DIGI-FRAME – AI-Powered Digital Skills Assessment FRAMEwork

Developing and testing an AI-powered framework and platform to assess digital skills among lower secondary students in an inclusive, ethical and reliable way.

Context

The rapid spread of digital technologies makes it increasingly important to ensure that young people develop strong, critical and responsible digital skills. However, access to digital technologies does not automatically mean that students have the competences needed to use them effectively and responsibly. Across European countries, different frameworks, tools and approaches are used to teach and assess digital skills, but important gaps remain in their systematic application and in the availability of reliable, comparable and age-appropriate assessment approaches.

DIGI-FRAME responds to this need by focusing on lower secondary education and combining educational research, comparative analysis, co-creation and artificial intelligence. The project will develop and test an AI-Based Digital Skills Assessment Framework and an AI-Based Digital Skills Assessment Platform, designed to support schools and teachers in assessing students’ digital competences and integrating digital skills assessment into school curricula. Particular attention will be paid to inclusion, data protection, transparency, fairness and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

Objectives

To improve knowledge of existing approaches to digital skills assessment by analysing frameworks, tools and practices used in lower secondary education across the participating countries.

To develop an innovative and shared approach to digital skills assessment by directly involving teachers, students, experts and other stakeholders in defining the competences to be assessed, assessment approaches and the role of AI.

To pilot and validate the AI-powered framework and assessment platform in real school settings, collecting data and feedback to improve their effectiveness, usability and relevance.

To promote the uptake and wider use of innovative digital skills assessment approaches by strengthening teachers’ competences and engaging schools, education authorities, policymakers and experts in exploiting and transferring the project results.

Activities

Mapping and comparative analysis of existing frameworks, tools and practices for assessing digital skills in lower secondary education through desk research, focus groups and interviews with teachers, experts and other stakeholders.

Co-creation of the assessment approach, involving teachers, students, educational technology experts and other stakeholders in defining the digital competences to be assessed, assessment methods and the role of artificial intelligence. A total of 15 co-creation workshops will be organised across the five implementation countries.

Development and piloting of the assessment framework and platform, supported by dedicated training for teachers and a testing phase in schools. The piloting will involve 250 students and 50 teachers in Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Serbia.

Evaluation, improvement and dissemination of the project results, including the collection of feedback during the pilot phase, optimisation of the solutions developed, dissemination activities and actions supporting their uptake in other educational contexts.

Resources

AI-Based Digital Skills Assessment Framework

AI-Based Digital Skills Assessment Platform

Piloting Strategy & Action Plan

Strategic Recommendations for the Assessment Framework Development

Impact

250 students and 50 teachers will be directly involved in piloting the framework and platform across five European countries.

15 co-creation workshops will enable teachers, students, experts and stakeholders to contribute directly to the design of digital skills assessment approaches and the integration of AI.

Teachers involved in the project will strengthen their knowledge of innovative approaches to digital skills assessment and AI-based tools, while participating schools will gain access to solutions tested in real educational settings.

Project results will be shared with schools, education authorities, policymakers, universities, experts and European networks to support the integration of digital skills assessment into curricula and the transfer of the project solutions beyond the project lifetime.