Abstract:

In the contemporary international education and cultural policies, initiated by UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the European Union, one of the main goals is to create the conditions and prerequisites for the formation and development of key competences in young people during their education and to provide opportunities for continuing development of these competencies, to maintain and update knowledge and skills throughout their whole life. Improving quality and ensuring equal access to education, qualifications and career development for teachers, development of competitive higher education, are all priorities of European strategies and programs for improving the quality of life and for forming a democratic society.
In achieving these goals, the main focus is invariably the use of new information and communication technologies, in particular mobile technologies – smartphones and tablets, in the search for ways to effectively integrate and use them in education. Over the last few decades, new forms of education have emerged – e-learning, mobile learning, Blended Learning, etc., where the main element of the learning process is a mobile device – a smartphone or a tablet.
This paper presents an accomplished research, systematisation and analysis of all UNESCO's Mobile Learning Week (MLW) initiatives conducted until now and proposes diverse analytical summaries and conclusions related to the integration of new information and communication technologies, and in particular smartphones and tablets, into the educational processes. The methodology applied for the realisation of the study includes instruments for observation, search, systematisation, summary and analysis of traditional as well as electronic information sources.
The problems addressed in the paper are key to both the information and education sectors, unthinkable without the active involvement of modern mobile technologies. With the introduction of new information and communication technologies in social life, a radical transformation in the thinking, attitude and needs of consumers is taking place. Educational and information institutions must respond as effectively as possible to the needs of contemporary society.

Keywords:

Mobile libraries, digital libraries, ICT, mobile technologies, tablet, smartphone.