On Tuesday 28.03.23 (12:00-14:00), the Research, Business and Innovation department have arranged an in-person seminar to help researchers decide whether their app idea is feasible and how to go about making it happen.
The seminar will be led by Professor Chris Price from the Computer Science Department.
For further information, and to book your place, please visit the event page.
Hello everyone, my name is Shân Saunders, and I am the new digital capabilities and skills development coordinator. I completed my undergraduate and MPhil at Aberystwyth and since graduating in 2022 I have been looking to work with student engagement and satisfaction. I have also been a member of the Your Voice Matters team since September 2021. I have been working with the digital skills team since August 2022 and have so far worked on JISC’s Digital Discovery Tool and the Digital Skills Library. I’m really looking forward to working on the Digital Skills Festival in November 2023 and overall discussing what we offer to students and how we can improve the delivery of our resources. I am also looking forward to the opportunity to conduct more focus groups and training with students and staff surrounding digital skills and resources.
Today we are celebrating International Women’s Day! The theme this year is #EmbraceEquity and it provides an important moment to celebrate the cultural, political and socio-economic achievements of women, and is a call to action for us all to fully embrace equity.
Here is a selection of short LinkedIn Learning videos, all under 5 minutes, inspired by International Women’s Day. You can access these videos with your free Aberystwyth University LinkedIn Learning account.
The Student Digital Champions within Information Services are running 1-hour focus groups in March to gather feedback from students on their experiences of using LinkedIn Learning. You will receive a £10 voucher for an hour of your time.
These focus groups will take place online on the following dates:
To take part, please complete this short form to sign-up. Please feel free to contact digi@aber.ac.uk with any questions.
Blogpost by Jeffrey Clark (Student Digital Champion)
It can be challenging to go into any library and find what you’re looking for. Most libraries contain hundreds of books, and the Hugh Owen library has THOUSANDS of books. If you want to find what you’re looking for with clinical precisions, then I recommend you give Primo a try. Primo is a digital library catalogue used by Aberystwyth University. It’s a massive database that allows students to search for books to loan from the University, make lists of books to check-out, and access online versions of reading materials. It has tonnes of features which have made my time at Aberystwyth that much easier. While it’s easy to see it as ‘just Google search for the library’, it’s much more than that. From saving lists of books to requesting books I need for my course, Primo has saved me time and from many headaches during my studies. In this blog post I’ll be going over Primo, what it does, and how to make it work for you.
Using Primo’s search function is easy. Simply type the name of the item you wish to find and Primo will tell you where it is in the Hugh Owen library or if you can access it online (some items have both online and physical copies.) Primo’s search function is set to search for ‘all items’ by default, which can muddy your search results a bit by giving you too many options.
At the bottom of the search bar, there are three drop-down menus which have options to help you find EXACTLY what you’re looking for. For example, let’s say that I want to search only for books by John Steinbeck. From the bottom of the search bar, I would select ‘Books’, then ‘with my exact phrase’, selecting ‘as author/creator’ and finally searching ‘John Steinbeck.’
Come and say hello to our Student Digital Champions tomorrow, Friday 17 February, at their “How are your digital skills?” stand on Level D of the Hugh Owen Library from 10:00-13:00!
The stand is part of an exciting programme of CareerFest ’23 activities, including skills workshops, employer events, webinars, networking opportunities and in-department sessions.
We hope to see you there!
Blogpost by Jeffrey Clark (Student Digital Champion)
Microsoft Word is perhaps the most used and widely recognized computer program in all of academia. Virtually every course you can take at Aberystwyth University uses Microsoft Word to some degree, with some courses requiring you to do more with it than just type out an essay. In this blog post, I’ll tell you about some shortcuts in Microsoft Word that have helped me during my studies.
Keyboard shortcuts are a combination of keys that you press to perform a function. For example, press control (ctrl) and C at the same time while highlighting text copies that text onto your clipboard. Instead of right-clicking and scrolling down the drop-down menu to ‘Paste’, you can press ctrl + V to paste the text instead.
The ALT key can also be used for shortcuts. Specifically, the ALT key is used for shortcuts as they relate to the top task bar. By holding down the ALT key for a few seconds, the keys for each shortcut will pop up. For instance, on my keyboard, pressing ALT and 2 will save my document.
But if we press ALT + S to go to the References tab…
We get an entirely new set of ALT keyboard commands to use!
By holding down the ALT with a different tab open we can see what shortcuts are available for each tab on the taskbar. If you forget what ALT key shortcuts do, holding the ALT key down will give you a helpful reminder of your keyboard shortcuts!
Blogpost by Jeffrey Clark (Student Digital Champion)
Are you interested in learning more about digital skills and how developing them can support your learning, your employability, and your general confidence with technology? Then swing by our Digital Skills stand, which will be running as part of the University’s CareerFest on Friday 17 February. You’ll be able to find us on Level D of the Hugh Owen Library from 10:00-13:00.
The stand will be your one-stop-shop for finding information on digital skills and what resources are available to help you develop them. A Student Digital Champion will be there to greet you and answer any questions you may have about digital skills.
There is also an exciting program of skills workshops, employer events, webinars, networking opportunities and in-department sessions being delivered at CareerFest from 13-17 February.
We hope to see you there!
Want to learn how you can use digital marketing to promote your Business or Social Enterprise?
AberPreneurs, part of the University’s Careers Service, are running an exiting online event on Wednesday 8 February (2pm), Digital Marketing Masterclass with Francesca Irving from ‘Lunax Digital’.
Join the webinar online through MS Teams.
For any queries, please contact aberpreneurs@aber.ac.uk.
This blogpost has been written by Jeffrey Clark, Student Digital Champion
With exams around the corner, there’s no doubt that you’re all feeling the pressure. Sometimes that pressure can be overwhelming and lead to periods of high stress and anxiety. No student should have to feel like that! In this blogpost, I’ll go over some tips and useful apps that can help you and other students tackle stress during this difficult period.
It is perfectly normal to feel mild to moderate levels of stress during your time at university. There is a lot going on! From reading and writing essays to hanging out with friends, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed at times. Even if you really enjoy your degree, it can still be stressful trying to find the time to manage all your modules. That is why I recommend managing your time and controlling your routine rather than letting it control you. Apps like Microsoft To-Do have been incredibly helpful to me since I’m always on-the-go. Microsoft-To-Do is a free cloud-based task management app available for desktops, Androids and Apple devices. The app contains some useful features for keeping you on track such as a customizable calendar and reminders that can be arranged in any order you desire.
Microsoft Teams also features an incredibly customizable calendar that is useful for scheduling meetings as well as keeping you up to date with your university task. Managing your time reduces stress by minimizing unpredictability and giving you the ability to work WITH deadlines as opposed to AGAINST them. Another good tip to reduce exam stress is to focus on one thing at a time. Whilst revising, focus your attention on just one of your modules a day, if you can. This makes it easier to retain information on the module that you’re studying which will make taking an exam all that easier. If you must study multiple modules, make sure you give yourself a meaningful break during your studies. Taking a break is important while studying for any amount of time. Incorporating breaks into your schedule is key to reducing stress and avoiding ‘burnout’, which we will discuss in greater detail later in this post.
