EUROPEAN UNION LAW OBSERVATORY: TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

A negative effect of globalization on society is that people now have more control than ever over their immediate environment but have no control over processes such as European integration that are marking their futures. These processes are happening beyond their environment, and understanding them requires a high degree of knowledge and operating control of the information systems and new information technologies. Law degree teachers help their students to acquire sufficient knowledge of these systems but they need new resources to achieve better results for the operating control of information systems and new information technologies within the European Union framework.
For the past three years, the University of Huelva has supported an innovative teaching project which I direct, called: the EUROPEAN UNION LAW OBSERVATORY.
This is a virtual and lecture-based resource for all compulsory or optional courses taken by third-year Law students whose study programmes include European Union (EU) Law.
The students who join the OBSERVATORY acquire specific technical training on how to manage EU sources of information through the Europa portal. The idea is to teach them to learn, to make the most of the resources available and to acquire skills that enable them to handle these tools simply, efficiently and with confidence.
“A student who teaches another student also teaches himself.” With this in mind, the Observatory is run by a student scholarship holder in class and by online technicians at the European Commission’s Europe-Direct office, who are on hand to provide students with support whenever necessary. This methodology aims to optimize the students’ learning experience, get them involved and create effective leaders.
Through the EEES pilot project, students will learn how to use the Europa website in order to have access to all the information on EU sources online. At the same time, working groups will be set up during the year for course-based research work, debate and exposition via the University of Huelva’s virtual platform. The Observatory coordinator will choose the best work for broadcast on UNIRADIO, Huelva university’s in-house radio station. Over time, a student might forget what he learnt about EU Law but thanks to this project he will not forget where and how to look for the information necessary for doing his job.
This uniquely innovative project is part of the debate on “European Governance” initiated by the European Commission in its White Paper of July 2001, and which comprises the set of regulations, procedures and practices related to the way power is exercised in the EU. The aim is to adopt new forms of governance that draw the EU closer to its citizens, make it more efficient, strengthen democracy in Europe and consolidate the legitimacy of its institutions. The EUROPEAN UNION LAW OBSERVATORY, as the University of Huelva’s interlocutor with Europe, opens a dialogue with the Europa portal on improving the quality, efficiency and simplicity of European legislation.