The document discusses a "Digital Skills for Employability" module created by the Technology Enhanced Learning & Learning Support (TELLS) Team at the University of Wales, Newport. The module aims to provide students with digital skills and competencies needed to succeed in today's digital society and job market. It covers topics like using common software tools, online research and collaboration, data management, health and safety when using computers, and digital publishing. The goals are for students to become confident and independent "digital workers" able to apply their skills to new technologies and work effectively in digital environments.

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Paul Andrews, Lyndsey
Muir and Carl Sykes,
University of Wales,
Newport
Providing Students with
Transferable Skills for a
Digital Society
Introduction
Three years ago the School of Health and Social Sciences at the University of Wales,
Newport, made a commitment to provide all its students with the opportunity to
develop the employability skills which they will need to successfully compete with
other graduates in the job market. A major component of this was to provide students
with confidence and competence in using digital technology. It was recognised that
students needed to be taught how to use digital technologies, allowing them to be
independent and self sufficient “digital workers”, able to apply their knowledge,
skills and prior experiences to any new technology that they might encounter in their
working lives.
To meet this commitment, the school founded the Technology Enhanced Learning &
Learning Support (TELLS) Team, a dedicated group of learning technologists whose
role was to identify the digital skills which graduates need and then construct modules
which allow students to make use of free and open source tools. The aim was to help
them work smarter, not harder, and to achieve their maximum potential both on their
course and in the job market once they graduate.
A Flexible Curriculum
After consultation with prospective employers, academic staff and other key
stake holders, we – the members of the TELLS team – created a “Digital Skills for
Employability” module template, to be customised according to the specific academic
and vocational needs of each of our academic programmes. We achieved this
by identifying essential core digital skills that we believe graduates need in order
to compete in the job market. We then matched pieces of free and open source
software that students can use to develop and demonstrate the skills and underlying
knowledge that employers require.
While the bulk of the skills and software remain the same across the various
programmes, the application of the software and the examples used are tailored
for each course programme to ensure that the students find the module relevant
and compelling. Although the learning outcomes are the same for each student, the
learning journey they take in order to reach the outcome will be finely tuned to fit
with the rest of their studies. This approach ensures equality of provision across all
our programmes and allows us to provide our staff with a scalable solution, so that
they can deliver content and make it relevant to their subject, without having to worry
about identifying which software to include.
The module itself is delivered in a blended way via a mix of class-based sessions
supplemented with a range of online resources made available via Moodle. This
makes it very easy for multiple copies of the module to be created and customised in
order to make the content relevant to whichever programme the module is taught in.
Skills we Teach
All of the software covered in the module is free and, in many cases, is open source
and cross platform, enabling our students to download and experiment with it on their
own hardware at no financial loss. We
will outline here the core competences,
and explain why they have been
included and what software we use with
the students to help develop them.
Use of PC
Maintenance
Tools
Experience has shown us that the vast
majority of problems students encounter
when trying to make best use of IT
are caused by a poorly maintained
computer. In order to facilitate the
smooth running of the module we aim to
show all our students how to look after
and maintain their computers so that they
continue to run smoothly and remain
trouble free.
Presently the software we show them is
CCleaner, Spybot - Search & Destroy
and Microsoft Security Essentials.
Using the Internet
to Research and
Collaborate
Although the module is geared towards
providing our students with transferable
employability skills, we also use this as
an opportunity for them to acquire robust
digital research skills. We show them
how to combine the use of the following:
using Web browsers effectively•
Google Scholar•
Delicious•
Google Reader•
Evernote•
creating online surveys using Google•
Docs Forms
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2. www.heacademy.ac.uk/hlst 19
Working
Collaboratively
One of the main benefits of working
digitally is the ability to work both
synchronously and asynchronously on
projects with others, irrespective of their
geographical location. We believe that
empowering our students to make best
use of such technologies is paramount in
preparing them for the working world.
It also allows them to work effectively
on group tasks while they continue
their academic studies. To facilitate
this we cover communicating and
working with others using Skype and
creating documents collaboratively using
Google Docs.
Social Networking
for Employability
In this section we show our students
how they can promote themselves to
prospective employers by creating and
managing their own personal brand (see
pages 2–3). This is done by showing
them how to create an electronic
portfolio using Google sites and then
promote its use, as well as engaging
with prospective employers via social
networking tools: Facebook, Twitter,
Tumblr and LinkedIn.
Digital File
Organisation and
Management
Managing files and reference materials
can be a daunting task. The acquisition
of this skill is key to all aspects of
student work, including research, as it
can facilitate good organisation and
working practice. Making sure that
files are correctly named for ease of
reference and the creation of useful,
clearly designated folders will allow
students to remove some of the confusion
from within their work. The inclusion of
Dropbox allows students to synchronise
files across multiple computers and online, and share files with others for
collaborative research.
Data Security
In this section we cover several aspects relating to the security of digital information,
outlining what employees and employers can do to protect sensitive information from
being released, lost or stolen. In addition to this we also show individuals can stay
safe online whilst managing their own digital identities.
Data Processing
The ability to convert raw data into meaningful information is an essential skill to
any prospective employer. So in this section we cover the use of Microsoft Office in
supporting the collation, visualisation and presentation of data into meaningful reports
and presentations in order to assist our students in the administrative tasks that they will
encounter in the working world.
Legislation
The digital revolution has brought with it the need for its own set of laws to regulate,
monitor and control the practices that individuals and employers undertake. There are
three main acts governing ICT – the Data Protection Act (1998), Computer Misuse
Act, and Copyright Designs & Patents Act – and it is important that students are
aware of these acts and what they mean, hence their inclusion within the module.
Health and Safety
In encouraging our students to make best use of digital technologies, we also
recognise that there is an increased risk of them developing the health problems
associated with the regular use of computers such as stress, eyestrain, and injuries
to the wrists, neck and back. Because of this we provide our students with tips and
techniques they can use to minimise the risks involved, and also give them a sound
understanding of the actions future employers must take in order to care for their
personal well being.
Digital Publishing and Multimedia
The Internet provides a valuable forum for publishing and in this section we aim to
provide the student with a portfolio of digital skills allowing them to generate, design
and publish their work online in the form of digital booklets created by using PDF
Online and Yudu.
Conclusion
The purpose of the module is not to train students in how to use specific pieces of
software, but rather provide them with a robust education in how to make best use of
genres of software to work smarter, not harder. By the time they graduate, the specific
pieces of software they have encountered on the module may well have changed, but
the knowledge and understanding they have developed will enable them to identify
the right software tools to use to produce the desired outputs. We hope to have
supported them in developing their confidence and competence in making best use of
digital technologies, allowing them to maximise their full potential, both as a student
and as a graduate in the working world.
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