In the last year, the Digital Skills Team including the Student Digital Champions have published many blogposts covering a lot of digital topics and issues. Here are the top 5 blogposts from 2023/24!
My experience with Code First Girls: Read about one of our experiences in taking a course with Code First Girls and why you should consider joining a course too!
Introducing the new AI coaching chatbot in LinkedIn Learning: In case you missed it – a new feature introduced on LinkedIn Learning where an AI coaching chatbot can now provide recommendations and help improve your LinkedIn Learning experience.
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.
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.
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).
Blogpost by Joel Williams (Student Digital Champion)
For many students, balancing studying for exams, completing coursework, and actively searching for employment opportunities can seem insurmountable. I have found it challenging to stay on top of my studies while trying to find relevant jobs and then completing page after page of applications. Enter platforms like Gradcracker and AberCareers. First introduced to me during the Digital Skills Festival, Gradcracker, like many similar sites, amalgamated many employment opportunities explicitly tailored to my skills. In this blog post, I hope to outline some of the approaches I used to help manage my studies whilst job hunting and signposting several resources available via the University.
Managing your time ⏰
One of the foremost challenges job-hunting students face is time management. With lectures, seminars, and assignments demanding their attention, carving out dedicated time for job applications can be challenging. Truthfully, I found the time required by each job application to be an excellent way to procrastinate on my dissertation, which helped me complete it quickly. However, as my third year continued and other assignments started to loom, I found the best way to stay on top of it all was to give myself an hour or two each week when I would only focus on job application. To meet my self-imposed time limit, I save the URL of any roles I’m interested in and if they are on Gradcracker, I make sure to shortlist them, making them easy to find and highlighting how long I have to apply for the role.
So Much Writing ✍
Another hurdle students encounter is the pressure to stand out in a highly competitive job market. Crafting a compelling CV, writing tailored cover letters, and preparing for interviews are all essential components of the job application process. However, balancing academic achievements and relevant work experience can take time and effort, especially for those juggling multiple commitments simultaneously. The most helpful resource I found when trying to update my CV was to use the daily drop-in sessions offered by the careers service. I found having another pair of eyes check over everything invaluable.
One of the sections of my CV I have always struggled to complete has always been the skills section. This is partially because it can be hard to know what is the most important to list and also because it can often be challenging to come up with a list of skills on the spot. To help complete these sections, I used a combination of module information and the Jisc Digital Discovery Tool, which I used to identify my digital proficiencies.
Example of a Jisc Digital Discovery Tool report
Polishing your Digital Presence 👣
One of the first steps I took early in the job application process was updating and polishing my LinkedIn profile. Spurred on by a session on How to use LinkedIn during the Digital Skills Festival, I revised much of my pre-existing profile and created something that I am now able to use for job applications.
Checking your digital footprint is an often overlooked element of applying for jobs in a digital age. My fellow Digital Champion Noel has written a handy blogpostexploring the steps you can take to protect your digital footprint and ensure that the public and employers can only see what you want them to. The Digital Skills Team have also curated a LinkedIn Learning collection on managing your digital identity.
Career Service 💬
If you’re looking for more specific advice, the careers service is the best people to speak to and details of how best to use this service, which is open to current students and post-graduates, can be found on their webpage.
Blogpost by Laurie Stevenson (Student Digital Champion)
That concludes the first half of graduate interviews in our Digital Skills Profile Series and the second half will be released in Semester 2 so keep an eye on our IS social media channels and our blog for updates!
In the meantime, you may be wondering from reading what our graduates say they wish they had learnt before graduating what is available to you as an AU student to improve your digital skills? Well, here are some of the main resources available to you:
‘How are your digital skills?’ Blackboard organisation
We’ve developed a new Blackboard organisation which provides you with step-by-step guidance on how to use all of the resources mentioned below, including the Jisc Digital Discovery Tool and LinkedIn Learning .
Jisc Digital Discovery Tool
The Jisc Digital Discovery Tool is a bilingual resource that enables you to self-assess your confidence with technology. It will allow you to identify your strengths, in addition to highlighting opportunities to further develop your digital skills.
LinkedIn Learning
This online learning platform is available for free to all AU students, and contains over 16,000 free courses on everything from photo and video editing, coding, how to play an instrument, art courses and so much more! If you’re particularly interested in developing your digital skills, you can also visit our digital skills collections in the platform. Activate your account today!
Digital Skills Library
Explore the Digital Skills Library, where you’ll find resources to help you develop a range of new and existing digital skills within six categories.
Digital Skills Blog
As well as this series we have plenty of interesting and informative content on our blog page from tips and tricks for MS software, our weekly DigiTips, to our Digital Wellbeing Series.
AberSkills
AberSkills contains a breadth of resources and information about 1-2-1 sessions and workshops to help you develop a range of study skills, employability skills and much more. If you’re interested in developing your confidence with particular software, you can visit the Using Technology in Abersection.
If you have any questions about any of the resources mentioned above, please contact the Digital Skills Team (digi@aber.ac.uk).
Blogpost by Joel Williams (Student Digital Champion)
To accompany a blogpost that I published last week on how you can use time management tools to help you master your schedule, I’ve created an infographic (text version below) which summarises some of the key strategies and tools that have worked for me.
Blogpost by Joel Williams (Student Digital Champion)
As module handbooks are released, work and deadlines can quickly feel overwhelming. In this post, I will show you some of the programs I’ve used to help take back control of my studies, which should aid you when managing your workload.
The first two programs, Microsoft–To-Do & Google Tasks, are relatively comparable and easy to use. However, this does sacrifice some of the features found in more complicated programs like notion.
Microsoft To Do
One of the most accessible programs to integrate into your studies is Microsoft-To-Do; at its most basic, it allows you to create tasks and then group these as needed. However, the reason this is usually my go-to is that you can also use it in conjunction with the Office 365 suite of programs, making it especially useful as the University already provides these (You can download these here).
I’ve found this especially useful during my studies as it shows any emails I’ve flagged, preventing me from forgetting about them. Therefore, I recommend creating an account with your university email, which helps keep it all interconnected. It is available on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and as a website.
Google Tasks
Another popular alternative is Google Tasks, which, as I stated earlier, is comparable to Microsoft’s offering. However, I’ve found it helpful because of its integration with Google Assistant, making it especially easy to set reminders and tasks quickly while working on something else.
Additionally, if you prefer using the Google suite of software over Microsoft or work on an Apple device, this program will likely be the best option. It is available on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store; you can access it within Google software on the Internet or as a Chrome plugin.
Other Helpful Programs
There are many alternative programs which can help with scheduling; one of the better-known ones is Notion, whilst it is worth mentioning there is a slight learning curve. However, the elements which make Notion hard to use result from the sheer breadth of options and customisation within the program, allowing you to tailor your own experience.
If you’re looking to plan out group work (but don’t want to use Notion), Microsoft Teams is likely one of your best options. Alongside being able to communicate as a group, you can also create a task tab, which allows you to set tasks to complete together as well as divide up tasks by person if needed.
Creating your own system
The critical aspect of using all of these programs is to find the one which can best integrate into your workflow, making sure that whatever option you choose is assisting, not hindering. For those who would like to view more detailed information about some of these programs, you can find a LinkedIn Learning collection here.
Blogpost by Joel Williams (Student Digital Champion)
One focus for the Student Digital Champions this year is to explore strategies and programs we’ve used to increase our digital wellbeing. This series will explore what digital wellbeing is and will consist of posts and infographics discussing reducing eyestrain, digital detox, working environment and much more!
This information will be posted throughout the year with several seasonal posts, including challenges for Christmas and Easter. You can also use the LinkedIn Learning collections we’ve curated if you want to find out more in between posts, and you can stay up to date with all new posts within this series through this page on our Digital Skills blog.
To accompany this introductory blogpost, we’ve created A student’s guide to defeating computer eyestrain! (text version and clickable links below visual)
Week 3 is our interview with Stephanie who works for TSB Banking in Mortgage Servicing and feels she got a pretty good grip of data literacy while at AU but wished she’d learnt more about her digital identity and wellbeing.
Aberystwyth University’s first Digital Skills Festival for students will take place next week from 6 to 10 November 2023!
Throughout the week, there will be 28 events covering an array of topical digital areas. Events will include presentations on Artificial Intelligence, online safety, digital wellbeing, managing your digital footprint, and using Welsh on your computer. Additionally, external speakers from companies like Barclays and Clicky Media will discuss the digital skills necessary to excel in their own and similar companies. Finally, there will also be several interactive workshops on topics such as using software such as Microsoft Excel and mastering group work with an array of online tools.
All students who attend three online sessions will be entered into a raffle where they will have the opportunity of winning one of two £50 vouchers.
You can view each session and book through the Digital Skills Festival programme, or take a look at the images below to find out what’s on each day of the week!
