Promotion and encouragement of online teaching

11.3.2020

Question for written answer E-001542/2020
to the Commission
Rule 138
Stefania Zambelli (ID), Mara Bizzotto (ID), Lucia Vuolo (ID)

The health emergency caused by the spread of the Covid-19 infection is dramatically changing the way of life of the population, starting with that of schools. There are, it has to be said, countless technology and IT applications that can also be used for teaching; often, moreover, emergency situations prompt communities and institutions to find practical and innovative solutions in order to deal with new problems. Technology is now used a great deal in schools, too. However, teaching staff are often not appropriately trained, or do not have the technical skills necessary in order to use such tools, especially when it comes to online teaching.

That being the case, can the Commission answer the following questions:

• 1.Will it encourage Member States to develop and promote the use of technology for teaching purposes, by identifying good practices to be disseminated among all Member States?
• 2.Will it promote the introduction, in the training programmes offered by Member States, of a certain number of hours to be devoted to online teaching, aiming, on the one hand, to encourage the use of these technologies and, on the other, to accustom schools to using them, in recognition of the very high potential and usefulness of such an alternative form of teaching in emergency situations such as the current one?