“Commission Staff Working Document. Annex II. Results of the public consul- tation on the EU’s modernisation agenda for higher education” presents “the key findings of the public consultation on the future of the EU’s agenda for the mod- ernisation of higher education systems. The results of the consultation underpin the specific initiatives related to higher education presented in the Skills Agenda and will inform the EU’s future strategy for the modernisation of higher educa- tion. […] A second area where skills gaps are highlighted in the consultation responses encompasses the broad fields of Science Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), where many national authorities and stakeholders see a need to strengthen high-level skills provision. In particular, several contributions note    a specific need for more ICT specialists and for students across the board to acquire better digital skills” (http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1223&langId=en &moreDocuments=yes, accessed 15 November 2016). The present volume includes nine papers gathered in four chapters. Chapter I “High-tech Electronic Learning Environment Design”; Chapter II, “ICT Literacy Development”, Chapter III – “Methodological Aspects of E-learning”,  the last chapter, entitled “Reports”. The papers presented in this volume show results of different studies conducted by researchers from different countries. The findings are certainly useful for fur- ther successful implementation of the strategy to develop a smart, sustainable, and inclusive society of the 21st century.

Education today must adequately reflect the needs of the society and be avai-lable throughout life, with an equal access for all people at all levels. The real step in solving these problems consists of creating an information and educational e-environment, using open learning, and providing an open access to educational resources. Organisation and management of the educational process, proper development of IT infrastructure, learning management system, and preparing and creating educational content are still necessary to ensure the quality of the educational information environment. Therefore, there is a need for training that could resolve expressed tasks to organise the educational process to a modern level using an information and educational e-environment available 24*7*365. For this purpose, in the system of e-learning of Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University, an electronic training course “Design and expertise of information and educational e-environment” (available online: http://e-learning.kubg.edu.ua/course/view.php?id=2741) was developed.

In this paper, the author describes the cultural and technological context of visual literacy, resulting from the specificity of the evolutionarily expanding culture of image and the development of the information society, in the context of the concept of transliteracy. It presents the results of pilot studies of Polish university students for specific visual skills. Comparative material for research tasks of the prepared project “The legitimacy of visual literacy in the process of education” is a set of visual literacy (Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, 2011) developed in academic and scientific environments in the USA (The Association of College and Research Libraries, ACRL).

The paper describes the research on teachers’ competencies with regard to two forms of learning, i.e. a full-time form of study and blended learning. The research was also tasked to document a difference in the evaluation of these partial competencies in the full-time form and in the blended learning form. This paper deals with the research on the competence assessment of English teachers at the School of Business Administration in Karvina among students in both forms of studies. The introduction outlines the issue of competencies as a result of political, social, and economic changes affecting education in the 21st century. Education is given to deeper relations, in particular with regard to the growing meritocratic aspect. The next part of the paper provides a selection in the list of the most important outcomes of a conceptual nature of key competencies and these are followed by the terminology scope of teachers’ competences. The aim of the research is the analysis of data focused on teachers’ competencies affecting the assessment of the quality of teaching foreign languages. Competencies examined were the readiness of teachers to teach and the clarity of their interpretation, erudition, communicability and suitability of transmitting information, and the flexibility of the individual approach to students and their inspiration.

This paper aims to explore the challenges of the Ukrainian system of translators training caused by modern technology advancement. The paper applies established ideas in practical approaches to the improvement of translators training system with respect to new technological requirements for the professionals. The relevant data were obtained by the analysis of questionnaire results. The problems of education of translators in Ukraine under the conditions of dramatic social and political changes are considered. The lack of training in the sphere of technology application for professional development is pointed out on the basis of the research results analysis. The research has also shown the contradictions between the needed level of technological skills of the students of the translation department and modern professional standards. The changes of certification standards for translators in terms of information literacy skills, ethics, and management as related to technological advancement are shown. The paper discusses the results of the original survey involving high school graduates, students, and faculty staff. The recommendations proposed are based on the critical study of the peculiarities of the system of translators training in Ukraine.

The article deals with three main issues: the understanding of curriculum in context, the ability of contextualisation, and retention of knowledge in long-term memory. The paper first suggests principles based on the coherence model of instruction, which aims to achieve coherence of knowledge of isolated facts through a network of semantic relationships. Then, the theoretical basis of the model is described, including spatial learning strategies, cooperative learning, and excur-sions in an authentic environment supported by mobile devices. A methodology of teaching was designed according to the principles of the coherence model, and a virtual guide through educational exhibitions was developed. The virtual guide was tested with students of a primary school during an experimental lecture in the Ostrava Zoo. An evaluation of the coherence model and the virtual guide was carried out using three methods: an observation of students’ behaviour and learning during the experimental lecture, a pedagogical experiment, and an evaluation of questionnaires. The results of the evaluation proved that the coherence model of instruction has a positive impact on understanding in context, ability of con-textualisation, and retention of the curriculum in long-term memory.

An article entitled Words Mean. Words Look. Words Sell (Themselves) focuses onthree issues: dominance of the use of English loanwords over attempts to create their Polish equivalents (as a result of which a product, a process, an event, or an artefact promoted by the English-speaking culture is adopted together with its name), a trend whereby words (and titles composed of words) become images (through a choice of font, a non-standard use of lowercase and uppercase letters, or an inclusion of non-letter characters, e.g. parentheses), and ascribing to words present in micro-acts a promotional function, advertising the entire product – a text. The trends discussed in the article are not new, but it is their intensity level that is new.

The subject matter and the priorities of the conference reflect the conceptual principles underlying the modernisation of education and the reform of the edu-cational systems in European countries, as well as national development strategies for the 21st century. One of the European Union’s key educational objectives is the provision of equal opportunities for all with respect to an access to learning and knowledge, regardless of gender, financial and physical ability, and place of residence. Consequently, distance learning has now been granted a status of high priority. If introduced on a wide scale, distance learning and teaching may make a significant contribution towards the achievement of educational goals in member states.

ICEduTech (http://icedutech-conf.org/) is a scientific conference addressing the real topics as seen by teachers, students, parents, and school leaders. Scientists, professionals, and institutional leaders are invited to be informed by experts, and to increase the understanding of what education needs and how to achieve it.

On the 1st December 2016, in the Discussion Hall of Herzen University, the opening of the international scientific-practical conference E-environment in the Open Pedagogical Education took place. The event was organised by the Institute of Education and Psychology and the Institute of Computer Science and Technology Education.