Catch up on our Panel Discussion – ‘Supporting the development of students’ digital capabilities’

Aberystwyth University’s 10th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, which ran from 12-14 September 2022, brought together a community of teaching and learning practice from across the University, to celebrate, share, and showcase the exciting and innovative approaches that are taking place.

We held a panel discussion (Supporting the development of students’ digital capabilities) on the final day of the conference, with Saffron Passam (Department of Psychology), Megan Williams (Aberystwyth Business School) and Panna Karlinger (School of Education), the wonderful academic staff who were involved in our student pilot of the Digital Discovery Tool last year.

Panel Members: Megan Williams (top-left), Saffron Passam (top-right), Panna Karlinger (bottom-middle). Panel Facilitator: Sioned Llywelyn (bottom-left)

If you missed our panel discussion, you can watch a recording of it here. We gave on overview of the pilot and Saffron, Megan and Panna shared their valuable insights into what did and didn’t work well for them during the pilot, their top tips for helping students to use the Digital Discovery tool, and we also discussed the wider challenges and successes of embedding skills such as digital capabilities within the curriculum.

Further Resources & Support:

If you will be supporting students to use the Digital Discovery Tool this year, please see the new bank of Teaching Resources for Staff (staff login required). You can also book a consultation with a member of our team by emailing digi@aber.ac.uk.

Welcome to our new Student Digital Champions!

A warm welcome to our new Student Digital Champions who joined the Digital Capabilities Team at the start of September! They will be working with us this semester to encourage students across the university to develop their digital capabilities and to provide valuable insights into what support students want.

Laurie Stevenson (Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences)

“Hello, I am Laurie Stevenson and I study Wildlife Conservation. I am currently undertaking a yearlong research placement focusing on the growth of duckweed as future sustainable protein source and agent for cleaning agriculture wastewaters. My specific interests lie within sustainable and environmental food production and solutions to feed a growing global population under the challenges of global poverty and climate change.

I chose to be a Student Digital Champion because I was looking for something creative to do outside of the lab and I really enjoy creating online content and communicating with other students. I really engaged with and appreciated a lot of the digital content and communication put out by the university in my second year and so I would love to pay that back and make a positive difference to student experiences through this role. I really love Aberystwyth University and I am passionate about helping others to feel the same! In my spare time I enjoy cold-water swimming all year round, I am learning Welsh and I also enjoy road tripping and visiting new places in my car that I have converted into a mini campervan.” 

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Develop your Digital Communication Skills

Want to learn how to improve your digital communication skills and especially how to use Instagram to promote your Business or Social Enterprise?

AberPreneurs, part of the University’s Careers Service, are running an exciting online event, Use Instagram for your Business/Social Enterprise – with Kacie Morgan, on 5 September (18:00-19:00). This session will be delivered online on MS Teams.

To book or your place or for any queries, please contact aberpreneurs@aber.ac.uk.

Training for Academic Staff: Introduction to the Digital Discovery Tool

The Jisc Digital Discovery Tool will be available to all Foundation Year and First Year students from the start of academic year 2022/23. We will be delivering training sessions in September and October for academic staff who will be supporting their students to review their individual Digital Discovery Tool reports, and facilitating conversations with students about digital capabilities in general.

Sessions will be available in Welsh and English on the following dates:

  • 15 Sep 2022 (11:00-12:00): Introduction to the Digital Discovery Tool
  • 15 Sep 2022 (15:00-16:00): Cyflwyniad i’r Offeryn Darganfod Digidol
  • 19 Sep 2022 (10:00-11:00): Cyflwyniad i’r Offeryn Darganfod Digidol
  • 21 Sep 2022 (14:00-15:00): Introduction to the Digital Discovery Tool
  • 4 October 2022 (11:00-12:00): Introduction to the Digital Discovery Tool
  • 7 October 2022 (14:00-15:00): Cyflwyniad i’r Offeryn Darganfod Digidol

Please visit the Staff Training Webpage for further details and to register your place. For all enquiries, please contact Sioned Llywelyn, Digital Capabilities Officer (digi@aber.ac.uk).

1 August: Deadline for downloading existing Digital Discovery Tool Reports

The current platform for the Digital Discovery Tool is being updated on 1 August 2022. If you have used the Digital Discovery Tool previously and have obtained a report, this must be downloaded before 1 August 2022 if you wish to retain a copy of it. 

Please follow these instructions: How do I access my Digital Discovery Tool report and download it as a PDF file? 

If you have any queries about downloading your report, please contact digi@aber.ac.uk.  

LinkedIn Learning Curator Training in June

Are you interested in learning more about becoming a curator in LinkedIn Learning? With curator access, you can upload and arrange content into an intuitive and engaging format, in addition to receiving insights into how your audience is engaging with your content.  

Simon Lee, Senior Customer Success Manager for Higher Education at LinkedIn, will deliver two training sessions for Aberystwyth University staff in June to demonstrate how to make the best use of the curator functionality in LinkedIn Learning. This training has been split into two parts, and staff are welcome to attend either session but are encouraged to attend both.

  • Tuesday 14 June (14:30-15:30) – LinkedIn Learning: Content and Curation (Part 1)* 
  • Tuesday 21 June (10:00-11:00) – LinkedIn Learning: Content and Curation – Learning in discussion (Part 2)*

*Please note that both sessions will be delivered in English. 

Please visit the Staff Training Webpage for further details and to register your place. For all enquiries, please contact Sioned Llywelyn, Digital Capabilities Officer (digi@aber.ac.uk). 

Earth Day 2022: Invest in our Planet

Today we are celebrating Earth Day, and this year’s theme is #InvestInOurPlanet.

We as individuals can invest our time and effort into learning more about sustainability and the changes that we can make to our daily habits to live a more sustainable life. Remember, small changes can make a big difference to our planet.

We have also created a campaign on LinkedIn Learning for Earth Day and you can access this from the main LinkedIn Learning dashboard. 

FREE Microsoft Cloud Computing Certification for Students

Cloud computing is often rated as one of the most sought-after tech skills, and with the recent shift towards remote working and learning, there’s no surprise that employers are searching for graduates with these skills.

Students, don’t miss out on an exciting opportunity by Microsoft to access their live training webinars, exam practice tests and Microsoft Fundamentals certification exams for FREE!

The three courses available for free are:

  • 5th April 2022 – AI Fundamentals
  • 7th April 2022 – Azure Fundamentals
  • 8th April 2022 – Security Fundamentals

For more information about these free courses, download this information flyer by Microsoft:

You can also register your place for these courses through Cloud Ready Skills.

International Women’s Day 2022 #BreakTheBias

Today we are celebrating International Women’s Day! IWD provides an important moment to celebrate the cultural, political and socio-economic achievements of women, and is a call to action for equality and gender parity, raising awareness against all bias.

The theme this year is #BreakTheBias, focusing on tackling systematic barriers which hold back women’s careers and highlighting the importance of flexibility at work.

Here is a selection of videos and courses taken from LinkedIn Learning, covering bias and its harms, becoming an ally, and the importance of listening to women’s voices to create an equitable workplace.

  1. Fighting Gender Bias At Work (14 minutes)
  2. Unlocking Authentic Communication In A Culturally Diverse Workplace (49 minutes)
  3. Leadership Strategies For Women (course) (1 hour 6 minutes)
  4. Becoming a male ally at work (41 minutes)
  5. Women Transforming Tech: Breaking Bias (22 minutes)
  6. Men as allies (2 minutes 27 seconds)
  7. Unconscious Bias (23 minutes)

We have also created a campaign on LinkedIn Learning for International Women’s Day and you can access this from the main LinkedIn Learning dashboard.