Topic 4 Self-assessment of digital needs
Digital technologies are one of the defining elements of contemporary working and social life. Technology evolves in a massive way and it is not easy to keep up with the latest developments, tools and applications that may arise. When the digital world that we interact every day gets more enhanced our digital needs grow and we have to evaluate them often n order to perform efficiently in a better way both in our social and professional life.
Categories of digital practices
In education, educators are called to use new methods, tools and techniques using applications of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and adult learners are called to adjust to this new digital environment of learning. Digital needs are growing to both educators and learners and have to be assessed often so that decisions about the development of adult education will consider such notions and experience and move towards the achievement of relevant and high quality skills and competences.
When we consider about assessing digital needs then we should examine the following categories of digital practices:
- Browsing, searching, filtering data, information and digital content
- Evaluating data, information and digital content
- Managing data, information and digital content
- Interacting through digital technologies
- Sharing through digital technologies
- Engaging in citizenship through digital technologies
- Collaborating through digital technologies
- Netiquette
- Managing digital identity
- Developing content
- Integrating and re-elaborating digital content
- Copyright and licenses
- Programming
- Protecting devices
- Protecting personal data and privacy
- Protecting health and well-being
- Protecting the environment
- Solving technical problems
- Identifying needs and technological responses
- Creatively using digital technology
- Identifying digital competence gaps
Watch this video for a short introduction of an online self-assessment tool for teachers.
TET-SAT: Teachers’ new online self-assessment tool TET-SAT
TET-SAT aims to trigger teachers’ self-reflection, identify learning needs and initiate actions develop competences. Online self-assessment can be used as part of an iterative and formative process in which learners set goals, test ideas, monitor progress and define new goals.
The tool is freely available to anyone in 18 languages: Czech, Croatian, German, English, Greek, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Italian, French, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Spanish, Slovenian, Turkish.
The Self-Assessment Tool is part of the Digital Competences Development Environment and Digital Competences Development Methodology, developed within the DCDS project.
Read the following to get a deep understanding on the know how about the development of a self-assessment tool.
Contents of the self-assessment tool
(D5_Contents_assessment_tool.pdf)
The Digital Skills Accelerator project aims to put students in the driving seat of their own skills development. The goal of the project is clear: define the digital skills that should be prioritized by current and future cohorts of Higher Education students, and create a self-directed multi-media learning system that students can access to bolster their skills in specific areas.
This project directly addresses many of the aspects of supporting the effective integration of ICTs into our HE ecosystem. It is supportive of digital skills enhancement in CONTENT (the skills developed) and DELIVERY METHOD, since all the outputs will be accessed by learners as interactive online resources.
Visit the Digital Skills Accelerator and evaluate your digital skills. By evaluating skills you become familiar and understand better your digital needs and express them professionally and documented.
Share your experience with colleagues and adult learners.
Visit the Digital Citizen Academy and evaluate your digital skills.
The self-assessment tool (and its results), although designed with the utmost care, is provided solely for the convenience and information of the User, and no express or implied warranty is given as to the completeness and / or accuracy of its results, while the latter (results) do not constitute or can be used as certification of any kind of digital skills level.
Based on your individual results, you are given the opportunity to attend selected courses in order to improve your digital skills.
(The information is in Greek)