Let’s talk about digital skills and why they’re so important
Now, more than ever, embracing digital has never been so important. From ordering your groceries to booking train tickets, or catching up with friends on a video call, technology is useful to so many aspects of our lives – personally, at work and at Scouts.
One of the things that makes me so proud to volunteer with Scouts is how diverse we are – we've volunteers from all walks of life, with all sorts of different careers and skillsets. From nurses, lawyers and teachers to astronauts!
We all have our part to play, and we all bring something different to the table. Some feel more confident in their digital skills, and some less so, but that’s still OK.
As we look to embrace our journey to become a digital first organisation (but not digital only), how we use new digital tools and systems will play an important part in how we can make our lives as volunteers easier.
Whether it’s using OneDrive to store your Trustee Board’s minutes, using Zoom to host an international sleepover for your Beavers, or rolling out Microsoft365 for your District, and everything in between, there’s a tech solution for almost everything!
As we embark on the next chapter of volunteer experience, we’ll be introducing new systems and tools. We want to do everything we can to help you, our volunteers, to be confident when using technology.
That’s why we’ve created a brand new Digital Skills tool – something that’s been built with volunteers at every stage, and is designed to enable volunteers to learn and help each other develop and grow.
The Digital Skills tool
When we looked to develop our plan for becoming digital-first, we knew we had to do something to support our volunteers. It had to something more than just a manual and something that can help them develop their digital literacy as a whole.
Some volunteers are using technology day-in-day-out in their professional live, as well as in their volunteering lives to make their lives easier. But, we also know others may be using technology far less and prefer to use more traditional methods to help them in their volunteering roles.
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The Digital Skills tool has been built with all of our volunteers at the heart.
Right from the start, volunteers have been involved in its creation. They've taken in part in workshops to identify the skills that would useful to develop and supported us through to the testing to make sure it’s easy enough to use.
We’re also thankful for the professional help from Nominet, Yalla and CAST, who all helped support the tool’s development.
The Digital Skills tool allows you to do three things:
- Receive tailored learning
- Get help with tasks
- Get personalised support
Tailored Learning
Tailored learning is all about bitesize learning.
You can complete a quiz, either by yourself or with someone else, and the Digital Skills tool will serve you recommendations based on skills gaps it identifies. As you complete more activities your score goes up. You can save your progress as you go along by creating an account which is quick and easy to do.
The tool has over 300 curated activities dedicated to the digitals skills that'll make your life as a volunteer easier. The activities are focused around different areas, including administration, programme planning, keeping data safe and much more. The tool offers a range of different learning methods including curated online articles, tutorials and step-by-step guides.
Why curated? There're thousands of tutorials out there, but our content has been checked by other Scouts volunteers to make sure it’s accurate and reliable. We’ve picked the best articles and tutorials based on your needs as a volunteer.
Get help with tasks
Want to learn how to schedule a Zoom call? Maybe you want to try Zoom's Breakout Rooms function? This is the place for you. Using the Digital Skills tool, you can search for what you want to do and even the platform you’d like to use. The tool will then provide you with the content you need to help you.
There’s a range of different Scout related tasks and platforms we can use, from Microsoft and Google to Zoom and WhatsApp. The Digital Skills tool should cover the wide breath of different platforms that are being used by volunteers across the UK.
Personalised support
But what if what I’m looking for isn’t on the Digital Skills tool? We know we’ve got some super digital savvy volunteers across Scouts.
Personalised support is all about getting help with a specific thing you want to do, from setting up zoom meetings for your local area to organising a virtual camp for Jamboree on the Air. This is where our peer-to-peer network of Digital Champions come in.
Digital Champions
Digital Champions are Scout volunteers who also have a passion for helping others learn about digital. Whether they work in a digital space, are studying at University or they love tinkering with tech at home, these are volunteers who’ve signed up on the platform to help you.
We know that peer-to-peer learning has been proven to work, especially with helping people learn digital skills.
On the tool, you can request support from a Digital Champion and it can take place either over email or the phone – or even a coffee if they’re local!
Champions can also suggest content where they feel there are gaps on the tool, which’ll help us to grow it over time.
Do you think you could be a Champion? So far we’ve over 50 Digital Champions registered on the tool, but we’re always looking for more. You can volunteer as a Digital Champion for as little or as much time as you’d like – head to the Digital Skills tool to sign up!
The Digital Skills tool is now available and we can’t wait to see what you learn, or if you’re a Champion, what you create.
While we’re excited to see everyone start using it, we’re aware that a basic requirement is to have the ability and equipment to be able to access it.
As part of our online guidance for the tool, we’ve created a section around digital inclusion. This provides links and support to help unlock training and equipment from other national charities, such as the Good Things Foundation.
We can’t wait to see the difference the tool will make to helping volunteers across the UK. It was fantastic to see the tool already gain recognition as featured as part of a wider package.
It came runner up in the Digital Leaders 100 Awards for Digital Skills or Talent Initiative of the Year (Product or Service) category, after being up against some other great initiatives from other brilliant organisations.
Digital plays such a huge part in enabling us to do what we do best - giving our 400,000 young people across the UK skills for life.