Digital technology finds its place in the Referential of the teaching profession

The second edition of the Referential of professional skills for the teaching profession aims to guide teachers in the pursuit of their professional development and to guide the training of future teachers.

The new version of the Repository has 13 professional skills to master. For the first time, digital competence is explicitly mentioned, more precisely as a transversal competence, which means that it should be reflected in each of the other competences.

From the outset, we can read in the document “One thing seems certain: the use of digital technology, with all that it can have that is positive, also poses challenges and penetrates the entire school world, thus raising for teachers on issues relating to citizenship in the digital age. The training of teaching staff must take into account the issues brought about by the use of digital technology. Digital education, conceived not only as a technology, but also as a form of literacy and a social practice, is now an important responsibility of schools and teachers, as described in the Reference framework for digital competence (MEES, 2019d) ”.

Mobilize digital

Competency 12 reads as follows: “Mobilize digital technology - Use digital technology to benefit students as well as all educational actors”. Its description refers to the fact that this competency “exceeds the technical skills required to use digital tools in the classroom for educational purposes” and that “the use of digital technologies is embedded in all cultural practices and productions”. The 12 dimensions of Reference framework for digital competence are so mentioned.

The development of this competence “supposes the adoption, on the part of the teachers, of a critical and informed posture with regard to the use of digital tools in a school context”. It is specified that the teacher must encourage students to develop "a creative and appropriate use of technological tools by making them aware in particular of the relevance of sources, the concepts of confidentiality and consent as well as the repercussions of the use of technology. these tools on social relations and psychological and physical health ”. 

Finally, the document underlines the growing importance of groups and networks for exchanges between teachers on the Web, such as Facebook groups and discussions via Twitter. "All this shows that the activity of teaching staff has become an essential source for their professional learning and the development of their skills."

We can consult the full document online.