Digital Skills and Competencies
Students need to acquire the digital skills required to function in a blended learning environment and the world of work, as well as acquiring discipline-specific digital specialisations. The UFS settled on the following definition of digital competency: “Digital competency includes the ability to engage with, use and create technologies to enable learning and working in a digital society.”
Conducting a comprehensive literature review, including a review of 25 existing digital frameworks around the world, revealed that although there were existing frameworks for an undertaking of this kind, there were very few examples of implementation – and certainly not in a higher education context. So, it was up to the UFS to map their own pathway to digital literacy.
Students and staff can access this pathway by logging into Blackboard and accessing the Digital Skills and Competencies for Students organization. Once logged in, you will see the following information:
Students can obtain a Level 1, 2 and 3 certificate, by passing the quizzes for each theme in that level on Blackboard. Level 1 is included in UFSS to ensure all first students have at least the basic digital skills required to be successful at university. We are working closely with staff to map the digital skills into the curricula and co-curricula space in order to intentionally integrate these skills into discipline specific assessments. This allows for skills transfer, and ensures our students can work in a digitalised, post-pandemic world of work.
In the CTL external review in 2023, the Digital Skills and Competencies pathway received commendations for its innovation and potential impact on the employability and work readiness of students. The team was invited by SAGEA to present a webinar on Digital Skills as part of SAGEA’s Graduate Attributes Series, and received positive reviews from the 52 companies in attendance. Additionally the SAGEA team indicated that this webinar was voted most significant for 2023 and the content was put forward as a blog contribution to The International Network of Employers and University Career Services (INEUCS).
Contact usE:
digitalskills@ufs.ac.za