Two new tools to support the Digital Competence Reference Framework

On January 16, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MÉES) presented during a webinar the Educational guide and the Continuum of development of digital competence, two new tools with the mandate to operationalize the Reference framework for digital competence.

Support the development of students ... but also teachers

Digital competence and all that surrounds it arouse an ever-growing enthusiasm, as Danielle Boucher, consultant in education management and host of this webinar, points out from the outset. She mentions that more than 900 people have registered for the presentation and that she is seeing more and more concrete demonstrations of digital competence in classrooms through social networks.

To this end, several examples have been shared during this webinar, such as: 

• Paul-Jarry School (CSMB), which develops the second dimension of competence through a programming curriculum from preschool to grade 6
• the Cégep de Thetford, which uses virtual reality in occupational health and safety in connection with the third dimension;
• classes of ASD students who develop the eighth dimension of digital competence with the humanoid robot NAO to improve their social skills.

Remember that digital competence in education is broken down into 12 dimensions, described in the Framework :

1. Act as an ethical citizen in the digital age
2. Develop and mobilize their technological skills 
3. Harnessing the potential of digital technology for learning
4. Developing and mobilizing information literacy
5. Collaborate digitally
6. Communicating via digital technology
7. Producing content with digital
8. Use digital technology as a vector of inclusion and to meet diverse needs
9. Adopt a perspective of personal and professional development with digital technology in a position of empowerment
10. Solve a variety of digital issues
11. Developing critical thinking with regard to the use of digital technology
12. Innovate and be creative with digital

These dimensions are part of a continuous development, both for the teaching staff and for the students. It is with a view to providing guidelines and leads for this development that the MEES has set up two new tools: the Educational guide and the Development continuum.

The Teacher's Guide

The central objective of Educational guide is to help all players in the education sector to carry out educational planning or to carry out educational projects focused on the development of digital skills. This tool aims to facilitate the design of learning activities that integrate one or more dimensions of digital competence. We find here the planning template proposed by the MEES. It is through nine avenues of planning that the teacher will be able to ensure that all the elements are put in place and thus promote the success of the learners. As the twelve dimensions are integrated into all the disciplines, it is then possible to enrich any pedagogical intention previously determined and, ultimately, to redefine a task using digital technology (see for this purpose the theoretical model SAMR).

For example, an oral communication situation in French could be planned through the creation of a podcast broadcast via the platform. Anchor. Learners would therefore have to collaborate (dimension 5), communicate (dimension 6) and produce content (dimension 7) with digital technology while developing the disciplinary competence of “communicating orally”. 

THE BRANCHÉE SCHOOL OFFERS YOU ... Are you looking for interdisciplinary learning activities that integrate the dimensions of digital competence? We invite you to discover the educational guides SCOOP!, of which this is the precise mandate. 

The Development Continuum 

As for him, the Development continuum concretely serves to locate, on a progression matrix, the 12 dimensions of digital competence. With three levels of mastery, it contributes to the operationalization of the Digital Competence Reference Framework by specifying specific behaviors, situations or contexts for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners. Therefore, we find in the Continuum a description of each of these levels, thus making it possible to develop the learning activities taking into account the expectations of the current level of the students, always in an evolutionary perspective (tend towards a higher level). .

The Continuum is structured so that each element of the 12 dimensions corresponds to the behaviors or attitudes expected in each of the levels. Here is, by way of example, the progression of dimension 3 of digital competence:

In addition, for each of the dimensions, the Continuum provides examples of themes to be addressed in your planning. Here, for dimension 3, we find online encyclopedias, digital writing tools and resources, office software and applications, games and learning applications, virtual reality and augmented reality, active feedback, online training and courses, flipped classes and independent learning. 

A diagnostic tool to come

The webinar ended with the announcement of the upcoming arrival of a new diagnostic tool using artificial intelligence to determine the level of learners' mastery with regard to digital competence. Thanks to personalized courses combining games and badge system, artificial intelligence will be able to offer activities adapted to students in order to indicate where they are in the digital competence continuum. This very promising tool is expected in May 2020.

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To view or re-watch the Digital Competence Development Continuum webinar and the Teacher's Guide, it's here:

In closing, here are again the resources mentioned in this article:

• Digital competence framework
• Educational guide
• Development continuum
• Planning template
• SCOOP! activity and resource guides

Here is also a compilation of resources shared by participants via chat during the webinar, carried out by BMOPAN.

MEES

• Framework
• Educational guide (on the ministry's website)
• Continuum (on the ministry's website)

Teaching materials

• Digital Pedago Network
• National RECIT service for preschool education
• Teaching guides - École branchée
• National story - special education
• STORY - Sketch-note in a social universe

     Valérie's class and the draft sketch-note:

Tools against disinformation

• 30 seconds before you believe it - tackling disinformation
• Rumor detector from the Agence Science-Presse (workshops and resources)
• Canadian Center for Media Education and Digital Literacy
• FALSE that it stops 

Theoretical elements

• Universal Design for Learning - CUA | CAPRES file 
• Bloom's taxonomy

Educational advisers

• RÉCIT educational advisers
• REPTIC directory

Other

• European competence framework
• CSDM Learning Center
• Association for the promotion and defense of research in French
• Digital education summit