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Can digital notebooks improve graduates' soft skills?

June 2019

Skills shortages plague many UK industries and competition between jobseekers and artificial intelligence is increasingly likely. But new technology could also be used to help graduates develop the soft skills they need gain an advantage

Key findings

  • Participants voiced an interest in how a digital notebook could encourage them to engage more actively with their own learning, rather than passively listening to lecturers and teachers.
  • There is potential for digital notebooks to enhance students' career portfolios after graduation by providing them with tangible evidence of independent and pro-active learning - perhaps with a skills badge or certificate that students can show potential employers.
  • Regular and extensive use of a digital notebook could itself help students build key technology-related skills that are vital to career success.

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The efficacy of using an online digital notebook for students to enhance soft skills to assist employability prospects in a digitally transformative world.

  • File type
    PDF
  • Number of pages in document
    26  pages
  • File size
    1363kB

Download the full report

Download PDF file The efficacy of using an online digital notebook for students to enhance soft skills to assist employability prospects in a digitally transformative world.

About the report

Predictions about future job markets generally veer towards discussion of artificial intelligence igniting competition between humans looking for work and technology that outperforms them.

Although this isn't likely to happen for some time yet, the serious skills shortages faced by some industries in the UK are alarming and make it a more realistic possibility in the years ahead. Attention has therefore turned to how universities - and especially careers services - can ensure that graduates are equipped with soft skills such as creativity, originality and initiative.

This HECSU-funded research uses questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus group methods to explore how a group of MA Media Production students at the University of Salford responded to the possibility of using digital notebooks such as OneNote to develop soft-skills alongside their academic studies.

Christine Pyke is a creative media, business and education professional, who delivers training to organisations and individuals across all levels.

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