Teacher ICT Competency Framework
The was developed as part of an EU Lifelong Learning project called etqf which aims to develop a tool for teachers, school principals, education managers and education authorities to support the development of teachers competency in the use of ICT in education. The framework is an outcome of collaboration between Fast Track into Information Technology (Project Co-ordinator), City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee (Ireland), Consortium FOR.COM. (Italy) and South West College (UK) with the support of H2 in Ireland. The etqf Framewok is a significant tool for teachers continuous professional development which supports Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in the use of ICT in education and a reference framework of ICT competences that can be used and understood by educators and education providers at any level across Europe. The Framework has been developed after reviewing a number of competency and qualifications frameworks (e.g. National Qualifications Frameworks in Ireland, UK and Italy, European Qualifications Framework, UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers). The project team decided to use the UNESCO (2008) ICT- Competency Standards for Teacher as a reference point based on the following reasons: The framework provides a clear integration between the basic skills, pedagogy and professional development The framework provides an internationally recognised set of competencies The framework has been specifically designed with teacher education providers in mind UNESCO allows teacher education providers to reproduce translate and use the framework for noncommercial purposes The Framework is comprised of four thematic sections: ICT, Pedagogy, Curriculum and Assessment and Teacher Professional Development. Each thematic section contains four levels that represent the progression of teacher competency relating to that section (e.g. Basic Tools, Complex Tools, Pervasive Tools in ICT Section). An Introductory level was added to embrace those with no or very little ICT competency. The ICT thematic section relates to the use of ICT applications, the Pedagogy section refers to teaching and learning and the Curriculum and Assessment refers to methodologies applied in structuring of the teaching and learning process. The order of the first three thematic sections: ICT, Pedagogy, Curriculum & Assessment reflect the progression from technological to methodological and didactical use of ICT in education.
Section Progression Levels ICT Introductory Basic Tools (Bronze) Pedagogy Introductory Integrate Technology (Bronze) Curriculum & Assessment Teacher Professional Development Introductory Self-taught Basic Knowledge (Bronze) Structured Courses Complex Tools (Silver) Complex Problem Solving (Silver) Knowledge Application (Silver) Team Based Pervasive Tools (Gold) Self - management (Gold) 21st Century Skills (Gold) Networking The etqf Framework provides progression pathways under the following areas: ICT Productivity Tools Internet Authoring Tools Communication and Collaboration Administration Educational Software Pedagogy Lesson Planning Teaching and Learning Learning Environment Curriculum & Assessment Curriculum Planning Student ICT Competence Assessment Teachers Professional Development Continuous Professional Development in the use of ICT in Education
The etqf Tool: ICT self-assessment for teachers Based on the etqf Framework an objective online selfassessment tool has been developed for teachers to help them identify their ICT competencies and the degree to which they integrate them in teaching and learning. The tool operates as an indication level of competency in each section of the framework and helps teachers identify their strengths as well as areas for improvement and recommends further professional development options to progress on the ICT competency ladder. Users answer a series of questions relating to each thematic section and on completion of the assessment, are ranked into one of four levels (gold, silver, bronze or introductory) for each component and are presented with a series of statements that describe the users competencies within each section. Once the pedagogical ICT profile is created users are pointed in the direction of professional development courses and their providers mapped to the levels of the etqf Framework. This ensures that the tool not only helps educators to identify their stage of development in relation to the use of ICT in education but also supports them to move onto the next stage of development.the tool is available on an eteach Community of Practice website (www.eteachnetwork.eu) upon registration with a username and password. The external evaluators comments about the etqf Framework and the Tool (Dr Deirdre Butler and Margaret Leahy) The development of the etqf Framework and online self assessment tool represent the strongest and most unique aspect of this project. The close correlation of the etqf framework and online tool to the UNSECO (2008) standards for teacher competencies make it a highly valuable tool that can be used to assess teacher ICT competencies. It has excellent potential for further development. The etqf framework and online tool shows potential to be used across the education sectors For further information about the etqf Framework and the etqf Tool please contact: Project Co-ordinator Fast Track into Information Technologies Ltd (FIT) 22 Tolka Valley Business Park Ballyboggan Road, Glasnevin Dublin 11 Tel: +353 1 8825570 www.fit.ie Project Partners City of Dublin VEC Town Hall, Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland Tel: +353 1 6680614 www.cdvec.ie FOR.COM, Italy Via Virginion Orsini 17/a 00192 Roma, Italy Tel : +39 0637725526 www.forcom.it South West College, Cookstown Capmus, Cookstown BT80 8UL Northern Ireland, UK P: +44 2882255223 www.swc.ac.uk