Digital Inclusion Bytes: Digital Skills – Using frameworks and skill lists

Digital skills frameworks and skill lists can be compared to the instruction you or others provide to better understand what levels and ranges of learning are being offered and achieved…and for users to recognize and celebrate their success! The challenge of articulating what basic digital skills training included and how to measure them at the program or population level led me to partner with Stacey Wedlake at the University of Washington to complete the research “Digital skill sets for diverse users: A comparison framework for curriculum and competencies.” Our report compared six frameworks and nine curricula used locally and internationally. This led to a list of ten skill categories. The skills category list is also provided in the NDIA The Digital Inclusion Program Manual. This has been further developed and used in the Digital Skills Library by WorldEd. This is the second of a two-part blog post on digital skills by the National Digital Inclusion Allaince (NDIA). The first part presented a model to use for digital skill learning purposes, the link between individual and broader field needs, and introduced digital skill assessments, lists and frameworks. Part two explores the available frameworks and skill lists, how to use them, and digital literacy definitions.