The D3 project has created and published a searchable information database of potentially useful open data, tools and resources readily available for teachers to access and use.  These information and data sources were considered useful for lesson activities by teachers working with the project team.

Visit the database of useful resources

Open Data is based on the idea that some data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control.

One of the most important forms of open data is collected and published by government institutions. The importance of open government data is based on it being a fundamental part of citizens’ everyday lives, down to the most routine/mundane tasks that are seemingly far removed from government. This government data is usually the basis on which decisions are made by policy makers.

The resources gathered by the zD£ project partners have been classified by their country of origin, the type of data and their main target groups.

For instance, many of the sources originate from the partner countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) and have been used with teachers there. Useful world resources are also available classified as International. They are considered to follow the principles of FAIR data, namely Finable Accessible Interoperable and Reusable.

The FAIR data principles imply the data is machine-actionable, that the data can be found, accessed, interoperated, and reused using  computational systems, with no or minimal human intervention.  This is because we increasingly rely on computer support to help deal with the huge volumes, complexity, and creation speed of data.

The D£ project coordinating organisation EUROGEO strongly supports the principles of open data. In 2019 the association became a signatory of the Open Data Charter. Find out more 

The coordinator of the D3 project, Karl Donert, subsequently presented the significance of open data education issues to the international gathering of Open Data Charter signatories.

Europe has developed a strategy for data which focuses on putting people first in developing technology, and defending and promoting European values and rights in the digital world.

Data is described by the EC as an essential resource for economic growth, competitiveness, innovation, job creation and societal progress. According to the European Commission, “the European strategy for data aims at creating a single market for data that will ensure Europe’s global competitiveness and data sovereignty. Common European data spaces will ensure that more data becomes available for use in the economy and society, while keeping the companies and individuals who generate the data in control.”

Data driven applications are fundamental to improve living conditions for citizens and help businesses thrive. They can:

• improve health care
• create safer and cleaner transport systems
• generate new products and services
• reduce the costs of public services
• improve sustainability and energy efficiency

Hence education efforts that increase digital data literacy like that  undertaken by the D3 project need to be promoted as part of the EC data strategy as citizens need to be empowered to stay in control of their data, and establish common, open European data spaces.

A European strategy for data has been proposed that intends to deal with issues such as data governance, access and reuse. It will seek to make data more widely available by opening up high-value publicly held datasets across the EU and allowing their reuse for free. Of major importance but lacking however are education initiatives to support these developments.

The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) has been developed as an index that summarises relevant indicators on Europe’s digital performance and tracks the evolution of EU Member States.

It compares indicators for European countries across five main dimensions: Connectivity, Human Capital, Use of Internet, Integration of Digital Technology and Digital Public Services.

DESI data is free and available to download. Visit the DESI download area