Lesson 2: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens
In order to promote the acquisition of Digital Competences, the European Commission has developed the European Digital Competence Framework for Citizens — known as DigComp — and a related self-assessment tool. The Digital Competence Framework for Citizen (DigComp) provides a common understanding of what digital competence is. It identifies 21 competences in five key areas, describing what it means to be digitally savvy. In order to achieve their goals in terms of employability, learning and participation in society, people are expected to have competences in each of these areas.
Eight proficiency levels for each competence have been defined through learning outcomes (using action verbs, following Bloom’s taxonomy) and inspired by the structure and vocabulary of the European Qualification Framework (EQF). Moreover, each level description contains knowledge, skills and attitudes, described in one single descriptor for each level of each competence; this equals to 168 descriptors (8 x 21 learning outcomes). An online validation survey helped to revise a first version of the levels, and to produce a final version.
The competences are defined as follows:
DigiComp 5 key areas
It’s the ability that allows you to:
- Articulate information needs, locate and retrieve digital data, information and content;
- Judge the relevance of the source and its content;
- Store, manage, and organise digital data, information and content.
Levels of competences in this area relate to:
- Browsing, searching and filtering data, information and digital content;
- Evaluating data, information and digital content;
- Managing data, information and digital content.
It’s the ability that allows you to:
- Interact, communicate and collaborate through digital technologies while being aware of cultural and generational diversity;
- Participate in society through public and private digital services and participatory citizenship;
- Manage one’s digital presence, identity and reputation.
Levels of competence in this area relate to:
- Interacting through digital technologies;
- Sharing through digital technologies;
- Engaging in citizenship through digital technologies;
- Collaborating through digital technologies;
- Netiquette;
- Managing digital identity.
It’s the ability that allows you to:
- Create and edit digital content;
- Improve and integrate information and content into an existing body of knowledge while understanding how copyright and licenses are to be applied;
- Know how to give understandable instructions for a computer system.
Levels of competence in this area relate to:
- Developing digital content;
- Integrating and re-elaborating digital content;
- Copyright and licences;
- Programming.
It’s the ability that allows you to:
- Protect devices and, content, personal data and privacy in digital environments;
- Protect physical and psychological health, and to be aware of digital technologies for social well-being and social inclusion;
- Aware of the environmental impact of digital technologies and their use.
Levels of competence in this area relate to:
- Protecting devices;
- Protecting personal data and privacy;
- Protecting health and well-being;
- Protecting the environment.
It’s the ability that allows you to:
- Identify needs and problems, and to resolve conceptual problems and problem situations in digital environments;
- Use digital tools to innovate processes and products;
- Keep-up-to-date with the digital evolution.
Levels of competence in this area relate to:
- Solving technical problems;
- Identifying needs and technological responses;
- Creatively using digital technologies;
- Identifying digital competence gaps.
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