Adapting a Face-To-Face Competence Framework for Digital Competence Assessment

Introduction

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are currently playing a key role in the education arena, from primary school to higher education and adult learning. This development was labelled under the now commonly accepted term e-learning, which is evolving to new models such as mobile learning.

The European e-Learning Action Plan 2001 (European Commission, 2001) defines e-learning as the use of new multimedia technologies and the Internet to improve the quality of learning by facilitating access to resources and services as well as remote exchanges and collaboration. This requires new e-interaction and e-communication competences and a reorganization of e-learning structures. The components of these structures include content delivery in multiple formats, learning management, and a networked community of learners (Gunasekaran, McNeil, & Shaul, 2002). Internet/World Wide Web have meant that opportunities have been identified for developing distance learning activity into a more advanced online environment known as Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Higher education institutions devote substantial resources to providing students with access to internet-based information, VLEs and other forms of e-learning. These efforts are predicated upon the assumption that “university students are inherently inclined towards using the internet as a source of information within their day-to-day lives and, it follows, disposed towards academic use of the internet” (Selwyn, 2008).

In a fast moving technological environment, the traditional approach to e-learning is currently changing from the use of VLE to learning 2.0, an approach that combines complementary tools and web services—such as blogs, wikis, podcasting, videoblogs, and social networking tools—to support the creation of ad-hoc learning communities. In this context most of the current research tends to be concerned with the potential of the worldwide web and other internet applications to accelerate university students’ learning and knowledge-building, and support interactivity, interaction and collaboration (Selwyn, 2008).

This paper aims to provide an introduction to the application of web 2.0 tools and social software on the learning process. Social software has emerged as a major component of the web 2.0 technology trend. But, how can social software play a role in higher education? To answer this question, this proposal focuses on the role of web 2.0 technologies in promoting learning and the development of digital competences among students. A pedagogical application at Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV, http://www.urv.cat/) which stems from the provision of collaborative knowledge discovery, is discussed in depth. At the same time, the paper explores the concept of digital competence from the perspective of the competence needs of the labour market and, the role that social software plays in the learning process. Finally, conclusions and some suggestions are made for future research in this field.