Student digital journey map
Introduction
What better is there than peer support when venturing into unknown digital waters? But such friends cannot always be there and existing guidance can be very impersonal and arid. So we have created this page where you can find tips, encouragement and support from your peers at any time.
Welcome to your digital literacy journey map
Each tile contains a short video clip or short top tip that your learning peers have provided. Click the tiles to see what your peers have to say.
*In the videos, audio should be paused before moving on to the next video*
Academic Tip
Motivation
Tech Tip
Experience
Support
Welcome to university
A bit nervous about starting?
How do I enrol?
Working and studying?
A good laptop is your best friend
Always have a plan B!
University Support
There I go again, I pressed the wrong button!
Find yourself a buddy
Have a play
Progress!
Excel: Not just for accounting
Get ahead in note taking
Reviewing your work
Find those research papers
Don't be afraid
Get organised!
Find university platforms
Annotate PDFs
Use those office hours
Welcome to University
Welcome to our Digital literacy journey. Click on the tiles along the way to discover top tips, shared experiences and ‘what I wish I knew’ advice from students like you.
A bit nervous about starting?
Cecile Mevel offers her advice to new starters
How do I enrol?
“...I must say I do have extreme anxiety when I have to go through the enrolment process because I'm thinking...if I muck this up, something terrible is going to happen. And it's always like, when you get to the end of it, and you've...ticked all those little boxes with green ticks you think, yes, goodness me, I finished it.”
BA Counselling and Psychotherapeutic Relation Student (part time)
Enrolment is done once a year, every year, so it’s easy to forget what information you entered. Ask for help the first time and take screen shots so you can remind yourself each subsequent year.
Working and studying?
“…So for my undergraduate studies I use Edge. And for my work, I use Firefox, because otherwise I would have to go in and log out and log back in.”
BA (Hons) Social Studies Student (part time)
If you are working and studying you may have two accounts. Some browsers allow you to set up multiple profiles to easily switch between two, or you can use a separate browser for each so you can avoid logging in and out all the time.
A good laptop is your best friend
Check your university's hardship fund if you are struggling with the cost of a laptop. Also, be mindful that if have a disability you may be able to purchase supportive software and hardware through Disabled Student's Allowance (DSA), contact your university's disability team for details.
Always have a plan B!
“Always have a plan B! This may be backing up documents/ data on hardware or online, keeping in mind the pros and cons of each. Also to be aware of the need of internet connection for resources that one might need to use.”
Anon – Student Minds Panel Student
There are numerous cloud storage options including Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. Be sure to save your important documents somewhere you can retrieve them.
University support
There are many sources of support available to you during your studies, find out how you access them and use them!
There I go again, I pressed the wrong button!
“There I go again, pressed the wrong button! However, after the initial nervousness, IT Helpdesk came to the rescue on many an occasion. Their patience and ability to 'decipher' any problem or give advice; I class as legendary. Thankfully, the calls to them are less frequent, I am becoming more confident, and do not worry about the Digital Literacy as much. Although [I] acknowledge I still have some way to go before [being] fully conversant. It is best to ask, always ask and the support is there. Nobody minds.”
BA (Hons) Social Studies Student (part time)
Find a buddy
An informal network of peers can be helpful for all those tech questions, big and small.
Have a play
“…I'm okay, I can manage what I'm doing now, but I think it does need a little bit of, pre like preparation, in terms of IT. I mean say, if you have a meeting, just try the link in advance and try to navigate around either Microsoft teams or zoom. Yeah, it's a little bit of work in advance”
BA (Hons) English & Cultural Studies Student
If you are new to Teams or Zoom, try meeting online with friends and have a play with all the features. Practice joining and leaving when there is no pressure.
Progress!
“Having been out of the workplace for a number of years, whilst technology had moved on, my IT skills had not. I am 64 and very much part of the 'pre-computer generation' so my understanding and technological knowledge can, at best, be described as somewhat limited. For example I was initially wary of zoom, whereas now I am as comfortable with zoom as walking into a seminar.”
BA (Hons) Social Studies Student (part time)
Not just for accounting
“Using freeze pane [in the view menu in excel] to organise your data.”
Anon – Student Minds Panel Student
Excel can be used to log the books and research papers you have read, this tip can help you organise that data to be easily reviewed.
Get ahead with note taking
Reviewing your work
“Use the Read Aloud feature in Microsoft Word’s Review tab to have your written work read to you (helpful when reviewing your essay before submission)”
Anon - Student Minds Student panellist
Find those research papers
“Instead of clicking on the title in Google Scholars, check to see if there’s a direct download link on the right”
Anon - Student Minds Student panellist
Universities have subscriptions to online journal papers which you can access when logged into your university account. Downloadable papers are shown on the right-hand side of the screen in google scholar.
Don't be afraid...
Get organised!
“Using google sheets or other forms of apps for to-do lists/time management. Use [an] external cloud drive to save your work!”
Anon - Student Minds Student Panellist
Browse these tips and work out the best way to manage yourself and your studies. There are lots of tools to help you organise yourself.
Find university platforms
"I would give advice to add shortcut[s] and bookmark these on [your] desktop and taskbar… I find Google or Chrome easier to access than other browser[s]. In fact any sites that you need regularly… add them on [your] desktop and bookmark. It helps to reduce overwhelming feelings when you start and save you time after; once workload increases.”
Cecile Mevel - Final Year Student, BA (Hons) Social Studies
Universities have various platforms to keep track of modules, course work and enrolment etc. Bookmark access to these in a browser or create shortcuts on your desktop so that you can easily find them again.
Annotate PDFs
Your university’s IT department can help you find the right software for this helpful tip.
Make use of those 'office hours'
Academics have set office hours, use that time to ask questions to be clear on where you can find techie help.
Acknowledgements
The Positive Digital Practices team would like to acknowledge and thank the CLL students and the panel members of the Student Minds student panel for their help in creating this resource. They were generous with their time, experience and ideas and we are very grateful. Thanks also to Jess Humphreys and Jim Judges for their work on the co-creation workshops. Finally, thanks to Yue Zhou and Bendik Andersen, who are the dream team behind the design and technical elements of this resource.
*Student Minds are a partner on the project which helped developed this resource.
Tell us what you think...
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