Digital Competence in practice: An analysis of frameworks

Author: Anusca Ferrari.
Abstract
This reports aims to identify, select and analyse current frameworks for the development of digital competence. Its objective is to understand how digital competence is currently understood and implemented in fifteen (15) cases, drawn from school curricula, implementation initiatives, certification schemes and academic papers. It develops a proposal for a common understanding of digital competence and identifies the sub-competences that compose it. Download this report.
Preface
With the 2006 European Recommendation on Key Competences,1 Digital Competence has been acknowledged as one of the 8 key competences for Lifelong Learning by the European Union. Digital Competence can be broadly defined as the confident, critical and creative use of ICT to achieve goals related to work, employability, learning, leisure, inclusion and/or participation in society. Digital Competence is a transversal key competence which enables acquiring other key competences (e.g. language, mathematics, learning to learn, cultural awareness). It is related to many of the so-called 21st Century skills which should be acquired by all citizens, to ensure their active participation in society and the economy.
This report is part of a project on Digital Competence (DIGCOMP), launched by JRC-IPTS IS Unit under an Administrative Agreement for DG Education and Culture with an objective to contribute to better understand and develop Digital Competence in Europe. The project is being carried out between January 2011 and December 2012. The objectives of the project are:
- To identify the key components of Digital Competence in terms of the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to be digitally competent;
- To develop Digital Competence descriptors that will feed a conceptual framework/guidelines that can be validated at European level, taking into account relevant frameworks currently available;
- To propose a roadmap for the possible use and revision of a Digital Competence framework and descriptors of Digital Competence for all levels of learners.
The project aims to achieve these objectives in collaboration and interaction with stakeholders at European level. This report contributes to the second work package of the project, by mapping and analyzing case studies where Digital Competence is being developed, acquired, and assessed or certified.
Yves Punie, Head of Research ICT for Learning and Inclusion.
6 Conclusions
This report collects and analyses 15 frameworks that develop Digital Competence. These frameworks vary in scope (from school curricula to certification schemes to academic papers) and target groups (adults, children, the young, the elderly). The analysis carried out in this report identified three areas to be reported upon: a definition of Digital Competence, the identification of competence areas and a discussion on the levels.
According to the different understandings of Digital Competences in the cases studied here, we propose the following definition of Digital Competence: Digital Competence is the set of knowledge, skills, attitudes (thus including abilities, strategies, values and awareness) that are required when using ICT and digital media to perform tasks; solve problems; communicate; manage information; collaborate; create and share content; and build knowledge effectively, efficiently, appropriately, critically, creatively, autonomously, flexibly, ethically, reflectively for work, leisure, participation, learning, socialising, consuming, and empowerment.
This definition is encompassing and should be considered for the development and implementation of Digital Competence frameworks. It highlights that Digital Competence is built on different learning domains (knowledge, attitudes and skills) and spreads across several competence areas.
Several of the frameworks selected for this analysis suggest that technical skills constitute a central component of Digital Competence. In our opinion, having technical skills at the core of a Digital Competence model does not give enough importance to other equally relevant aspects. Digital Competence should be understood, in its wider sense, as a multi-faceted concept. Figure 10 summarises the competence areas that emerged from the 15 frameworks presented in this report. Each component has been taken from more than one framework.
We wish to suggest that technical operations should be considered like any other component of the framework.
acknowledged that, although the intention was to simplify the different proposals of the frameworks into a simple list of main elements, some of the foreseen items still overlap with other categories. All areas are here explained taking current examples from the analysed frameworks. Information management refers to the knowledge, skills and attitudes (henceforth: KAS) needed to identify, locate, access, retrieve, store and organise information. Collaboration refers to the KAS for linking with other users, participate in networks and online communities, and interact with others constructively and with a sense of responsibility. Communication refers to the KAS for communicating through online tools, taking into account privacy, safety and netiquette. Creation of content and knowledge refers to the expression of creativity and the construction of new knowledge through technology and media, and also to the integration and re-elaboration of previous knowledge and content and its dissemination through online means. Ethics and responsibility is understood as the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed to behave in an ethical and responsible way, aware of legal frames. Evaluation and Problem-solving is understood in more than one case study as the identification of the right technology and or media to solve the identified problem or to complete a task and also as the assessment of information retrieved or the media product consulted. Finally, technical operation is the area that refers to the KAS one needs for effective, efficient, safe and correct use of technology and media. It should be noted that some of the analysed frameworks are not internally consistent, which is to say that they define Digital Competence in one way and then describe it differently in terms of practice. For instance, the competence areas that are listed in the definition do not necessarily coincide with the description of competences in the framework. In developing the above descriptors, we have sought to be consistent with the definition proposed earlier on in the report.
The above competence areas refer to knowledge, attitudes and skills. In particular, we would like to highlight that attitudes should be taken into account in the development of a Digital Competence framework. The attitudes that are listed in the definition should be considered, namely: effectively, efficiently, appropriately, critically, creatively, autonomously, flexibly, ethically, reflectively; together with awareness. However, not all attitudes are necessarily relevant for all competence areas: therefore, attitudes should be selected according to the needs of the specific competence area.
Regarding levels, it was noted that the analysed frameworks develop levels according to three criteria: age of learners; width or depth of the application-related content; cognitive complexity. We suggest that all three criteria should be considered when developing levels for the DIGCOMP framework. At the same time, we believe that levels should not be crosscutting the competence areas, but should be differentiated. This is to say that levels might vary between competence areas and that any learner should be allowed and encouraged to work at different levels according to each competence area.
The outcome of this report will contribute to and be further developed in the upcoming phases of the IPTS DIGCOMP project. The reader is encouraged to follow the progress and results of the project at the project website: http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/DIGCOMP.html.