Our Publications

The impact of digital technologies and importance of high quality education materials

06.12.2023

The PISA results are in. In response, some media sources have sensationally focussed on stark downward trends in base skills, and others on the idea of screen time directly influencing mathematic achievement without also looking at the benefits of device use listed in the study, and a great number rightly understand that the challenging background of emergency remote teaching and learning played a consequential role in these results. We’ve collated some of the key points related to digital education from the PISA report and the launch event that we think are important to look at and also keep in mind as we consider a more balanced discussion of the results.

This report provides a snapshot of the 1.258 companies throughout Europe that have contributed to the Edtech Map so far and reveals trends that can serve to inform policy, development and implementation strategies. From the vast majority of Edtech organisations actually being Micro Organisations in size, to the fact that just under half of all organisations have no international sales, or to the extreme disparities in funding, team make-up and company leadership between genders, the inaugural Map insight report shows emerging trends in the map data and highlights areas needing sustainable support within this essential sector.

For the purpose of defining common goals and mechanisms for working together
across sectors and the public-private divide, the European Edtech Alliance views
EdTech as encompassing all forms of digital education solutions supporting the
broader education market and consisting of not only technical systems for the delivery
of content and education, but also digital resources, content and curricula tools,
administration and organisation solutions, and integrated, holistic, digital tools.

Open Educational Resources (OER) have become a critical part of the education discourse and political actions within Europe. As a direct effect of signing the UNESCO recommendations for OER, there have been increased activities in this field by multiple governments and authorities. By highlighting both risks and chances, the European Edtech Alliance intends for this paper to inform decision makers and policy makers in the creation and implementation of policies which support the responsible, future-proofed, quality-driven development and usage of learning resources and the implementation of OER.

Read the position paper on making EdTech a key driver in the European digital education by the European EdTech Alliance and others, presented to the Commissioner Mariya Gabriel after a series of round table discussions on the life conditions and role edtech can play in reaching the targets in the Digital Education Plan.

The European EdTech Alliance supports the EU Commission with their AI Regulation. Building trust through the first-ever legal framework on AI we contributed with sharing our know-how and market insights.

Key policy objectives are:

• Set enabling conditions for AI's development and uptake

• Build strategic leadership in high-impact sectors

• Make the EU the right place for AI to thrive

• Ensure AI technologies work for people

The future of European education innovation depends on the quality and insightfulness of the implementation of technology in education as well as the quality and development of European educational technology, edtech. In the aftermath of the effects of the pandemic, this has never been more evident.

Given the fact that education by and large is a product of the public sector, we know that the untapped opportunity of harnessing the full potential of technology is further behind development in other industries and sectors.

In this report, we have mapped initiatives from governments around Europe to see how they support the innovation learning ecosystems needed. Results show a clear trend of governments seeing the need to support an innovation ecosystem for edtech and education in their countries. This is good news for the future of European education!