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The European Digital Competence Framework

 

DIGCOMP

DigComp competence areas

In DigComp, there are 5 competence areas which outline the key components of the digital competence. They are the following: Information and data literacy; Communication and collaboration; Digital content creation; Safety; and Problem solving.

Competence areas 1, 2 and 3

Deal with competences that can be retraced in terms of specific activities and uses.

Competence areas 4 and 5

Are “transversal” as they apply to any type of activity carried out through digital means. Problem solving elements, in particular, are present in all competence areas, but a specific area was defined to highlight the importance of this aspect for the appropriation of technology and digital practices.

Dimension 5

Provides examples of use applied to employment, and to education and training.

1 INFORMATION AND DATA LITERACY

  • 1.1 Browsing, searching and filtering data, information and digital content
    To articulate information needs, to search for data, information and content in digital environments, to access them and to navigate between them. To create and update personal search strategies.
  • 1.2 Evaluating data, information and digital content
    To analyse, compare and critically evaluate the credibility and reliability of sources of data, information and digital content. To analyse, interpret and critically evaluate the data, information and digital content.
  • 1.3 Managing data, information and digital content
    To organise, store and retrieve data, information and content in digital environments. To organise and process them in a structured environment.

  • 2.1 Interacting through digital technologies
    To interact through a variety of digital technologies and to understand appropriate digital communication means for a given context.
  • 2.2 Sharing information and content through digital technologies
    To share data, information and digital content with others through appropriate digital technologies. To act as an intermediary, to know about referencing and attribution practices.
  • 2.3 Engaging in citizenship through digital technologies
    To participate in society through the use of public and private digital services. To seek opportunities for self-empowerment and for participatory citizenship through appropriate digital technologies.
  • 2.4 Collaborating through digital technologies
    To use digital tools and technologies for collaborative processes, and for co-construction and co-creation of resources and knowledge.

  • 3.1 Developing digital content
    To create content in different formats (e.g. data, text, multimedia), to edit and improve existing content, to express oneself through digital means.
  • 3.2 Integrating and re-elaborating digital content
    To modify, refine and integrate new information and content into an existing body of knowledge and resources to create new, original and relevant content and knowledge.
  • 3.3 Copyright and licences
    To understand how copyright and licences apply to digital information and content.
  • 3.4 Programming
    To plan and develop a sequence of understandable instructions for a computing system to solve a given problem or to perform a specific task

  • 4.1 Protecting devices To protect devices and data, to understand risks and threats in digital environments, to know about safety and security measures and to have due regard to reliability and privacy.
  • 4.2 Protecting personal data and privacy To protect personal data and privacy in digital environments. To understand how to share personally identifiable information while protecting self and others from dangers (e.g. fraud). To understand that digital services use a “Privacy policy” to declare how personal data is used.
  • 4.3 Protecting health and well-being
    To avoid health-risks related with the use of digital technologies in terms of threats to physical and psychological well-being. To be able to protect self and others from possible dangers in digital environments (e.g. cyber bullying). To be aware of digital technologies for social well-being and inclusion.
  • 4.4 Protecting the environment
    To be aware of the environmental impact of digital technologies and their use.

  • 5.1 Solving technical problems
    To identify technical problems when operating devices and using digital environments, and to solve them (from trouble-shooting to solving more complex problems).
  • 5.2 Identifying needs and technological responses
    To assess needs and to identify, evaluate, select and use digital tools and possible technological responses to solve them. To adjust and customise digital environments to personal needs (e.g. accessibility).
  • 5.3 Creatively using digital technologies
    To use digital tools and technologies to create knowledge and to innovate processes and products. To engage individually and collectively in cognitive processing to understand and resolve conceptual problems and problem situations in digital environments.
  • 5.4 Creatively using digital technologies
    To use digital tools and technologies to create knowledge and to innovate processes and products. To engage individually and collectively in cognitive processing to understand and resolve conceptual problems and problem situations in digital environments.

 

DigComp proficiency levels

 

DigComp maps out 4 broad proficiency levels
(foundation, intermediate, advanced, highly-specialised).

 

These 4 levels can also be further elaborated across 8 levels offering a more detailed description of progression criteria. The 8 levels provide the granularity needed to develop learning materials, assess and recognise learning progression, and to describe tasks and competences in detail. Each of the 8 level descriptions represents a further step by the citizens in three domains:

 

> The acquisition of knowledge of the competence

 

> The complexity of the tasks they can handle

 

> Their autonomy in completing the task

 

Each description contains knowledge, skills and attitudes, described in one single descriptor for each level of each competence (8 x 21 learning outcomes). The proficiency levels were inspired by the structure and vocabulary of the European Qualification Framework (EQF) and were written as a combination of learning outcomes, using one action verb per learning outcome.

 

Example: A person at proficiency level 2 is able to remember and carry out a simple task, with help from somebody with digital competence only when they need it. However, a person at proficiency level 5 can apply knowledge, carry out different tasks and solve problems and help others to do so. See the visual illustration of the proficiency levels at the bottom of the page.

DigComp levels

How to swim in the digital ocean

How to swim in the digital ocean

Digital Competence 2024 by Digcomp   |