Step 4: Describe Activities

When developing your SELFIE-based action plan it is important to bear in mind any relevant national, regional, or local guidelines that might relate to those actions. Also consider how those
actions would fit in with your school’s improvement plan.

The SELFIE-based Action Plan may include information from Phase 1, regarding the current
state of the school’s digital strategies and practices (Step 1 & Step 2) and a prioritized list of
SELFIE areas and selected items identified as requiring action, along with goals set for pursuing
improvements aligned to these priorities (Step 3). Even though including this information into
the SELFIE-based Action Plan is optional, by doing so, it will allow you to have all relevant
information together in a single document.

Remembering that SELFIE results reflect the (subjective) perceptions of users expressed on a five-level Likert scale¹, schools may also wish to have functional input for setting themselves higher goals for improvement and understanding how to go about making advancements in their practices. To this end, examples from existing ‘graduated-level’ models and frameworks could be included, such as the Digital Learning Framework or the DigCompOrg and DigCompEdu frameworks, which rank competences, descriptors, and proficiency statements in progressive proficiency levels. Even though there is no categorical one-to-one correlation between the different areas, indicators, and competences covered in SELFIE and those addressed in other frameworks, comparison with them could give educators and schools a better understanding of the level of their various competences and how these can be developed. Working collectively, this could help them formulate their goals and actions in a more tangible, precise, and specific way.

For example, under the SELFIE Area “Pedagogy: Implementation in the classroom”, one of the indicators is “Student Collaboration” (F5). This is in line with one of the 22 competences in the DigCompEdu framework, specifically the competence “Collaborative Learning” under the area “Teaching and Learning”. For each of the 22 competences, descriptors, and proficiency statements in the DigCompEdu framework², there are separate descriptions at six progressive proficiency levels. When using the SHERPA’s Pedagogical Toolkit, schools could take advantage of these proficiency-graded descriptors to get an understanding of their general collective current proficiency level on the selected competence and draw on the detailed description of progression criteria when formulating their actions objectives.

The Digital Learning Framework for Primary Schools and Digital Learning Framework for Post Primary Schools, which articulate effective and highly effective practice for the use of technologies in two key dimensions (i.e., Teaching and Learning and Leadership and Management), could be used in a similar way as DigCompOrg or DigCompEdu frameworks. For instance, under the SELFIE area “Assessment Practices”, one of the indicators is “Assessing skills” (G1), which is aligned with one of the 32 standards in the Digital Learning framework, namely the standard “the teacher selects and uses planning preparation and assessment practices that progress pupils’ learning” under the domain 3: “Teachers’ Individual Practice” and under the dimension “Teaching and Learning”. For each of the 32 standards^[1], statements of practice which describe “effective”, and “highly effective” school practices are provided which could assist schools to identify the areas of their practice that are effective or highly effective and to identify and prioritise the areas where improvement is needed.

1) In SELFIE, the response options for each item are:  Strongly disagree – in my experience, this is not true at all / Disagree / Slightly agree / Agree / Strongly agree – in my experience, this is very true.

2) To see DigCompEdu Competences and Proficiency levels, visit: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcompedu/framework/proficiency-levels

The SELFIE PTK portal allows registered schools, participating in the SHERPA pilot implementation, to share selected activities implemented in their school, publicly to all schools. Once registered schools start to share their actions, the portal will act as a space, where schools can find examples of activities already implemented elsewhere. Schools can use these shared activities as-is, or as a starting point upon which they can base their own activities.

In addition, schools can identify further suggestions to specify activities to be carried out in the following relevant webpages:

• https://www.dlplanning.ie/
• https://innovativeschools.pi.ac.cy/
• https://www.cybersafety.cy

A network of participating schools can be created (at the country level) to facilitate exchange of ideas, best practices, and experiences with national and international schools. Schools can also ask for suggestions of how to overcome obstacles and difficulties that may arise in the implementation of their activities. The SELFIE PTK online platform can also be used to facilitate communication from schools from different countries.

Below you can find links to useful digital tools which could support teaching and learning:

ePortfolio tools: An ePortfolio is a dynamic workplace “owned” by students. Taking into consideration the continuous development and integration of technology in education, an ePortfolio offers the students a digital workplace where they can capture their learning, submit and manage their work collections, reflect on their learning, share, set goals, seek feedback and showcase their learning and achievement (Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, 2021; EUfolio, 2014). Some suggested ePortfolio tools are:

• https://mahara.org/
• Exabis ePortfolio plugin in Moodle (link)
• OneNote https://www.onenote.com/signin?wdorigin=ondc
• Google Sites https://sites.google.com/new

Tools for the creation of rubrics: In general, rubrics are scoring guides used to evaluate student products and performance. Some tools you can use to create rubrics are:

• Rcampus: https://www.rcampus.com/
• Rubistar: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/
• Corubric: https://corubric.com/

Tools for the creation of digital educational materials:

• Canva: Allows you to design images such as infographics, posters, flyers, stories for social networks and so on. https://www.canva.com
• Animated videos: https://www.powtoon.com/
• Interactive videos: https://h5p.org/
• Screen/video recordings: https://screencast-o-matic.com/
• Dynamic presentations: https://prezi.com/
• Mind maps: https://www.mindmeister.com/
• Concept maps: CmapTools https://cmap.ihmc.us/
• Word clouds: https://www.nubedepalabras.es/
• Posters and murals: https://edu.glogster.com/
• Synchronous communication managers: skype, viber, etc.