In order to make effective the DigCompOrg framework – the European initiative that supports schools in developing their digital skills and effectively integrating technologies into educational and organizational practices – the European Commission has launched a trial project in four Member States: Denmark, Estonia, Italy, and Spain (the number of States involved was then expanded and now includes Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, UNESCO schools in Russia, Greece, Cyprus and Georgia).

These countries were identified by the Commission on the basis of an expression of interest from their respective ministries of education. In Italy, the pilot action is conducted by the Institute for Educational Technology (CNR-ITD) in Genoa and by Indire, under the auspices of the Miur (Directorate General for interventions in the field of school construction, for the management of structural funds for education and digital innovation) and the Minister’s Technical Secretariat.

The objective of the DigCompOrg School Pilot in Italy – EC JRC B4 Service Contract No. 930158-2016 A08-IT is twofold: on the one hand, it is a question of actively involving educational institutions in the process of improving the DigCompOrg reference framework and in its adaptation to real and specific contexts; on the other hand, to test the self-assessment tool (Selfie – Self-reflection Effective Learning by Fostering Innovation through Educational technologies) and its effectiveness in detecting the level of digital skills of a school organization.

Specifically, in Italy, the activity includes: the selection and involvement of 21 pilot schools distributed throughout the country (7 primary schools, 7 lower and upper secondary schools, 7 technical and vocational schools); the translation into Italian of all the materials used by the pilot schools during the experimentation; the compilation of a questionnaire on the improvement of the DigCompOrg framework by the entire school organization; the testing of the self-assessment tool by the school as a whole; finally, the conduct of case studies in four schools selected by the CNR-ITD and by Indire.

The project is financed with European funds and co-financed by Indire.