The EU gathers 54 examples of schools and programs that use AI, virtual reality, and games to reduce the digital divide in education.

The European Union has published a new report on digital education, featuring 54 examples of practices from all 27 member states, ranging from artificial intelligence courses for students and teachers to virtual reality labs, writing applications, media literacy competitions, and training programs for adults.

In brief

1. The report presents 54 digital practices from the 27 EU member states.

2. The examples cover schools, vocational education, universities, adult training, and initiatives for vulnerable groups.

3. Three themes dominate the report: digital skills, future classrooms, and digital well-being.

4. Artificial intelligence appears in several programs, from courses for teachers to tools for students and professional simulations.

5. Romania is included with Digitaledu, an open educational resources platform, and eduApps, a digital training program for teachers.

The report shows that digital education in Europe no longer means just equipping schools with tablets, laptops, or interactive boards. The selected examples emphasize how technology is effectively used: how students learn to recognize misinformation, how teachers use AI without losing pedagogical control, how children with disabilities are supported, how adults with low digital skills are trained, and how students can be prepared for technical jobs through simulations and digital labs.

The document describes a shift in direction: from one-off digital projects to more systematic transformations focused on skills, inclusion, and responsible use of technology. Digital pedagogy, digital inclusion, and artificial intelligence emerge as cross-cutting themes in several examples, and the report notes that member states are trying to link technology to teaching methods, teacher training, and the real needs of students.

In Austria, the report mentions an initiative where schools pilot the use of generative artificial intelligence in the classroom, documenting experiences and contributing to a set of best practice examples. Teachers have access to digital materials, seminars, and a free online course on basic AI concepts, pedagogical use, ethics, data protection, and practical tools.

Belgium features two different projects. DigiYou, conducted in the Brussels-Capital region, works with young people aged 18 to 29 at risk of digital and social exclusion, including young people who are neither in education nor in work or training. Participants follow a free face-to-face program, practice in a digital inclusion space, and then must pass on their skills to vulnerable individuals in their community.

The second Belgian example is a free online course on generative AI, created by Artevelde and Odisee, aimed at final-year high school students and first-year university students. The course can be completed in about three hours, includes modules on prompting, practical applications, bias, hallucinations, copyright, sustainability, and the digital divide, and is available in Dutch and English.

More examples show how artificial intelligence enters education not only as a course topic but also as a working tool. In Croatia, the BrAIn project develops programs on "Artificial Intelligence: from Concept to Application" for students and tests an intelligent recommendation system for personalized learning. In France, the CREIA community gathers teachers, trainers, inspectors, and decision-makers to discuss the pedagogical and ethical use of AI in schools.

In Estonia, the Cyborgs platform uses conversational simulations with AI-generated characters for training professional skills and communication abilities in work situations. Users can practice difficult conversations with managers, colleagues, clients, or partners in a safe digital environment before facing similar situations at work.

The report pays significant attention to online safety. In Greece, the Kids Wallet app combines parental control, age verification, and digital identity for children, allowing parents to limit access to apps and websites and set time limits. In Italy, Patti Digitali di Comunità addresses the social pressure felt by parents when children receive smartphones too early and proposes local agreements between families, schools, and communities for common rules regarding phones, social media, and time spent online.

Another direction is the use of games and competitions for digital skills. In the Netherlands, MediaMasters is a national game for children aged 8-12 about social media, fake news, cyberbullying, privacy, cybercrime, gaming, and online behavior. In Slovakia, the Critical Thinking Olympiad brings media literacy, information verification, argumentation, and data interpretation into schools through a national competition and free resources for teachers.

In Malta, Code.Sprint tests programming in a competition aligned with industry requirements, evaluated by IT professionals, not just teachers. Participants solve coding tasks under time pressure, and the competition can provide formal recognition in the educational system, including credits for secondary education students.

The report also includes examples related to virtual reality, augmented reality, and digital labs. In Spain, a training program for welding uses augmented reality simulators before working in the workshop, and the study presented in the report indicates a reduction in the time required to pass a test, more practice, and material savings. In Portugal, Digital Education Labs prepares teachers to use Future Classroom-type spaces, with 3D printing, robotics, micro:bit, multimedia, and STEM activities.

In Slovakia, public libraries host SmartLabs where citizens can work with 3D printers, creative equipment, and STEAM activities. The model uses libraries as community infrastructure for digital skills, creativity, robotics, programming, hands-on work, and practical learning.

Romania is represented by two initiatives. Digitaledu.ro is described as an open educational resources platform created by the Institute for Education and Social IT with the approval of the Ministry of Education, where teachers can find and reuse digital activities for various subjects, education levels, and formats. The report notes that the platform has over 1,700 activity ideas and that resources can be searched by subject, level, format, or type of learning.

The second Romanian example is eduApps – Digitalising Education through Training Programmes, a training program for teachers from preschool to high school. The report specifies that the initiative offers accredited online modules, master classes, video pedagogical workshops, and support for teachers in rural and disadvantaged areas. Since 2020, 3,900 teachers have completed the courses, with a pass rate of 99%, according to the report.

The conclusion of the report is that the digital transformation of education has become a structural priority for European education systems. The selected examples show that investments in technology have an effect only when accompanied by teacher training, user-friendly pedagogical resources, cooperation between sectors, funding, and coherent national strategies.