Our Digital Insights survey is now open! Responses are anonymous but play a huge part in the development of our digital development. This year it’s more important than ever to have your say, as the University is looking at the Digital Learning Environment in order to make tangible improvements to your learning. The Jisc Digital Experience Insights Survey aids us in our work to continuously enhance the student experience. As well as looking at our own data, we will be able to compare our results with other education providers and benchmarking data across institutions. Find a link to complete the survey here, it takes ten minutes to complete: Digital Insights Survey.

Do you have software for

• Text to Speech
• Speech to Text
• Mind mapping

Not sure how to use the assistive technology to support your studies?

Disability Services are running drop-in sessions on Tuesday 14th November and Wednesday the 15th November in the Arts and Social Sciences Library from 10am-3pm to help out.

Following on from the great work of our Student Digital Champions, we are keen to hire some more students to work with us again starting in January 2024.

Student Digital Champion 

The UoB Digital Education Office (DEO) are looking for passionate students to work with us to ensure that all students can get the most out of their digital and blended learning experiences at Bristol. As a Student Digital Champion, you will be talking to students, course reps and staff members to hear what is or isn’t working in our online learning environments, and identify good practice in teaching and assessment. You will be working as a team, with the DEO and other Student Digital Champions, to identify and address key challenges the student body are facing when learning in an online, blended or hybrid environment, and then propose, pilot and implement practical solutions. In addition, you’ll be adding your own personal experiences and feedback to the work of the DEO, and helping us shape the work we do in real time. To apply for this role, you need to be a current student at the University of Bristol. You’ll be working an average of 3 hours per week spanning from January to December. 

You can read more about how our previous students have found the role in our past blog posts.

• Student Digital Champion Application Pack.
• You can apply for this role using this form.
• The deadline for applying for this role will be 19th November 2023.
• Duration of contract: Fixed-term from the 8th January 2024 to 2oth December 2024. Please note if you are a final year student your contract will finish in August 2024.

Written by Emma Yi Kwan Lau, Student Digital Champion.

The start of November means we are fully on our way into term! As the dust settles on freshers, it’s time for all of us to start preparing ourselves for our studies and continue with our learning. Academic work at the university requires us to be competent and confident at our digital skills. These skills may be a bit rusty to us as returners after a long summer break. They may also be entirely new to all our freshers. The comprehensive list of digital skills is long, however, I would like to take this opportunity to share my experiences studying at the Bristol and the top skills that I find useful for my learning.

Experiences as an international  student

Some of you may be in the same boat as me – coming abroad to the UK for higher education. It may be your first time leaving home and living on your own. It may be your first time to use English as the only teaching language. Everything may seem a bit daunting and overwhelming. If you are a new student, everything is probably new and unfamiliar to you. There are some tips that I would like to share with you and hopefully that may help to relieve your nerves. Even if you are a returning student, you may still experience a shock after a long summer break so the following tips can also be helpful to you.

A lot of us would have heard of cultural shock. However, what exactly is cultural shock? It refers to feelings of uncertainty, confusion, or anxiety that people may experience when moving to new country or surroundings.  

Everything in the UK can be very different from home if it is your first time moving away from your home country. To minimise cultural shock, it is crucial to keep yourself busy. Joining societies is a great way to mingle with people and keep yourself away from experiencing cultural shock. There are many cultural societies which offer platforms to meet students from your home country or those with similar cultural backgrounds.

Other than extracurricular activities, it is also worth considering engaging in different job opportunities offered by the university. Not only will you make friends, but it’s also is a fantastic opportunity to boost your CV and gain skills to be ready for your future career.

Regardless of our cultural backgrounds, all students face the same difficulties in transitioning from college or high school to university. Firstly, higher education requires more independent learning. Therefore, self-discipline and time management become more important. Also, there are more online components in the university’s teaching syllabus. This is why the university offers a range of support to freshers to help with the transition.

This shock is also applicable to our returners. After a long summer break, it may take a while for us to resettle in. In addition, the content becomes more difficult as we progress to senior years (year 2/3/4/5). Therefore, I would like to introduce the five skills to our returners too. 

Digital Notetaking

As the new academic year starts, a lot of us may start trialling new note taking methods by using a different apps. Three popular note taking platforms are called Notion, OneNote and Evernote. They all have their pros and cons. However, the key consideration in digital note taking is not exactly about the application we use, it’s more about considering how we use it, and does it fit into the way we work. I highly recommend my peers to do research on the application they decide to use to ensure it suits them.

Selecting Digital tools

Speaking of us picking new note taking applications, we should also think about selecting other digital tools. An example of  a digital tool is  a digital note taking platform that we mentioned above. Other aspects that digital tools help with include networking, blogging, and timetabling. As we may be aware, independent learning is an important part of studying whilst at the university. Learning how to select the right apps will be vital for us. I would also recommend having a look at the Appinion series on DigiTalk where me and other students share experiences of using various digital tools.

Office 365

Speaking of digital tools, we must not forget about Microsoft 365. It is a service that provides access to a suite of Microsoft Office applications and other productivity services. It includes popular applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, as well as other services such as OneDrive, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams.  

As a student at the University of Bristol, we have free access to all features of Microsoft 365. To explore all functions of Microsoft 365 and how to install, have a read of the resource below offered by the DEO – Microsoft 365 Support – Office 365 help (sharepoint.com) .  

Blackboard

Blackboard is the main platform where all teaching materials are uploaded and delivered if the session is asynchronous or live online. It may all be familiar to our returners. It would be worth both our freshers and returners having a look at Digitally Ready course to familiarise the layout and functions of Blackboard.

Making the most of the services offered at the University

We have mentioned various applications we can use to maximise our digital learning experiences whilst at the university. It is also worth noting that the importance of utilising other university services online. These include the Study skill services, Library services, Disability services and IT services. Many resources are available online and you can navigate to relevant webpages through Blackboard. There is also a section in Digitally Ready course where you can explore the roles of study skill and library services, as well as how to reach out for help.

Working as a Student Digital Champion

One of the job opportunities offered by the university is  a Student Digital Champion. This year I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to be part of the student worker team at the Digital Education Office (DEO).

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, my first year of teaching was altered into a blended learning method with majority of the teaching online and pre-recorded. There were occasions in which our cohort faced difficulties in accessing the teaching resources. This experience made me realised the importance of digital experiences at University. Therefore, when the opportunity to work with the DEO came up earlier this year, I applied to the job instantly I saw it on the career portal.

My job is to help improve students’ digital experiences by raising awareness through blogs and interacting with staff members at DEO. Very often, my job only requires me to work online and have regular online meetings with the staff. However, there were also in-person opportunities for me to interact with teaching staff to give students’ perspectives at staff meetings. My communication skills, both written and verbal, have improved significantly throughout this year with all the opportunities I was offered. I also learnt to be more proactive and take the initiative to create new projects to enhance students’ experiences whilst at university. These are all important skills employers are looking for when we apply for jobs. Therefore, I will definitely recommend my peers to join the team. It is a meaningful job and which you will be able to sharpen your skills.

Useful resources 

• Bristol SU – https://www.bristolsu.org.uk/  
  • https://www.bristolsu.org.uk/voice/officers/international-students
  • https://www.bristolsu.org.uk/groups/bristol-su-international-students-network-2199
• Digitally ready course 
• Learning Online – Student Support
• IT services – IT Services | IT Services | University of Bristol 
• Disability services – Disability support | Current students | University of Bristol 
• Study Skills
• Global Lounge
• Library Services
• Careers Service

Netiquette describes the written and unwritten rules of conduct for respectful and appropriate communication online. The word is a fusion of “net” (short for internet) and “etiquette,” and it is the code of behaviour that governs online interactions. Just as we abide by social norms and conventions in our physical world, it’s equally essential to understand and practice proper etiquette in the digital world.

Moving through school, college and university provides students with a variety of experiences and exposures to different communication styles and expectations. This helps you to adapt and develop a versatile set of netiquette skills. Resources such as the Digitally Ready course and Staying Safe Online Guidelines exist to support this transition and establish appropriate standards.

Understanding appropriate netiquette is an invaluable skill that goes beyond your academic pursuits – it’s a set of principles that will serve you well in job interviews, future workplaces, and networking opportunities.

In this discussion, Student Digital Champions, Conor and Nia delve into what netiquette entails, why it is crucial during your studies, and how it will continue to shape your professional careers. By the end, we hope you will have a broader understanding of how observing proper online etiquette can enhance your learning experience and establish a positive online presence that will benefit you for years to come.

Conor and Nia discussed a whole host of interesting subjects in this chat, ranging from online lectures they have experienced, to how to write an email. Some really good thoughts to reflect on when we start thinking about what is best for our own online practice. Our understanding of netiquette will change and develop as we change and develop as learners and as workers. It’s important to remember that we won’t always get things right first time, but as you can tell from Conor and Nia’s discussion these are all learning curves that every one of us will experience, and it’s good to engage and share our thoughts about the subject.

Composing an email always depends on context, but it’s good to know the types of things we could include in it. Take a look at the following question and head to the Menti polling page to add in your answers. You will be able to view the results below.

Which of the below have you considered including in an email?

• Signature
• Scheduling
• Emoji
• Preference for accessible content
• Response time expectations
• Pronouns

The information presented in this blog post is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice or expertise in any field. While we have strived to provide accurate and up-to-date information, the authors are students and may not have comprehensive knowledge of all the topics discussed.

A great app will keep you glued to your device. Whether it’s lifestyle, social media, utility, gaming, productivity or news; apps are an essential part of student life.
Each month we challenge our Student Digital Champions to delve into a new category, delivering fresh perspectives and making proclamations for essential applications. Which features are dumb? What should be at the tip of your thumb?

Written by Hannah Harrison, Bibiana Lebersorger, Samantha Travers-Spencer, Emma Yi Kwan Lau, Katie Stoker, Conor Macdonald, and Gen Kawaguchi.

July: Content creation

Social media is a platform where amateur content creators have an opportunity to shine. Professional content still has its place, but doesn’t dominate the market. Amateur creators may not have the same level of technical expertise, resources, or production value. But make up for it with authenticity, uniqueness and artistic freedom.

It’s now possible to generate captivating content merely with an original idea, enthusiasm, and a mobile device. With the continued emergence of generative AI tools, it is possible to fill gaps in your skillset, bypassing these would-be stumbling blocks. For better and for worse, these digital platforms are more egalitarian, fostering a greater equality of opportunity.

CapCut

Capcut is an all-in-one free video editor, available both on computer and mobile app. With a huge range of visual features including filters, overlays, stickers and text, coupled with audio editing features such as adding sound effects and TikTok music, the creative possibilities are endless. Capcut also includes features to improve accessibility such as auto captioning, and is perfect for beginners to video editing, as it is easy to use and there are many tutorials online. Recently, CapCut has also added AI driven features such as auto-cut, colour correction and a ChatGPT-esque script generator.

Pros

• Completely free, with hundreds of features
• Easy to use layout
• Option to crop video before upload – saves time
• Option to add captions to make your videos more accessible
• Copyright checks available
• Options to remove audio or overlay with different sounds
• Compatible with TikTok
• Templates available and sorted by category so you can find the right inspiration
• Integrated AI tools
• Collaborative options for sharing and working on content as a team

Cons

• There are so many options for visual effects it can be hard to find what you’re looking for
• Adjusting the playback speed can result in blurry videos
• App can lag, and uses up a lot of storage

The CapCut app is sleek and very easy to use. Tools are sorted by type and I found it easy to find what I was looking for, as well as discover new options. I particularly liked the fact that the app prompts you to trim the video before uploading, which minimises both upload time and data usage. Whilst I would recommend using a desktop editor for more professional projects (as the editor can be a little fiddly on mobile) CapCut is perfect for creating fun and engaging videos on the go, and I definitely recommend testing it out. I’d also recommend having a play with the AI tools as these can be a lot of fun – I created quite an amusing advert for an extremely red tomato!

Reviewer: Hannah Harrison

Download links:

PowerPoint

The PowerPoint mobile app combines all the design features and functions of the desktop application, with the portability and accessibility of your iPhone, Android or iPad for on-the-go use. With the PowerPoint app, you can create, edit, and view presentations from anywhere. You can design a presentation from scratch with all the usual tools and features available; edit slides, alter transitions, and insert animations and images with the tap of screen. Using your Microsoft 365 subscription (which is provided for free through the University), you can sync all PowerPoints and documents across all devices with OneDrive. The ‘Share’ feature lets you share your documents at the touch of button via mail, AirDrop, WhatsApp and more. An active Microsoft 365 subscription gives you access to Presenter Coach, an AI tool created to help you practice public speaking by giving real-time suggestions to speak more confidently and to alter pacing.

Pros

• Free to download.
• Syncing available with OneDrive and a Microsoft 365 subscription to avoid annoying duplicates.
• You can create and share a PowerPoint from almost anywhere without needing access to a laptop or computer.
• The app provides pre-made presentation designs and formats for ease of use.
• You can manage who has access to your files with 1-click sharing.
• Great for on-the-go or last minute edits in preparation for a group project.

Cons

• On a small screen of a phone, it can be quite fiddly to add text and images to the presentation.
• To share over 5 GB of files, you need to have access to an active Microsoft 365 subscription.
• Some features, such as the Presentation Coach, is only available for those with a Microsoft 365 subscription.

I would recommend PowerPoint mobile for anyone who wants to be able to access and make small edits to their presentations on-the-go but have found that creating a presentation from scratch on my iPhone was a little fiddly and time-consuming! I did find it useful to be able to go over my PowerPoint on the bus to Uni in preparation for my summative group project that I was co-presenting, making me feel well prepared for the upcoming assessment. I haven’t yet used the Presenter Coach tool, but I think it’s great that Microsoft are incorporating AI features into their products and will definitely try it out when preparing for my next presentation!

Reviewer: Bibiana Lebersorger

Download links:

Adobe Express

Adobe Express (formerly Adobe Spark) is a free mobile and online design and photo tool app that enables you to effortlessly create eye-catching graphics for social media posts, flyers, posters, short videos, web pages and more. The simple, easy-to-follow layout of the app allows you to create media content from scratch or from a large collection of existing templates, to give a professional finish.

Features such as the ability to trim, edit, crop and resize video content, convert between PNG and JPG files and resize images makes this app a useful (and free) companion for university coursework. The new beta version of Adobe Express incorporates the exciting new possibilities of AI into its current features.

Pros

• Easy to create a free account, plus an alternative option to sign in through Google, Apple and Facebook.
• No design knowledge is necessary — you can create media content from a vast array of existing templates.
• You can save your templates to use again, share with others or adjust them for later!
• You can quickly remove backgrounds from photos using the background remover tool.
• Seamless integration with other Adobe creative apps such as Photoshop and Illustrator.
• Allows you to convert from pdf format to Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents without disrupting the formatting or fonts.
• Lots of features are available to use on the free version.

Cons

• A monthly subscription is required for access to premium content, but a free 30-day trial period is available.
• Only 2GB of cloud storage is available on the free plan.
• Despite the huge variety of different fonts, it can be a bit fiddly to edit text on the mobile app!

Overall, I would highly recommend Adobe Express for time-efficient creation and editing of graphics on the go without compromising quality. Even with the free plan, there are plenty of helpful and time-saving features to use, making it a very versatile design app.

Reviewer: Samantha Travers-Spencer

Download links:

Snapseed

Snapseed is a simple and easy to use photo editing app, which can be used to make a whole range of different adjustments to your photos. While the app offers the user a lot of creative freedom, it takes no time to learn how to use and navigate the different tools.

The app interface is very clean and simple. At the top of the screen is the option to open your camera roll and select photos, a button to review, redo and undo changes, an information tab, and settings where you can get help and view tutorials. At the bottom of the screen are three tabs: looks, tools and export. The looks tab opens up a range of different pre-made filters which can be instantly applied to photos. While there are only a few filters available, they are a super quick and easy way to make instant changes to your photo. However, if you want to make more specific, fine-tuned changes, the tools tab contains many more options such as contrast, grain and white balance to name a few. Here you can make more subtle edits, or even add text and a frame.

Pros

• Easy to use and navigate
• Takes very little time to learn how to use app features
• Pre-made filters
• A range of tools available
• Option to export edited photos in several different ways
• The app is free

Cons

• Many of the tools available can already be found built into your device’s photo app (for example, iPhone already offer a range of tools to edit photos in your albums)
• While the app is great for casual photo editing, it might not be great for those who need to edit photos for more professional purposes
• No option to save edited photos in the app. This would be useful if you want to go back and re-edit previously edited photos

Overall, I think that Snapseed is a good photo editing app. It is easy to use and takes no time to learn how to navigate. All tools are available for free, so no paid subscription is required. However, there are many photo editing apps out there, and I fail to see how Snapseed stands out. While it offers a range of standard tools, I will personally continue to use Apple’s built-in photo editing tools. Despite this, I would definitely give Snapseed a go to see if it suits you!

Reviewer: Katie Stoker

Download links:

Jetpack – Website Builder

WordPress is a free and open-source software that is popular for web content management. It can help us to publish our own website or start our own blog. After creating the content, we can monitor the browsing frequency and exposure of our website to the public. Jetpack is a plugin developed by Automattic, Inc. In addition to the functions WordPress offers, Jetpack allows safer and quicker website creation and ongoing maintenance.

Pros

• Free to use
• Templates are available for use
• Easy to use as there is step-by-step guidance for users to create a website
• Shortcuts to promote the website instantly
• Can exchange opinion and experiences of content creation with other authors using WordPress.com Reader

Cons

• Need a WordPress account to use Jetpack plugin
• If you want a domain for your website, you need to pay £16/ year
• Can be difficult to format the website or blog using the mobile phone as the layout can appear different from what readers using a computer may see

I never thought that I would be able to create my own website. I always associate content creation with very difficult work. However, it is manageable even with minimal experiences by using WordPress/ Jetpack. In fact, it only took me a couple of minutes to set up my own website!

Reviewer: Emma Yi Kwan Lau

Download links:

Canva

Canva touts itself as an all-in-one package for content creation. It’s best known for its image editing capabilities, but in recent years it’s expanded its offering with video editing tools too.

Canva is great for those who want to post content directly to social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. It offers direct integration, meaning as soon as you’ve finished editing content it can be directly uploaded to those platforms.

Just like many other apps in the content creation sphere, Canva has now started offering AI tools. These can be used to create an image from just a description. Along with the AI tools, Canva also offers its users a myriad of templates as well as stock images and music.

Unfortunately, many of Canva’s features are behind a paywall. Whilst this isn’t a huge problem, some may consider a lot of the paywalled features to be necessities, such as resizing an image or accessing ‘Pro’ templates.

Video editing, is also a capability within Canva, although it’s arguably not on par with applications such as Premiere Pro. Canva’s offering is more in-between PowerPoint and iMovie – you can create good animations and cut video simply. But other than that it offers little flexibility. It’s a good starting point but those with little video editing experience may find it lacking.

Pros

• The base programme is free
• One of the best user designs on the market
• It’s an all in one package for both photo and video editing

Cons

• Some features are paywalled
• By being an all-in-one package, it’s not the ‘best’ at anything
• Limited to only simple export options such as PNG, JPEG, and PDF. Other applications offer greater flexibility

Canva’s unique selling point is its intuitive user interface, arguably the most important feature of content creation programmes. This means that users with little to no experience in this field can quite quickly learn to use the programme and create content. Not to mention that, apart from the paywalled features discussed earlier, the programme is free.

Reviewer: Conor Macdonald

Download links:

OpenShot

If you’re looking for a simple & powerful, yet free video editor, OpenShot would be a great choice! 

OpenShot is an open-source video editing software that allows you to easily create and edit video projects. It’s designed to be easy to use and quick to learn for beginners, so the main functions of the software can be easily navigated! For example, you can slice the video just by clicking on the scissor button, and trim it by deleting the unnecessary sections. What’s more, transitions are automatically added when the clips overlap, so there’s no need to set them up each time! 

Finally, the software is completely free to use and there’re no ads! You’ll never be frustrated by being asked to pay for subscription, or being forced to watch ad videos when using OpenShot 🙂

Pros

• Free to use!
• No ads
• User-friendly interface
• available on Windows, Mac and Linux

Cons

• Only covers the basic functions
• Not available on smartphones

It’s pretty good! It’s free, there’re no ads, a simple user interface, and powerful functions … It covers almost everything! I tried to create a short video clip, and I could easily create it without any frustration 😊

If I mention some drawbacks, OpenShot does not cover very advanced functions like Adobe Premiere Pro does, so it may not be suitable if you’re an advanced video editor. You’ll also need to keep in mind that it doesn’t work on smartphones, as it only works on Windows, Mac and Linux.

However, even with these disadvantages, I would still recommend this software because the app itself is great and free to use. If you’re a beginner and want to learn how to edit videos, I’d say OpenShot would be one of the best choices to kick-start editing videos!

Reviewer: Gen Kawaguchi

Download links:

visit OpenShot for macOS download.

These apps aren’t supported or managed by the University of Bristol. Don’t forget to think about what data you are adding to these apps if you decide to download and use them. Our Online Identity video highlights some of the factors you may want to think about when you are online.

Next month: Artificial intelligence

Have you got time to tell us about your experiences of digital teaching and learning within the University’s online environments? This month we are running the International Students’ Digital Experience survey to gain a better understanding of the digital experiences and expectations of international students, and the survey is now open!

Responses are anonymous but play a huge part in the development of our digital development. This year it’s more important than ever to have your say, as the University is looking at the Digital Learning Environment in order to make tangible improvements to your learning. The Jisc International Students’ Digital Experience Insights Survey aids us in our work to continuously enhance the student experience. As well as looking at our own data, we will be able to compare our results with other education providers and benchmarking data across institutions. This survey is designed to be answered by students who have travelled from other countries to study in the UK.

Find a link to complete the survey here, it takes ten minutes to complete: International Students’ Digital Experience Survey.

The deadline to complete the survey is the 30th June.