Tuesday, May 07, 2013

10 Essential Digital Skills for Graduates via @mashable

It's close to the end of Semester II and the time of year when final year students are approaching their last days as undergraduates. In addition to the uncertainty and adventure ahead, there is also some value in looking back and seeing what students have learned during their time in College and can these skills and knowledge help get a job. One thing that students should certainly have nowadays are some digital skills.

Matt Petronzio, writing for Mashable, says Don't Leave College Without These 10 Digital Skills. They are:

  1. Setting Up a Wi-Fi Network
  2. Backing Up to the Cloud
  3. Basic Photo Editing (Photoshop)
  4. Basic Video Editing (Final Cut Pro)
  5. Google Drive and Microsoft Office (Seriously)
  6. HTML and Basic Coding
  7. Setting Up a Website and Domain
  8. Converting File Formats
  9. Online Banking
  10. Branding Yourself

Source: Mashable

I certainly had none of these when graduating in 1983, but then that's no surprise as most had not been invented yet! One thing that strikes me about above is that these skills are now developing into everyday skills for people to be able to manage their digital lives, not just skills that you learn in College. I see teenagers in secondary school who are able to do much of above as technology gets smarter and easier to use. I should add that it is hard to expect students to know all these skills without Colleges providing the facilities to learn them. Should they be part of all courses? A Digital Skills module based on above ten points would be an ideal general module for all students to take - that way they will not leave College without these skills.

The good news from Petronzio is that these skills are "guaranteed to increase your overall digital know-how, and you can learn them all on your own". So if you are graduating soon, and do not have these skills - it's time to start learning.

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