Month: May 2024

Sunshine, Summer, and LinkedIn Learning ☀

Shan Saunders [shs63] LinkedIn Learning Leave a comment

Blogpost by Shân Saunders (Digital Capabilities and Skills Development Coordinator)

As the summer break approaches, did you know that if you are a current AU staff or student you can continue to learn and develop new skills with LinkedIn Learning. There may be a particular skill that you are looking to develop, or you might be interested in searching for specific skills you may need for future employment. And now, with the LinkedIn Learning app, you can learn wherever you are and while on the go. The app includes the ability to download courses to continue learning while offline or to engage with courses as audio only. For more information on the new features and how to learn on the go, read our previous blogpost: Get mobile with the LinkedIn Learning app! 📲 | (aber.ac.uk)

Note for graduating students: you will have access to your LinkedIn Learning account while you are still a student, but you will lose access once you graduate, so make sure to download your certificates while you can. Learn how to do this by reading our previous blogpost about adding certificates to your personal LinkedIn account.

You can learn more about the features on LinkedIn Learning including adding certificates to your LinkedIn profile and more through the Digital Skills Festival session:  Getting Started with LinkedIn Learning – Digital Skills Festival 2023 (6 – 10 November) (aber.ac.uk)

If you have any questions about using LinkedIn Learning please contact the Digital Skills Team at digi@aber.ac.uk or view the LinkedIn Learning FAQ: How do I use LinkedIn Learning? (aber.ac.uk). 

DigiTip 33: Enable live captions in your MS Teams meetings 💬

Sioned Llywelyn [sil12] Digital communication, collaboration and participation, DigiTips Leave a comment

Here is your final DigiTip for this academic year but you can catch up on all of our previous DigiTIps from this page. We hope that you’ve found our tips useful, and we’ll be back in September ’24 where we’ll continue support your confidence with technology, one DigiTip at a time!

Do you sometimes struggle in larger meetings to know who is currently speaking? …..“was that Ffion or Bethan?!” Maybe you’re working in a loud environment and are struggling to hear others in the meeting speak? Perhaps you’ve joined a meeting where the language spoken isn’t your first language? Or perhaps you appreciate the accessibility of having subtitles?

If any of the above are true for you, then you will likely find the functionality to enable live captions in MS Teams useful. Watch the video below to learn how to enable live captions:

It’s worth noting a couple of things if you’re using this feature:

  • Live captions are only visible to those that have enabled the feature within the meeting, meaning that if you switch them on, they won’t automatically appear for everyone!
  • Live caption data is permanently deleted after a meeting, so no one will have access to this information.

Visit this webpage for further support and guidance in using MS Teams.

Stand out from the crowd with LinkedIn Learning Certificates 🏆

Sioned Llywelyn [sil12] Digital Identity and Wellbeing, Digital learning and development, LinkedIn Learning, Students Leave a comment

In today’s competitive job market, it’s important for university students to stand out. One way to do this is by earning certificates for completed courses on your Aberystwyth University LinkedIn Learning account and adding them to your personal LinkedIn profile.

But why does this matter? Adding certificates increases your chances of being found by recruiters looking for specific skills, showing them your commitment to ongoing learning and career development, making you a more appealing candidate.

Watch the video below to learn how to add LinkedIn Learning certificates to your personal LinkedIn profile ⬇

Learn more about LinkedIn Learning from this session at the Digital Skills Festival ’23 (Welsh session; English session)

If you have any questions about adding LinkedIn Learning certificates to your personal LinkedIn profile, please contact the Digital Skills Team (digi@aber.ac.uk) or view the official LinkedIn Learning Certificate FAQ page.

DigiTip 32: Do Not Disturb your sleep 💤

Shan Saunders [shs63] DigiTips Leave a comment

Notifications and messaging with friends and family can often distract you from the time and keep you awake. Did you know that you can set a “Do Not Disturb” schedule so that you are no longer alerted to incoming notifications or calls although they are still received.  

You can do this by going to: 

  • Settings 
  • Focus 
  • Do Not Disturb 
  • Set a Schedule 

You can also personalise the ‘Focus’ to allow certain calls or notifications from key contacts.  

There are also other forms of focus such as driving.  

View the short clip below to see how to set up the schedule.  

Please note, these instructions are for iPhones. For Androids, please view the following instructions: Limit interruptions with Do Not Disturb on Android – Android Help (google.com) 

Each week we’ll be posting a useful DigiTip to help you make the best use of technology. To follow our DigiTips, subscribe to our Digital Skills Blog. Or alternatively, you can bookmark this webpage, where a new DigiTip will be added each week! 

DigiTip 31: Quickly minimise all your open windows 💥

Sioned Llywelyn [sil12] Digital proficiency and productivity, DigiTips Leave a comment

This is a very quick tip, but hopefully a useful one! There may be occasions where you need to minimise all the open windows and apps on your laptop or desktop screen. Perhaps you are just about to start presenting and want to remove all open windows? Or you may just want to remove all clutter and get back to your desktop?

You can press the Windows key + D to minimise all open apps and windows and will take you back to the desktop. If you want to reopen all windows and apps, just press the same keystrokes again!

To follow our DigiTips, subscribe to our Digital Skills Blog. Or alternatively, you can bookmark this webpage, where a new DigiTip will be added each week!  

My experience with Code First Girls 💻

Jia Ping Lee Code First Girls, Digital learning and development, Training Leave a comment

Blogpost by Jia Ping Lee (Digital Capabilities and Skills Development Coordinator)

I remember first stumbling across Code First Girls through their social media during the summer of 2023, and then I learnt of Aberystwyth University’s new partnership with them. Having had no prior experience of coding and not having much knowledge about the tech world, I was surprised at how easy it was to look through the courses that Code First Girls were offering and regardless of what level of coding you had – there would be an appropriate course for you.

Being a complete beginner with coding languages, I had a look through their introductory courses titled MOOCs (Code First Girls’ massive open online courses). These courses were designed to introduce and provide beginner level tech skills and help build up confidence in an area of your choice. What I thought was fantastic about these courses was how it was organised and rolled out. With MOOC Sprints, they were running over 4 weeks with 1 one-hour live session per week and after the Sprint ended, you had the opportunity to test your knowledge and experience real world problem solving with MOOC Challenges and receive a certificate of completion after passing the session quizzes. I experienced a variety of the introduction courses offered including coding, web development and solving problems with Python. As I was able to review what I learned at my own pace after classes, it wasn’t as overwhelming as I initially thought, and the course tutors were always available to contact if you needed extra help or guidance.

Having thoroughly enjoyed taking the first steps towards gaining some tech confidence, I am looking forward to developing the skills I’ve learnt from the introductory courses and progressing onto the next level. I think that the most important lesson I have taken away from this experience is to never be afraid of trying something new that is outside of your comfort zone. The coding world may initially seem scary and difficult to get into, especially if you hadn’t learned about it before. But with Code First Girls, they really are here to help guide and support us to achieve the best skillset we need for future exciting opportunities!

Take a look at this blogpost where you’ll find 5 reasons why you should take advantage of Aberystwyth University’s partnership with Code First Girls. To find out more information about all the opportunities available with Code First Girls, please visit their website.

Please note that Code First Girls is open to women and non-binary people. If you are not eligible to undertake the courses offered through Code First Girls, there are many other free opportunities available, including coding challenges and courses with CoderPad and GitHub in LinkedIn Learning.

Make the most of technology as you prepare for your exams 💻📚

Sioned Llywelyn [sil12] Digital Skills Library, Digital Wellbeing Series, LinkedIn Learning, Students Leave a comment

As we near towards the start of the Semester 2 examinations, we’ve put together a range of resources to help you make the most of technology as you prepare and revise for your exams.

Yellow and Blue banner with laptop, AU logo, and the text Digital Skills Library

Student Digital Skills Library

Blogpost: Busting Exam Stress with Technology

AberSkills – Revise more effectively and tips to help you on exam day

DigiTip 17: Organise your work with tasks in MS Teams ✍

LinkedIn Learning Collection: Effective Exam Preparation and Revision

(Please login with your AU email and password)

DigiTip 11: Introducing the self-care app Finch 🐥

Strategies for creating the best workspace

Digital Wellbeing Series

LinkedIn Learning Collection: Tackling Exam Stress

(Please login with your AU email and password)

Please also take a look at the general FAQ’s for exams, and if you have any questions about any of the resources listed above, please contact the Digital Skills Team (digi@aber.ac.uk).  

DigiTip 30 – Create folders on your phone to help keep you organised 📁

Jia Ping Lee DigiTips Leave a comment

Do you often get swept up with the amount of clutter and unused apps that keep building up on your phone?

With DigiTip 30, we can have a look at how to create folders on your phone and categorise your apps by types to help keep you organised. Example folder categories could include travel, finance, lifestyle, entertainment, social media and many more!

Let’s have a look at the videos below for a brief demonstration:

N.B. The videos will include an example for IOS devices and an example for Android devices.

To follow our DigiTips, subscribe to our Digital Skills Blog. Or alternatively, you can bookmark this webpage, where a new DigiTip will be added each week! 

Rock your LinkedIn Profile 🤘🏻

Shan Saunders [shs63] Digital communication, collaboration and participation, Digital Identity and Wellbeing Leave a comment

Blogpost by Shân Saunders (Digital Capabilities and Skills Development Coordinator)

As the end of the academic year approaches, you may be starting to think about job prospects and future careers and where to start with this journey. LinkedIn now offer “Rock your Profile” webinars to help you learn how to build an interesting profile that is appealing to your ideal audience as well highlighting key features and best practices for building an engaging profile. These webinars are available at different times of day, register now at: Rock Your Profile (linkedin.com).  

Aberystwyth University Careers service also offer reviews and advice on improving CV’s and LinkedIn profiles. You can access these services through in person drop-ins at Level D Hugh Owen Library during term time, the Careers team are also available via email at: careers@aber.ac.uk. Alternatively, the Careers team also conduct sessions on successfully building a CV and a LinkedIn profile, these sessions are advertised on the career’s portal: www.aber.ac.uk/ABERcareers. We also had a session about how to use LinkedIn at our Digital Skills Festival which you can access here: How to use LinkedIn – Digital Skills Festival 2023 (6 – 10 November) (aber.ac.uk). You can view further resources on LinkedIn through the videos below: