January 2025
Since the first edition of the DigComp framework was published in 2013, many assessment tools have been developed to evaluate digital competences. The more used ones in Italy are SELFIE for teachers - developed by the EU commission - and MyDigiSkills - developed by All Digital in collaboration with many European institutions, including Repubblica Digitale (i.e., the Italian government department of digital transformation).
Both tools offer valuable support for self-assessing digital competences. SELFIE focuses on teachers and how they use digital tools in their professional context, making it ideal for educators but less applicable to broader learner groups. MyDigiSkills is more flexible and open to all users, but with 82 questions and a more abstract structure, it can feel too long and theoretical for use in a classroom setting—especially with vulnerable learners.
When we began designing two workshops for Scuola Centrale Formazione’s trainers, we started with a clear question: how can we help teachers assess their learners' digital competences in an accessible and practical way? And just as importantly: how can this be connected meaningfully to the DigComp framework?
Through testing and reflection, we realized that creating yet another standardized tool wasn’t the answer. Instead, the real value lay in supporting trainers to build their own tools, tailored to their specific learners and contexts. The goal quickly became to develop a way that would empower trainers to create their own on-entry assessment tools that: 1) are based on the specific needs that change from course to course, 2) assess competences in a practical way and 3) have their roots in the DigComp structure and language.
What emerged is a flexible, step-by-step method to help educators create on-entry assessment tools that are both meaningful and manageable.
Stay tuned for Part 2: SCF’s Guide to building your own digital competence assessment tool.
