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competence: six areasThe DigCompEdu spreads out the digital competence of educators into six focus areas in order to classify what it means to be professionally and pedagogically competent in view of the digital. These areas entail:
Area 1: Professional Engagement
Area 2: Digital Resources
Area 3: Teaching and Learning
Area 4: Assessment
Area 5: Empowering Learners
Area 6: Facilitating Learners’ Digital Competence
Each of these six areas is, in turn, categorized into 22 more fine-grained sub-competences that are explained and exemplified below.
lack of EFL specificationsTwo aspects require further clarification in order to understand and work with the DigCompEdu framework. For one, the framework provides a very general pedagogic overview of digital competences. While these descriptions are certainly a valuable and helpful point of entry into professional development, they tend to lack more detailed subject-specific articulations, e.g. for foreign language education. Therefore, the various areas of this framework always need to be made relevant for foreign language education by transferring its trajectories into this particular domain.
progression modelSecond, the DigCompEdu framework represents a progression model that projects the competence of educators into increasingly demanding levels of expertise and professional engagement. These can range from working on an initial curiosity towards digital teaching to spearheading the renewal of one’s educational institution by taking into account the digital. Interestingly, the framework imports the A1 to C2 competence scales that are already known to foreign language teachers and experts from the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe 2001). According to the description within the DigCompEdu, such a progression model is supposed “to help educators assess and develop their digital competence” (Redecker 2017: 9). From our point of view, the strength of the framework lies in its function as a reflection tool for future and in-service teachers: Continuous reflective practice and engagement along the scales of the DigCompEdu can prepare teachers for initiating new steps in their professional development, and intensify their confidence for working competently at their current level.
A1: Newcomer
A2: Explorer
At these levels, educators collect and synthesize new information and develop a basic repertoire of digital practices.
B1: Integrator
B2: Expert
Within the B domain, educators increasingly expand on their professional repertoire and apply their growing digital competence in practice.
C1: Leader
C2: Pioneer
At the highest stages, educators disseminate their knowledge of digital practices and continuously develop new practices while critiquing practices currently in use.
ABC levelsDepending on the area, the digital competence level of a teacher might differ. For example, she can be a B2 Expert in assessing and professional engagement, whereas she has just recently taken on the issue of learner empowerment, making her an A2 Explorer. While A1-A2, B1-B2 and C1-C2 are more closely related, a progression from A to B and B to C marks greater and more cognitively challenging advancements. Thus, when teachers move through these levels, they develop from an initial curiosity and willingness to use digital technologies (A level) to an increasing diversification of meaningful uses (B level) up to reflective critique and corresponding initiatives for renewal (C level) (cf. Redecker 2017: 28–30). We would like to point out that one of the major shortcomings in recent debates about digital competence lies in its perception as a quasi-static construct rather than as a dynamic system, which is in constant development and might thus be seen as a “moving target”.
When you read through the following competence descriptors and levels, reflect for yourself: What would your current stage be in the respective domain? Where are your strengths and weaknesses? What would you wish to improve throughout your professional development? When you pass through the empirical study later in this chapter and get to know the questionnaire, continue the reflective effort you began here.
2 The Areas of the DigCompEdu framework – Made Relevant for English Language Education
professional engagementThe first area of the DigCompEdu – professional engagement – addresses the need to use digital technologies for communication, collaboration and interaction with colleagues, learners and parents, and to seek out digital opportunities for one’s individual and continuous professional development (cf. Redecker 2017: 16; 19; 33–41). Four sub-dimensions are included:
Organizational communication: Teachers use digital technologies for communicative purposes within their institution (i.e. with colleagues and learners) and outside of it (e.g. with parents and other third parties); for example, teachers use e-mail or virtual learning environments to provide learning resources or communicate appointments or feedback.
Professional collaboration: Teachers employ digital technologies to collaborate with other teachers in order to exchange valuable knowledge and experience, and thus, to innovate pedagogic practices within professional teams, e.g. by developing a new project in a collaborative cloud environment.
Reflective practice: This dimension does not include digital technologies as such, but adds a critical and reflective component in that teachers are asked to constantly reflect on and, as a result, develop further their digital practices, both individually and collectively, e.g. by asking more advanced teachers for help or signing up for a training course.
Digital continuous professional development (CPD): Teachers seek out digital opportunities for their ongoing and lifelong professional development, e.g. to use the internet to learn about new teaching methods and content.
While the first, second and third sub-dimension function on a general level, CPD is clearly an area that can best be specified for foreign language education, as is illustrated in the example below. In terms of the progression model, a Newcomer would only rarely use digital technologies, whereas an Integrator would be good at making effective digital choices and exchanging digital expertise with peers. Pioneers would then innovate and redesign whole institutional practices and group activities with their accumulated digital experience.
Video tutorials: Subscribe to YouTube channels like Moodle or Blackboard Inc., or work with the YouTube series of ‘Teaching Tips’ by International House World Organisation where esteemed global teacher trainers share their expertise.
Webinars: Global organizations such as the IATEFL frequently offer new webinars on ELT (www.iatefl.org/events).
Online communities: Many professional organizations offer participation in online communities, e.g. the TESOL Communities of Practice, MELTA, or ELTABB. Less formal grassroots movements of ELT teachers can be found on Facebook, often with a specific theme in mind, e.g. the public group ELT Footprint for bringing environmental awareness into teaching (https://www.facebook.com/groups/eltfootprint).
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