Today, everybody will need knowledge and skills how to use a computer. To:

• learn more about the "world of information",
• obtain skills required to use a computer,
• and to prove their existence to yourself and others

A Computer Driving Licence has been developed.

Computer Driving Licence will show existence of basic computer literacy required in everyday life. To get the licence an examination must be passed.

Persons having the licence should have the following capabilities:

• they will understand the main principles of information technology
• they can use a computer independently
• they master the main applications
• they can find required information (for example, from Internet)

The licence can be applied for by everybody, there are no limitations whatsoever concerning the age, sex, computer skills, etc. The potential owners of the licence must not have a higher IT education, they must only have the will and courage to take a dive into the new and interesting world of computers.

Such a licence is valid in many European countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and Holland. The number of such states is increasing constantly.

The original idea comes from Finland. The first licences were issued in 1995, when the system for training and tests was also developed. From there the licence also spread to other European countries and it was called The European Computer Driving Licence or shortly ECDL. ECDL Working Group developed common concept of the licence for other European countries. International co-ordinating unit of ECDL is located in Ireland, Dublin, and it is called the ECDL Foundation (www: http://ww.cs.tcd.ie/ECDL) , and they will also take care of coherence, objectiveness and scientific quality of the licence. In every country there is an ECDL Foundation partner organisation that organises ECDL implementation, test centre accrediting and issues the licences.

To get the licence an examination made of seven modules has to be passed:

• General knowledge about computer using options in the information society, computer software and hardware and file systems.
• Using the computer.
• Text processing.
• Spreadsheets.
• Data bases.
• Drawing and layout programs.
• Computer networks, E-mail, Internet.

In every country there are accredited test centres that organise examinations. These centres can also organise module training, but this is not their primary task. At the same time there may be training centres that teach how to use a computer, but will not any possibilities to pass Computer Driving Licence examinations.

The test is passed after passing all the module examinations. The person being examined can decide about the order of examinations being taken, software being used and also point the time suitable for the examination. The time lapse between the first and the last examination must not be longer than three years. The first theoretical examination consists of five questions. The rest of the examinations will check skills to use applications and are made up of one complex task.

In Estonia the partner of EDCL Foundation will be Estonian Software Society, who will develop both examination system and requirements for test centre licensing in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, State Office Information System Department, Tiger Leap team, Phare Ise Program, Estonian Association of Informatics and Estonian Centre of Informatics.

So we can say that in Estonia Computer Driving Licences are not being issued yet, but we’re working in this direction and the results expected will be discussed in the next Phare newsletters and also in other publications.

Terje Tuisk