10 Aug Between Tradition and Technology, ETHLAE Talks to Educators in Romania

10 Aug, 2026

In January 2026, ETHLAE brought educators together in Timisoara for a capacity building session built around one question. Are we using technology well in adult education? The room reflected how different that question looks depending on where you teach, from well resourced STEM schools to prisons with no internet access at all, alongside special needs schools and Romania’s second chance education programme.

The conversation kept circling back to a harder truth. Technology barriers often sit on top of deeper ones. If someone can’t read or write well, they can’t use technology that requires understanding instructions in the first place, and in a country where basic literacy is still a live priority, rushing new tools into classrooms risks leaving the most vulnerable learners further behind. Digital wellbeing came up as a related gap. Educators already teach children about online safety but rarely extend that same guidance to adults.

There were striking examples too. One prison piloted VR to support learners working through addiction, opening ideas for using the same technology to help with confidence and other personal challenges. Smart boards are transforming lessons in special needs schools. And some educators still just use a phone collection box to help students focus.

By the end of the day, the group’s answer was clear. The goal isn’t to slow down or reject new technology, but to make sure it earns its place by serving educational goals, not setting them.

ETHLAE, Emerging Technologies for Holistic Literacy in Adult Education, is an Erasmus+ project working to help adult educators bring emerging technologies into their practice meaningfully rather than just for the sake of it.

Click here to find out more about the project