DigCompEdu – The European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators

The four C’s of 21st Century skills

The way we work has been changing all the time: starting with industrialisation, going through automatization and continuing with digitalization. The new way of working also means that our students and apprentices need different skills to fulfil their tasks in this digitalized world. These skills are often summed up as the four C’s of 21st Century skills:

  • Critical thinking
  • Creativity
  • Collaboration
  • Communication

What are the 4Cs?

To teach those skills also requires a different way of education – and a different way of teaching. There is a need for new learning scenarios, peer learning and project based learning and of course integrating digital tools on instruction scenarios. Many new challenges arise in 21st century education.

The Digitalized Learning Path provides a methodology and activities to improve your Digital Competences in teaching and training. It follows the approach of DigCompEdu – the European framework for die Digital Competences of Educators.

DigCompEdu – The European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators

DigCompEdu is a scientifically sound background framework provided by the JRC (Joint Research Center) of the European Comission. It provides a general reference frame to support the development of educator-specific digital competences in Europe. It helps teachers/trainers to discover the level of their personal Digital Competences and provides recommendations on how to develop further.

The framework helps to address the needs of teachers and trainers, and to find activities and material to improve their Digital Competences. The proficiency levels of Digital competencies are determined following the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages -model. DigCompEdu works in a similar way: it describes 22 professional competences organised in six areas. Those areas focus on non-technical skills and detail on how technology can be used to enhance and innovate education and training – not only in schools, but also in workplaces, universities and so on.

Do you want to know more about DigCompEdu? Have a look at the JRC’s website on DigCompEdu at https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcompedu