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Grow With Purpose: Strengthening Your Digital Practice
Grow With Purpose: Strengthening Your Digital Practice
Content
This learning playlist guides youth workers through a reflective and practical journey to understand, assess, and develop their digital competencies using a competence-based approach.
Through a series of six activities, participants explore key concepts such as what competences are, how attitudes and values shape digital youth work practice, and how to assess and grow through self-awareness and strategic planning.
The playlist supports youth workers in identifying their learning needs, mapping digital development priorities, and drafting a personal development plan, equipping them to lead their own learning and contribute to digital transformation in youth work.
All activities are based on the Digital Competences in Youth Work (DYW SNAC) framework and include videos, self-assessment tools, and structured reflection tasks.
Included activities and badges:
- Start with You: What Competence Means in Digital Youth Work
- The Inner Shift: Exploring Attitudes for Digital Youth Work
- Know What Matters: Values in Digital Youth Work
- Facing Change: Growing in Digital Youth Work
- Where Are You Now? Understanding Your Digital Competencies
- My Way: Planning Your Digital Competencies Development
Who is this playlist for?
This playlist is for youth workers who want to understand how to use competence models to guide their professional development in digital youth work. It’s suitable for those starting out as well as experienced practitioners looking to reflect, plan, and grow strategically.
Claim the ultimate playlist badge
Complete all activities and collect the six linked badges to unlock the final badge that recognises your full learning journey and commitment to digital competence development.
Who created this resource?
This playlist and its activities were developed by members of the Cities of Learning Network as part of the DIGITAL SYSTEMIC project - an Erasmus+ co-funded cooperation partnership focused on the systemic development of digital youth work.
The content draws on the Digital Competences in Youth Work (DYW SNAC) framework, the YOCOMO MOOC, and resources co-created by strategic partnerships and national agencies across Europe. It integrates insights from multiple European research studies and tools supporting competence-based learning and digital transformation in youth work.
The learning design follows the standardised approach used on the Digital Youth Work platform and Cities of Learning, combining structured reflection, practical tasks, and Open Badge recognition to support lifelong learning and professional development.
Activities to complete
Complete the following activities, earn badges and you will see your playlist progress updated
Content
Everyone’s digital youth work journey is unique.
The competence-based approach offers a structured yet flexible way to develop professionally, by recognising challenges, identifying opportunities, and planning realistic next steps.
In this final activity, you will reflect on the benefits and barriers of applying a competence-based approach in digital youth work, map out your priorities using the Digital Professional Development Matrix, and begin creating your own Professional Development Plan (PDP) focusing on digital competences.
By completing this activity, you will:
- Reflect on challenges and opportunities of competence-based development
- Identify and prioritise your digital competence needs
- Draft a personalised plan to support your professional growth in digital youth work
- Strengthen your ability to navigate change and lead your own development
Get inspired
Watch the video interview with Monika Kezaite - Jakniuniene to discuss possible challenges when applying competence-based development approach.
Source: This video as part of the #YOCOMO – an #ETS online course on competence-based development for youth workers.
Other resources - download and explore these tools:
- Digital Professional Development Matrix for Youth Workers
- Professional Development Plan (PDP) for Youth Workers: Focusing on Digital Competence Development
Take action
Task 1: Reflect on challenges and opportunities
Summarise one challenge and one opportunity from the video that resonates with your experience of digital competence development.
Write in a learning journal or discussion notes or record a short video/audio reflection or create a visual idea map.
Task 2: Use the digital Professional Development Matrix
Plot your current digital competence needs using the four-quadrant matrix (based on urgency and importance). This will help identify where to focus next.
Draw the matrix on paper and fill in competences or use a digital template or app to organise and save your matrix.
Task 3: Create your Professional Development Plan (PDP)
Using the PDP template or your own structure, write one or two SMART goals for your digital competence growth.
Use a printed or hand-written plan. or complete a digital worksheet.
Claim Open Badge recognition
Upon completing this activity, participants can earn a badge that recognises:
- Strategic reflection on digital competence development;
- Planning for meaningful learning in digital youth work;
- And commitment to long-term professional growth in digital contexts.
Who created this resource?
This activity is based on the YOCOMO MOOC video interview on competence-based development and supporting tools initially developed for the YOCOMO MOOC. The Cities of Learning Network adapted these resources to help youth workers reflect, plan, and act on their digital learning journey.
Next Steps
Use your PDP to guide your development path. Revisit your Digital Development Matrix regularly to reflect on progress.
Share your plan with peers or mentors and consider forming a learning partnership for mutual support.
Get activity badge
Planning My Digital Growth Get this badge
This badge is awarded to youth workers who have explored the challenges and potential of competence-based development and used structured tools to plan their digital competence development and learning.
To earn this badge, youth workers needed to:
- Reflect on barriers and opportunities for competence-based development
- Prioritise digital learning needs using the Matrix
- Set specific learning goals using a Professional Development Plan (PDP)
Skills and experiences gained
This badge is aligned to the following Digital Competences in Youth Work (DYW SNAC) areas:
- Self-reflection and lifelong learning – planning, monitoring, and reviewing learning
- Strategic digital development in organisations – applying frameworks to guide competence growth
- Learning and creativity with digital tools – using structured tools for innovation and development
- Digital facilitation – understanding and improving your facilitation practice through planning
This badge shows the earner’s ability to plan and manage their digital competence development using reflective and strategic tools. Cities of Learning Network partners value badge earners’ practical engagement and issue this badge after reviewing the submitted evidence.
Tasks
Task no.1
Evidence verified by: one activity organiser
Complete at least two of the following tasks by providing evidence to earn the "Planning My Digital Growth" badge:
- Task 1: Reflect on challenges and opportunities for professional development in digital youth work
- Evidence 1: Upload a written, audio, or visual reflection on one challenge and one opportunity in applying a competence-based approach to develop digital competencies for youth work.
- Task 2: Complete the Digital Development Matrix
- Evidence 2: Upload a filled-in Matrix showing at least four prioritised digital competence needs
- Task 3: Create your Professional Development Plan (PDP)
- Evidence 3: Upload a completed PDP including one or two SMART learning goals tailored to digital youth work
Skills
Activities: 6
Started: 1
Completed playlist: 0
Time to complete: 6 hours
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Organisers
Digital Youth Work Resource Hub
Awero not-for-profit organisation manages this platform and develops it together with leading educational organisations. The European Union's programme Erasmus+ granted co-funding for building the first version of this platform. Contact support@awero.org.
Platform
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