{"id":2251,"date":"2024-02-28T12:06:34","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T12:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/digitalbuzzuoe\/?p=2251"},"modified":"2024-03-27T10:11:27","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T10:11:27","slug":"digitalskillsmeans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/digitalbuzzuoe\/digitalskillsmeans\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Skills at the University of Exeter – What do we mean by digital skills?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One theme which runs throughout our 2030 digital strategy<\/a> is that “we will find ways for people to develop digital skills quickly and apply them to real working situations”. We know that in order to deliver our vision of becoming ‘the most accessible and connected university destination for any user’, we must ensure we have the capabilities in place to do so. Katie Steen and Dave Weller are our Digital Skills Leads in the Digital team at the University of Exeter, focusing on finding these ways for our University community to develop their digital skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the first blog post in a series centred around digital skills at the University of Exeter, defining what we really mean by ‘digital skills’. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What are digital skills? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As Digital Skills Leads, it’s the question we’re asked the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s understandable – our remit is to digitally upskill all staff, students, and the wider community of the University. Since we came into post in August 2023, we’ve engaged with 150+ colleagues and almost everyone has asked us to define ‘digital skills’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s take a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Defining digital skills<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The definition changes depending on who you ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some institutions, like the Department for Education, jump straight to giving a framework and list of skills and miss giving an overarching definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others, like UNESCO<\/a>, say that digital skills are \u2018the ability to use digital technologies in various ways, such as accessing information, creating content, collaborating online, and developing software\u2019. They then continue to categorise these within a framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neither of these feels like a particularly accessible definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So instead, we’re working with a definition created by JISC<\/a>, an organisation that works with higher education institutions. JISC defines digital skills as “those which equip someone to live, learn and work in a digital society”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why are digital skills important for individuals?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When people ask us to define digital skills, I believe they’re also trying to understand how relevant digital skills are for them. With digital tools reaching into every aspect of our society, better digital skills can improve our quality of life. They can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n