International Computer Driving Licence

International Computer Driving License (ICDL), formerly known as European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), is a computer literacy certification program provided by ECDL Foundation,[1] a not-for-profit organisation. The ICDL / ECDL certification is a globally recognised information and communication technology (ICT) and digital literacy qualification.[2]

Logo ICDL
Logo ICDL

In 1995, the ECDL certification programme was developed through a task force of the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS) and was recommended by the European Commission High Level Group, ESDIS, to be a Europe-wide certification scheme.[3] The task force compared several national certification schemes and chose the CDL from Finland as the basis for piloting and later adoption into the ECDL.[4]

Contents

Though the ICDL does not refer to Microsoft or its Office software suite by name in the official course syllabus,[5] training occurs almost exclusively with Microsoft's products as they are ubiquitous in the business world.

For the Base certificate, there are no pre-requisites regarding computer use.

Levels

The ICDL Base certificate comprises all four of these modules:

The ICDL Standard certificate involves the aforementioned Base module, and three of the following modules:

The ICDL Advanced certificate comprises one of the following modules; the ICDL Expert certificate three of the following modules:

  • advanced use of Microsoft Word
  • advanced use of Microsoft Excel
  • advanced use of Microsoft Access
  • advanced use of Microsoft PowerPoint[5]

Testing

In order to take the tests, a candidate buys an ECDL Skills Card, which usually is issued electronically and serves as a login to the testing platform. To prepare for a module test, the candidate may use ECDL diagnostic tests.[8] Testing is done using software which simulates the Windows/Microsoft Office environment. The candidate's mouse movements and keystrokes are monitored and the result of the test is reported immediately after the test is completed.[2]

Value

The ICDL certificates are seen as valuable in business/government administration - as they save the time to evaluate an applicant's computer skills. In professions like publishing, graphic and web design, science or information technology, a completed ICDL course is not a desired quality however as the work requires specialist skills and experience with other software.[9]

References
  1. "ECDL Foundation". Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  2. "European Computer Driving Licence". UCL Information Services Division. University College London. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  3. "eEuropeTargets 2001/2002". European Commission. 2 July 2007. Archived from the original on 27 June 2008. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  4. Leahy, Denise; Dolan, Dudley (September 2010). Tatnall, Arthur (ed.). "History of the European Computer Driving License". History of Computing: Learning from the Past: 136. ISSN 1868-4238.
  5. https://www.ecdl.ch/fileadmin/ECDL/CH/Dokumente/ECDL-Syllabus-Base-de.pdf
  6. Fabio Frittoli (2013-04-11). "ECDL con software libero". ICDL.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  7. "Sample tests". ICDL. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  8. "ECDL Diagnosetests online lösen". www.diagnosetest.ch.
  9. "Computerführerschein: Was bringt er wirklich?".
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