Coronavirus: Commission launches new and improved SELFIE tool to support digital and online education

Today, the Commission has launched a new version of SELFIE: the self-reflection tool to help schools make the most of digital technologies for teaching and learning. As schools start to reopen across Europe, SELFIE has been updated to help them reflect on how well they cope with distance learning during the coronavirus pandemic, and to plan the year ahead based on students’ and teachers’ needs. Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, responsible for the Joint Research Centre, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has caused the largest disruption to education in Europe’s recent history, with most teaching and learning moving online. For many educators and students, this has been the first time they have fully used digital technologies in this way. The updated SELFIE tool will help schools reflect on how they are coping and the actions they can take to make the most of these technologies to maximise learning opportunities for our children.” SELFIE (Self-reflection on Effective Learning by Fostering the use of Innovative Educational Technologies) is free, easy-to-use and customisable. Any interested school can sign up to the platform and run SELFIE. The tool gathers anonymous views from students, teachers and school leaders to produce a snapshot of the school‘s strengths and weaknesses in using digital technologies. Since its launch in 2018, over 7,000 schools and nearly 700,000 users from 57 countries have benefited from SELFIE. It is available in 31 languages, including all 24 EU languages. SELFIE is one of 11 actions of the European Commission’s Digital Education Action Plan, currently being updated with a public consultation, to draw lessons from the coronavirus crisis and support education and training through the long-term digital transformation. For more information on this new version of SELFIE, please consult the JRC website.