On April 23-24, members of the Artificial Intelligence and Education (AI&ED) expert group convened at the Council of Europe to initiate the design of a Common European Evaluation Framework aimed at guiding the evaluation of educational technologies deployed within educational settings, both comprising EdTech and AI systems.
Drawing upon existing initiatives, notably the Council of Europe's Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy, and Rule of Law, the proposed framework will encompass harmonised standards which will ensure that deployed education technologies will benefit learners and respect their rights and will facilitate co-ordination and co-operation among member states and between the public and private industries across Europe. Some of the fundamental principles that should guide the Evaluation Framework to Assess Educational Technologies are:
- Human dignity and individual autonomy
- Equality and non-discrimination
- Transparency and oversight
- Privacy and personal data protection
- Pedagogical value (for tools directly used with learners).
The framework seeks to delineate key dimensions and elements, ensuring its practicality and effective implementation.
The group will present the feasibility study of the Framework at the Conference on Regulating Artificial Intelligence in Education, which will be held in Strasbourg on October 24-25, 2024.
The Evaluation Framework to Assess Educational Technologies be a key instrument towards leveraging the potential of technology and AI in education while upholding human rights, democracy, and rule of law and the best interest of the learners. It also aims to foster innovation and nurture European EdTech industry.
