The European Computer driving licence is quickly becoming the industry standard qualification for IT users. Although it was only introduced to the United Kingdom in 1995, its popularity has increased enormously and as a consequence it is widely known amongst employers and educationalists alike.

Its appeal to employers stems from the fact that it is very much based on real-life business needs -- that is, much of the syllabus is designed around the situations which are common in office environments and which proficient users of IT would be expected to be able to handle.

It is attractive for the learner because it encompasses a wide variety of topics (seven modules in all), and because it is recognised throughout the whole of Europe and, more recently, further afield, including the United States and Canada.

Each module is taught using a computer based training package, which means there is no time restraint on a student completing a particular module. The package includes all of the tuition material, self-assessment tools and tracking of material already covered.

As a guideline however, most students complete each module in eight to twelve hours but this of course depends on the individual student's previous experience of computing.

The European Computer Driving Licence comprises seven modules of work, each with an assessment at the end. These modules are:

• Basic Concepts -- a broad overview of computing in general and an introduction to some essential terminology
• File Management -- an exploration of the extremely important skill of being able to store and retrieve data effectively
• Word-processing -- including more advanced features such as table design and mail merge
• Spreadsheets -- recognising how and when to use some of the more common formulas and creating attractive graphs using a spreadsheet package
• Databases -- designing databases from scratch, assembling queries to extract relevant data items, and using forms to make the inputting of data easier
• Presentations -- using your computer to create attractive electronic slide shows for use when making announcements or briefings to groups
• E-mail and Internet Communications -- looking at the fascinating way in which communications technology is reaching into every aspect of our working lives.

Like the tuition, assessment is also undertaken using a computer-based package. At the end of each of the seven modules is a single 45 minute assessment comprising multiple choice questions and simulation tasks (where the candidate must perform a procedure such as "change the page orientation to landscape" or "select four e-mail addresses from an address book").

These tests are a marked instantaneously by the computer and successes are recorded in the student logbook. When all seven pages of the log book have been stumped by the Centre, a the book is sent to the British Computer Society for certification.

It is possible to resit ECDL assessments and for this purpose each registered student receives a spare testing voucher. If this spare voucher is used in addition to the the seven others, however, then the individual must purchase additional vouchers to enable further tests to take place.

These vouchers reflect the price the Centre pays for the automated tests and are fairly expensive (around the £12 mark). It is therefore in the student's interest to make certain that they ready to attempt the live assessment by making use of the practice assessment tools built into the computer based training package.

The open learning tutor will explain more about this to new ECDL candidates when they join the course.

ECDL Level 2 is currently in development by the British Computer Society, and it is anticipated that this will become available to students early in 2004. In the meantime, CLAIT Plus is the recommended level 2 progression from ECDL.