooperative learning projects of home
students, host students and/or mobile students working together.
Furthermore, inclusion of virtual components in the organisation and prepa-
ration of mobility could increase the quality and the impact of the Erasmus
student experience. Contact can be kept up throughout the exchange period
with the home university and teachers. Language
preparation can be im-
proved with an online language preparation course before the actual on-site
course at the host university. This would increase the efficiency of language
preparation by allowing a greater number of Erasmus students to take an
intensive language course at the host university at intermediate rather than
beginner’s level. The online language preparation course could include a
system of tutoring, which would also provide Erasmus students with contact
persons at the host university.
Virtual mobility will be a powerful tool to promote physical mobility. A virtual
component in the study programme will act as a stimulus to participate in
physical mobility. Our
Homo Zappiens will experience an irresistible urge to
go and see for himself, to speak face-to-face to his virtual friends – in their
language – and to study and learn in the real setting of a university abroad.
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