DigiTip 34: Make MS Teams chats easier to read with bullet points 💬

Have you ever been in an MS Teams meeting where you’ve needed to send a quick list that’s easy for others to read? There are actually two quick ways to create bullet points or numbered lists in any MS Teams chat.

Option 1

You can either click on the format icon in the chat, and you can easily create bullet points or a numbered list from here.

Option 2

Or, if you’re in a Teams chat:

  • Press and then the space bar to start your bullet points
  • Press 1. and then the space bar to start a numbered list

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!

The Hit List: Top 5 DigiTips from 2023/24 ⏫🎉

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

In September 2023, the Digital Skills Team began DigiTips – a weekly blogpost to highlight a useful tip that you can use to make your daily digital life easier. Below are the top 5 DigiTips from 2023/24.  

  1. DigiTip 5: Split your screen and multitask! ↔💻

Are you working on one screen and struggling? Are you tired of swapping between two windows? Did you know that you can split your screen to view two things at once making it much easier to view two windows at the same time. This means that you can work on documents, tabs and much more side-by-side. 

  1. DigiTip 18: Express yourself with Emojis with the hidden keyboard shortcut 🥳🤩💖

Most of us will be more familiar with using emojis on our mobile phones 📱, but there will be times when we’ll want to include emojis when using our laptops or computers💻. Instead of googling for the emoji you need, why not access it directly from your keyboard!? 

  1. DigiTip 8: Limit your scrolling time on Instagram. 📴

Are you struggling to concentrate on your work? Are you procrastinating on social media? Do you need to limit your scrolling time? Did you know you can now limit your Instagram scrolling time through the Instagram settings.  

  1. DigiTip 21: Copy and paste content in Word without messing up your formatting. 📃

Have you ever copied and pasted content from a webpage or another document into a new Word document and found that it completely messes up your formatting? Luckily, there are additional options outside of the basic pasting option (ctrl+v) which can help solve this! 

  1. DigiTip 6: Set your status for a set time in MS Teams to show that you’re busy. 🔕

Sometimes, you may need to set some time aside to concentrate on a particular piece of work, but how can you show other people who are also online that you’re busy? Microsoft Teams allows you to set your status to Do not disturb, meaning that you won’t be interrupted by Teams notifications or calls (unless you choose to receive these from specific people), but it can be too easy to forget to turn this status off once you’re finished.   

Join us in October 2024 for more DigiTips, 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 starting from October! 

Next in the Series: New updates to our favourite reading apps 📚

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

In February we wrote a blogpost about apps to help with your reading habits. As it’s National Book Lover’s Day, there are new updates to one of the apps mentioned – Fable. Fable is a combination of a reading app and social media where you can see updates from other readers including opinions that they have on your previously read and want to read books.  

Recent updates include having your reading streak and progress update bar on the homepage for easy access. Additionally, Fable is now branching out from books with the option to mark your progress and join clubs for TV shows meaning you can watch episodes and discuss your favourite shows with other fans. Fable is also currently testing a new AI chatbot called Scout where you input prompts for suggestions and recommendations for your next reads based on tropes and genres or if you’re looking for something similar to another read.  

The main new feature is the stats page. Under your user profile, there is now a reader summary, a little AI summary which automatically updates after every read. Within this there is also a graph of the books you have read this year with a reader insight into when you’re due to reach your reading goal. Along with the reading streak widget on the homepage, you can view how much you read in previous months including your longest reading streak. You can also view a graph with your most read genres and underneath this you can see your average rating of books you have read.  

Delve into Development: Learn more about AI through LinkedIn Learning 🧠

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

AI and generative AI have become increasingly more ingrained into our lives whether through personal or professional use. LinkedIn Learning has a variety of information to help you learn more about AI including how to use AI responsibly. See below for the top 10 courses available on AI and generative AI on LinkedIn Learning. Please note that currently LinkedIn Learning does not support courses in Welsh.  

  1. Understanding the Impact of Deepfake videos (48m) 
  2. What is Generative AI? (1h 3m) 
  3. Introduction to Prompt Engineering for Generative AI (44m) 
  4. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (1h 34m) 
  5. Get Ready for Generative AI (5m 26s) 
  6. Digital Marketing Trends (2h 30m) 
  7. Ethics in the Age of Generative AI (39m) 
  8. Generative AI: The Evolution of Thoughtful Online Search (26m) 
  9. Artificial Intelligence Foundations: Thinking Machines (1h 36m) 
  10. Generative AI for Business Leaders (57m) 

LinkedIn Learning is a free resource available to all Aberystwyth University students and staff. If you need help accessing your LinkedIn Learning account, please view our FAQ’s or you can email us at digi@aber.ac.uk.   

                    Remember to download your Digital Discovery Tool reports 📲

                    There is still just over a week until our subscription to the Jisc Digital Discovery Tool ends on 31 July 2024.

                    If you would like to keep any copies of your individual reports, please ensure you download them before this date, as you won’t be able to access your reports after 31 July 2024. This FAQ provides step-by-step guidance on how to do this.

                    If you haven’t used the Digital Discovery Tool before, there’s still time for you to log in and make use of this resource to self-assess and develop your confidence with technology! Please visit our webpage for further guidance.

                    We’re halfway through our Summer Learning Challenge! ☀

                    We’re halfway through our Summer Learning Challenge, but don’t worry it’s not too late to join us!

                    For our Summer Learning Challenge, we’ve put together 14 short courses and videos from LinkedIn Learning for you to watch over 5 weeks. This content ranges from 3-8 minutes and will help you to develop a range of skills – from writing effective prompts for AI, landscape photography on your phone, to developing better sleep habits.

                    How do I join the challenge?

                    1. If you haven’t done so yet, activate your LinkedIn Learning account (please login with your AU email and password).
                    2. Take a look at the list of short courses and videos from the PDF below
                    3. Choose one short course or video to watch each week (there are 5 weeks in total) and click on the links in the PDF below to start

                    How can I get support?

                    If you have any questions about the challenge, or about LinkedIn Learning in general, please email the Digital Skills Team (digi@aber.ac.uk), and we hope you enjoy your summer of learning!

                    Join our Summer Learning Challenge! ☀

                    Blogpost by Sioned Llywelyn (Digital Skills Lead)

                    Our Summer Learning Challenge begins this week! We have put together 14 short courses and videos from LinkedIn Learning for you to watch and learn from over the next 5 weeks. This content ranges from 3-8 minutes and will help you to develop a range of skills – from writing effective prompts for AI, landscape photography on your phone, to developing better sleep habits.

                    How do I join the challenge?

                    1. If you haven’t done so yet, activate your LinkedIn Learning account (please login with your AU email and password).
                    2. Take a look at the list of short courses and videos from the PDF below
                    3. Choose one short course or video to watch each week (there are 5 weeks in total) and click on the links in the PDF below to start

                    How can I get support?

                    If you have any questions about the challenge, or about LinkedIn Learning in general, please email the Digital Skills Team (digi@aber.ac.uk), and we hope you enjoy your summer of learning!

                    Remember to download your Digital Discovery Tool reports 📲

                    There is still just over a month until our subscription to the Jisc Digital Discovery Tool ends on 31 July 2024.

                    If you would like to keep any copies of your individual reports, please ensure you download them before this date, as you won’t be able to access your reports after 31 July 2024. This FAQ provides step-by-step guidance on how to do this.

                    If you haven’t used the Digital Discovery Tool before, there’s still time for you to log in and make use of this resource to self-assess and develop your confidence with technology! Please visit our webpage for further guidance.

                    Master your tech skills with LinkedIn Learning’s new Complete Guide Courses 👨‍💻

                    Blogpost by Sioned Llywelyn (Digital Skills Lead)

                    Complete Guide Courses are now available in LinkedIn Learning to all at Aberystwyth University. These courses are fantastic for those that want to delve into developing specific tech skills with expert instructors. Whether you’re a beginner aiming to learn a new programme from scratch, or someone with more experience looking to progress further, these courses could be for you.

                    Here’s an example of some of the available Complete Guide courses with new ones being released each month:

                    Screenshot from the Complete Guide to Power BI course

                    What are the advantages of Complete Guide Courses?

                    1. They are 5 or more hours in length, ensuring that you’ll gain a depth of knowledge in that chosen topic
                    2. They are organised into manageable short videos and chapters meaning that you can look at only a specific piece of the course if needed
                    3. Many of these courses include hands-on practice features, providing you with the opportunity to practice what you’ve learnt

                    If you have any questions about LinkedIn Learning, please contact the Digital Skills Team (digi@aber.ac.uk).