Week 1: Your digital life

Introduction

This week, you will be thinking about how you use the internet in everyday life, and how far technology affects the way you do things.

But firstly, why is ‘digital’ so important? Here are a few reasons.

Today you can make payments using mobile apps such as KBZ or CB Pay if you prefer not to carry lots of cash in your pocket, or you can make online payments when ordering goods online. In the near future, technology will influence every area of your life and the speed of change is getting faster and faster.

Your fluency in digital skills is increasingly essential for day-to-day activities at work too, or for getting a better job.

At the end of this week you will have:

• identified and reflected on your current use of online technologies
• thought about how confident you are online
• started your reflective journal

You will be accompanied throughout your journey by Kyaw Win, a 20-year-old distance education university student. Kyaw Win lives in Mawlamyine, the fourth largest city in Myanmar. He is studying English as his major and is now in his final year and is taking this course because he wants to improve his digital skills in order to get a better job. He will share his reflections with you and how he is putting what he has learned into practice each week. You will also meet Mon Mon, a mother of young children who doesn’t want to be technologically left behind by her children, Zin Min Thant, a businessman who wants to reconnect with his engineering background, and Banjar, a young chef with a passion for football, at certain points in the course in order to have a wider understanding of the digital lives of your fellow citizens.

1 The importance of being digital

In recent years, Myanmar has seen rapid growth in ownership of smart phones and access to the internet.

Back in 2010, the percentage of population who accessed to internet was less than 0.3 per cent, amounting to a mere 130,000 users but by 2016, there were 13 million internet users. This is a growth of 100 times within six years and such growth is expected to continue (Myanmar Times 2018).

However, some people are still excluded. This is often because they lack the opportunities to access the internet or cannot afford a smart phone.

There are all sorts of benefits for society when people and organisations are able to use the internet to full effect. On an individual level, gaining digital skills can reduce isolation, increase career prospects and enable people to access health or education information. For organisations, becoming more digital is likely to increase visibility, efficiency and competitiveness. For society in general, being digitally confident empowers people to make their voices heard on issues that are important to them. Digital skills are also very important when it comes to studying.

There is more to succeeding online than just knowing how to do specific tasks. It is also important to be able to:

• judge who and what you can trust
• understand the essentials of ethical behaviour online
• communicate well with others.

Being ‘digital’ is about using technology to achieve your goals, whether those are related to work, everyday life or study. It involves thinking critically and making the decisions that are right for you and your life.

In the next section you will identify your starting point for this course by thinking about what technologies you currently use and what you do online.

2 How digital are you?

The following short activity is designed to provide you with a general overview of the digital skills you use in everyday life.

The technology you use is likely to depend on your individual needs and preferences. It also depends on the nature of your work and job requirements, or could be influenced by your family and friends. It could include any or all of the following:

• mobile or smartphone
• laptop or desktop computer
• tablet (e.g. iPad or Samsung Tab)
• MP3 player (e.g. iPod)
• games console.

The types of activities mentioned in the quiz reflect some everyday uses of technology. During the rest of this week you will look in more detail at some of the skills involved in these activities, as preparation for the rest of the course.

It’s likely that you will only do some tasks once in a while – for example, applying for a job or applying to a university or college to study a certificate, diploma or degree. It may therefore take some time to feel confident about what you’re doing and, of course, every website will be slightly different. Succeeding in a digital world is about developing your confidence so that you can take on new challenges as they arise.

Now is a good time to make a note in your reflective journal of the skills and knowledge you gained and how you are planning to use them in future. If you haven't already downloaded a reflective journal, you should do so now.

3 Digital skills for everyday life

Figure 1 Social media keyboard

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Image of keyboard with social media icons on the keys.

Figure 1 Social media keyboard

The fundamental skills for everyday life include:

• Finding, managing and storing digital information and content. For example, using a search engine to find information and bookmarking useful websites and services.
• Communicating, interacting, collaborating, sharing and connecting with others. For example, using email, instant messaging or social media.
• Buying and selling goods and services, organising your finances and using digital government services. For example, ordering shopping online, managing a bank account or booking travel.
• Solving problems and finding solutions using digital tools. For example, teaching yourself simple tasks using tutorials, or using feedback from other internet users to solve common problems.
• Creating basic digital content in order to engage with digital communities and organisations. For example, creating a social media post, creating a text document such as a CV, creating and sharing a photo album or creating and sharing feedback about products and services.

(Go ON UK, 2015)

Safety is a really important aspect of life online. It can involve:

• managing your digital identity
• assessing the accuracy of sources of information
• regularly updating antivirus software on your mobile and computer
• using the right security settings
• avoiding scams and frauds
• protecting your privacy
• respecting the privacy of others.

The questions you answered in Activity 1 give you an overview idea about how familiar you are with everyday digital skills and how often you use them.

For the rest of this week you will have the opportunity to practise your skills in searching the internet, using social media and solving an everyday problem using online information.

You may not be familiar with some online skills, so here are some videos that include tutorials for using the Chrome and Firefox web browsers:

3.1 Everyday transactions

Many transactions can now be done online – for example, ordering your shopping or booking your travel, applying for a university place or scholarship. Being able to manage digital information will help you to find what you need quickly and locate it again easily. This is really helpful when you’re carrying out such everyday tasks.

In Activity 2 you will use the knowledge and skills you have learnt in previous sessions to practise finding information, comparing prices and keeping track of what you have found out. The purpose of the activity is to find out how confident you are in doing this kind of online task, rather than to learn how to use a particular website in detail.

Figure 2 Everyday transactions

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Image of a woman relaxing on a beach

Figure 2 Everyday transactions

In the next section you will explore use of social media.

3.2 Using social media

Communication is one of the most important digital skills. In everyday life it can include:

• keeping in touch using email, instant messaging, video calls (such as Viber) and social media
• posting on forums to connect with communities
• communicating with organisations about their products and services.

‘Creating’ is about using something digital you’ve made in order to express yourself or communicate with others. It could be words (for example, a text document) or media (for example, images and videos).

Figure 3 Visual definition of social networking

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Image of words that define social networking: Social networking in the centre surrounded by fun, business, friendship, communication, collaboration.

Figure 3 Visual definition of social networking

Social media is an important tool for communicating and creating (and sharing what you have created) and will be the focus of the next activity. If you are new to the world of social networking, you might wonder why you should get involved with it. The following activity gives you a chance to explore some of the benefits.

You may have identified a number of ways in which social networks could be useful to you. Organisations have many Facebook pages, some set up officially, and others set up informally, by students, users, customers, etc. These are both a source of interesting news and a way of giving and receiving support. For students, Facebook communities can be a valuable way of connecting with fellow learners.

Now you have completed this Section, you may wish to record any further thoughts about social networking you may have in your reflective journal.

3.3 Problem-solving

The final skill to consider is problem-solving. Online resources and networks can be very useful when it comes to solving everyday conundrums. This includes:

• teaching yourself simple tasks using video tutorials
• using feedback from other internet users to solve common problems
• accessing support services.

Activity 1 included some of the typical scenarios you might encounter in everyday life, such as putting together a free-standing fan, or doing an online job or university application. Often, the most useful solution is probably for someone to show you.

Later in this course, you’ll explore some of the online tools and applications (apps) that can help you to solve particular problems quickly. You’ll also learn how to assess the reliability of information you find online. For now though, you will focus on the potential of videos to help with all kinds of practical tasks, whether that’s putting up a shelf or learning to play the harp. The following activity gives you the opportunity to solve an everyday household problem using resources available on the internet.

Problem-solving skills are not just relevant to these kinds of practical questions, but are also highly important in the workplace.

The other skills you have looked at (such as finding and managing information, and communicating and creating) can really help you when you’re studying, and also in the workplace.

4 Reflection

Whenever you learn new skills, it’s important to take the time to reflect on your progress.

Let’s hear from Kyaw Win about his reflections on this first week of study.

5 Week 1 quiz

Now it’s time to review your learning in the end-of-session quiz.

Week 1 Quiz

Open the quiz in a new window or tab (by holding ctrl [or cmd on a Mac] when you click the link), then return here when you have done it.

6 Summary

Well done! You have completed the first week of this course on digital skills.

You have:

• reviewed some basic digital skills for everyday life
• practised using digital skills for finding information, communicating, creating and problem-solving
• created a reflective journal.

You have learned:

• the benefits of being able to use the internet
• what the basic digital skills for everyday life are
• how social networking can be useful to you.

Keep practising these skills in your day-to-day activities as you will gain confidence and become more digitally smart. Next week you will learn more about the skills you need to be effective in a digital world.

You may now go to Week 2.