10 Tech Skills Needed for Working in a Digital World

Post date: Oct 16, 2015 5:46:38 PM

Blog Post For the week of Oct. 16, 2015

Top 10 Tech Skills Needed for working In a Digital World

1. How to create file folders to organize work either in Windows or Google Docs. In Windows, right click and choose new—folder and name it. Generally done inside Documents or Pictures; I set up a folder for each semester and date it (Fall 2015) and then have a series of folders inside. In Google Docs, select NEW and choose folder. Without folders, people are staring at a mass of documents (usually on a flash drive) and not sure how to find what they need.

2. How to sort a folder: I find two ways most helpful. Click on the column for dates and the most recent documents pop up in chronological order. Or, click on the column for names and the folder will sort itself into alphabetical order. Of course, you can also type a keyword up in the search bar of the folder.

3. How to save/name files (not agenda.docx but Oct14Department Meeting agenda.docx). Good file names help your users know which ones to open up. Do a “save as” in Word and click inside the dialogue box to change the file name. In Google Docs, click up in the left hand corner and you can change the file name.

4. How to use cloud based storage vs. flash drives. Midterm is the official start of the Panic Season as tired students leave their teeny flash drives behind in computer labs, where they either get stolen by other students or dumped into a tiny, undignified flash drive grave yard on a counter in a corner of the lab. So many of my students use Gmail, so I show them Google Drive/Docs and tell them to save things here and even if they don’t open them up and edit in Google Docs, they are ahead of the game.

5. How to download a document, open it up, add information and resave/rename. This has been more difficult than I would have predicted, with so many young allegedly tech savvy students. Some are thrown off by terminology—save TARGET as? Some bring their own laptops and don’t own a mouse and cannot figure out how to use the built-in track pad.

6. How to navigate a webpage, paying attention to details like file name, placement of content and other clues. In other words, if the material is chunked up into seven units, with Unit 1 the first week of class and we are at midterm, week 8, do you see a folder that refers to Week 8? (Unit 4 – week 8)

7. How to complete a worksheet or quiz online. Reading the instructions and figuring out the requirements is part of this process: do you use any materials or your textbook? How much time do you have? Can you take a break and save your work or will you lose it all if you close out without finishing? How much do you need to write for a five point essay question – or a ten point essay question?

8. The need to check official email DAILY: most work places will use email so if you do not get in the habit of checking it, you will miss important information, deadlines, meetings, and more!

9. Just because we have a phone app for our new Course Management System, it doesn’t mean that I am going to have things graded the day they are due! Stop staring at your tiny screen already!

10. Speaking of that phone app, remember there is a calendar with due dates for our course. That means that you are now responsible for managing your time and completing those assignments without a lot of nagging or reminders from me. :^)

Top 5 Soft Skills

1. Show up! Be dependable.

2. Speak up! Ask questions when you don’t understand something.

3. Come Prepared! Do the homework—read the materials, be ready to discuss

4. Treat class like it is your work – organize materials in a binder. Bring along a pen or pencil and paper to take notes.

5. Work with others respectfully and think of the Golden Rule (Do unto Others as You would have Done to you)

Last updated Oct. 16, 2015