The DCA (Digital Competence Assessment) research group was formed within the National Research Project (MIUR DM n. 582/2006 of March 24, 2006) “Internet and schools: problems of accessibility, equality policies, and information management,” leaded by Prof. Antonio Calvani (University of Florence).
The group is made up of four local research units from the Universities of Florence, Turin, Cassino and Salerno.

The Florence Unit
Since the 1990s, the Florence Unit has developed specific skills on issues concerning technological innovation in the school, through collaboration in projects for the introduction of ICTs in schools, and cooperating specifically in various national initiatives such as the Multilab Project (1996) and the Fortic Project (2003).

The Turin Unit
Over the last years the Turin Unit has completed on both local and international levels, a series of research work on the impact of technologies on learning environments, specifically dwelling on the following subjects: Media Education, in collaboration with the Rai TV of Turin and Melevisione, , e-learning, t-learning, and multimedia online courses.

The Cassino Unit
The Cassino Unit has developed, especially over the last years, specific experience in the field of multimedia repositories, systems for archiving and accessing information, systems for building communities of learning and practice, with particular attention to humanistic education.

The Salerno Unit
In the last five years, the Salerno Unit has been involved in a series of international research in “Collaborative Learning” and “Problem Solving” in technological environments, collaborating with various foreign Universities on European projects.