Digital Capabilities
Digital Capabilities Pilot
The University Graduate Framework lists “digitally capable” as one of 12 important graduate attributes. Digital capabilities support academic development and support readiness for the future.
The University is piloting the Jisc Discovery Tool with students and colleagues. Tool helps students reflect on their digital capabilities and signposts resources that will help them to increase their confidence. Our pilot is runnng up to June 2024.
About the JISC Discovery Tool
Students complete a 10-minute questionnaire and their answers are used to build a personal graph mapping their confidence across the elements of the Jisc Digital Capability Framework.
The six elements are:
- Digital proficiency and productivity (functional skills)
- Information, data and media literacies (critical use)
- Digital creation, problem-solving and innovation (creative production)
- Digital communication, collaboration and participation (participation)
- Digital learning and development (development)
- Digital identity and wellbeing (self-actualising)
The Tool also guides students to curated resources that support the development of digital capabilities.
As part of our implementation of the Tool we have also created a NU Digital Capabilities Portal – signposting University specific resources.
Students can complete the survey questions multiple times and compares results eg at the beginning and end of a stage or work placement.
Introducing my students to the Discovery Tool
The Discovery Tool is licenced for use by all students at Newcastle University up to June 2024. The question sets have been desgined for UG and PGT students.
On the first use students need to create an account with JISC.
The Project group has created a number of resources to support the use of the Tool:
- Digital Capabilities (Student facing page on the ASK website)
- In-class lesson plan and slides (PowerPoint slides for an in-class Discover your Digital Capabilities session and a lesson outline in Word)
- Step-by-step instructions (Word document for students)
- A sample student Discovery Tool report.
Students can also find the Jisc Digital Capabilities Framework on NU Reflect: they can use this to tag reflections with relevant parts of the framework where they have made improvements or increased confidence with digital skills. They will need to add the framework into their profiles, using the simple process in this guidance document: How to add the Jisc digital capabilities framework to your NU Reflect profile.
Find out more
Get in touch with the Digital Capabilities Project team by emailing learningandteaching@newcastle.ac.uk for more information.
This project is a collaboration between NUIT, LTDS, the Library, FMS-TEL and Organisational Development.