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Acquisition of Key Competences for Economic and Social Sustainability

Digital skills
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Unit 1: Make the most of smartphones: tips and tricks 

Introduction

Nowadays companies aren’t looking only for 1 specific skill to have. There are several skills that can make you instantly employable.

These are some of the main skills that companies are looking for.

Social Media know-how
Search engine and content marketing
Email, media and mobile knowledge
Strategy and planning

In this course we will focus on the ability of making the most out of mobile phones and communicating via digital content.

Smartphones are more advanced than ever and they are getting more and more important in our daily lifestyle. They’re packed with tons of features, like front- and rear-facing cameras, heart rate monitors, fingerprint screen lock, and access to apps galore.

There’s plenty of tips to help you use your device in new ways. In this module we will see 6 topics that will change your relationship with your smartphone.

Basic functions
Tips for conserving your smartphone’s battery and data usage
Smartphone hacks to make your life easier
Smartphone camera tips and tricks
Smartphone tips for travelers
Other tips for beginners
Basic functions

Smartphones are controlled trough touchscreen. All you need to use them is knowing taps and swipes.

Single tap: Open apps, menus, etc.
Double tap: Zoom in when using browser, viewing maps and photos.

Swipe to the left or right: Switch between work screen

Swipe down or up: Scrolls lists.
Swipe from top to down: Show notifications bar.
Pinch screen: Zoom in. When reverse zoom out.
Press and hold: To move apps, place them into folders and delete.
1. If you want to copy, cut or paste text you need to tap and hold it then select and choose one of the options you want.
2. Navigation buttons
Back button: It reverts to the last page in mobile browser or takes you back to the last thing you did.
Home button: It will take you to your home screen.
Overview button: It shows a list of every open and active app. Allows you to jump between them.
3. WiFi Connection
You can do it through settings menu or notification bar.
Turn it on and wait until your smartphone finds some WiFi networks within range, enter password if needed and enjoy Internet access.

 4. Homescreen

Allows you to have fast access to your apps and clock, shortcuts or widgets are displayed.

Shortcuts of apps can be grouped within folders.

You can have more than one homescreen. Tap and hold your finger on screen and add new page by pressing plus on screen. You can set which of them will be your primary.

5. Notification bar

It displays notifications as messages, calls, updates, etc.

6. Settings bar

Settings bar is connected to notification bar. Your most-used toggles (WiFi, Location, Bluetooth, Flashlight, Sound, etc.). You can customize this the way you want.

If you want to turn something on or off, just tap the icon.

​​​​​​​App Store

There are some preinstalled applications on your smartphone. If you would like to download and install new app you have to visit app store. It’s called Google Play (for Android), App Store (for iPhone/iPad), Windows Store (for Windows Phone). They are the most secure ones.

Each store has different sections. There are a lot of categories: games, sport apps, instant messaging apps, etc.
To install any application choose the one you want and click Install. Icon of new installed app will appear on home screen automatically.

 

Tips for conserving your smartphone’s battery and data usage.

Disable background data for your non-essential apps
Disable app notifications that you don’t really need
Disable data usage for specific apps and features to conserve battery power
Premium versions of your favorite apps can save both data usage and battery power.
Don’t use your smartphone while charging it
Extend your battery with low power mode
Disable notifications and turn the fetch function off    
Set-up a lock screen (PIN, patterns or passwords)
Install Find my phone app
Enable Smart lock – bypassing the security lock by adding trusted devices and keep your phone locked
Use a battery low power mode
Smartphone hacks to make your life easier

Get around storage issues on your Android smartphone with Gmote
Open links in a new browser window on an Android device
Use the “remind me later” feature to skip calls on your iPhone, without forgetting about them.
Back-up your data to avoid losing photos, videos, and other important information.
Download memory management software
Use the DiskUsage app to identify major data hogs
Put a weather widget on your home screen
Use different keyboard (Swiftkey)
Smartphone camera tips and tricks

   On an iPhone, you can take photos using the headphone cord
•   Use the volume button to snap pictures
•   Make better use of your smartphone’s camera – it’s not just for selfies
•   Use an app (and your device’s camera) to make all your documents digital
•   Edit and retouch your best photos
•   Install a different camera app
•   Use gridlines to line up your shots
•   Don’t use the digital zoom on your smartphone
•   Consider a smartphone lens attachment
   Use filters to improve your pictures
   Photos are stored in your gallery folder but to optimize storage use a cloud service to share photos with friends and also as a back-up
Smartphone tips for travellers

Download movies, music, and other media through Wi-Fi to watch in-flight
Charge your device using the USB port in the back of the television
Take advantage of Google Translate and Google Maps (or Apple Maps).
If data usage is a major concern, use Wi-Fi exclusively while traveling
EU "roam like at home“: you pay exactly the same price when calling, sending text messages and using data services when travelling in the EU as you would if you were at home
Stay safer with security/emergency apps for travellers
Use services like Google Voice or Skype to talk to your friends
Use your smartphone to take photos during your trip
Always carry a portable battery or power pack
Download an app or two that supports offline reading without burning through tons of data
Use an app like TripIt to create, organize, and share your travel itinerary in one place
Turn your smartphone into your personal memory assistant   
Translate text on the fly quickly and easily with your smartphone’s camera
Other tips for beginners

Use your smartphone’s selfie-taking functionality as a mirror
Check the temperature and humidity level
Use your smartphone as a universal remote control
Monitor your state of mind with an Android app
Use your smartphone and a selfie stick to peek around corners
Turn your smartphone into a sci-fi thermal camera
Create amazing time lapse videos without buying expensive, high-tech equipment
Set a timer for bedtime music
Try the artificial intelligence “Siri” for Iphone
Plug a mouse and a keyboard to use your portable device as a pc
Data is not working? Try flipping the phone into Aeroplane/Airplane mode and back again.
Wi-Fi is not working? Open quick settings and toggle Wi-Fi off and back on again. It will re-establish the connection
Unit 2: Communicating via digital content 

Communicating via digital content

Nowadays communication is characterized by the digitization of informational content.

The term Digital Communication refers to any (communication or marketing) action that is oriented to promote products and/or services via digital media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, interactive TV, video games and mobile devices.

You need to pay attention to your positioning on the web by clearly defining their digital communications and the digital strategy to adopt in order to build a bridge between digital media and traditional media.
Digital communication is based on interactions between prospective users online and an information provider. The first interaction happens when a user searches for information that you offer on the pages of your website.

Successful online communications rely on the following principles:

Adaptation to the reality of the web
Meeting the needs of users visiting your website: usability, availability of relevant responses. It is extremely important to consider 3 different perspectives in every digital communication: User perspective: what users want, Corporate perspective: promises in response to expectations and Technical perspective: practices in line with feasible technologies
A controlled online digital communication strategy
The Internet has generated its own communication filters. Information is digitized and indexed so that anyone can find it. Therefore, you need to meet the existing demand. A digital strategy aims to optimize the user’s path on the platforms you use.
Social media for enhanced interactions
Social media, blogs and forums share information that has a much longer life than that of standard writings and that is accessible by anyone.
Mobile communication
Today, smartphones and tablets are the users’ primary tools for their everyday communication.
Content creation and management
Online communication means the creation of a variety of referenceable content that relates above all to visitor demand. You will need to build content that provides answers to users’ questions.
Select the most appropriate social networks for your company’s visibility.

Digital content creation is fundamental for any digital strategy. Every piece of content you create should be carefully created and designed to coherently represent your mission and values as a brand.

After you have identified your target audience, there are several steps that can help to improve the quality and impact of the digital content creation process.

 

Define the purpose. Different types of content have different purposes. By determining the purpose at the beginning of the content creation process you will achieve the desired results.

Create useful, quality content. In digital content creation, every piece of content must be useful and relevant to the target audience. The more useful the content is, the easier it will be for audiences to share it with others in their circles of influence.

Promote content on social media. Share different content on each of your social media networks to expand your brand’s reach and add scale to campaigns. The content you share on each site should be unique to give your followers a reason to follow you on more than one network

Use photos and multimedia. Photos, infographics and videos are worth more than a thousand words!

There are a lot of tools that can help us to communicate with others across a big distance.

Here are some of the most relevant: Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Gmail, YouTube, WhatsApp

Facebook

Facebook is the social network with the most diverse public in terms of age, gender, social characteristics and occupations, thus it is suitable to create very different types of contents.

Facebook offers a wide variety of options for digital communication:

- Sharing resources: users can share text, image or videos, making them automatically visible to all their contacts.

-Interaction: it is also possible for users to interact with the information that others have published through comments or predetermined reactions.

-Create pages for companies or causes: they are public spaces that allow sharing information about companies or specific initiatives.

-Create groups: groups allow interaction between users with a specific intention. They can be open, closed or secret.

-Events: They are virtual spaces aimed at sharing specific information about events. They can be open, closed or secret.

Skype

Skype is software that allows everyone to communicate. Millions of people and companies already use Skype to make free individual and group/video calls, send instant messages and share files with other people who use Skype.

Skype is available for mobile phone, PC or tablet.

Skype can be downloaded for free from https://www.skype.com/en/ and it is easy to use. You just need Double-click the Skype Setup file and follow the steps to install. Launch the Skype application and create an account. Then sign in with your Skype name and password. Don’t forget to check your audio and video settings.

To call on Skype you can click the phone icon. If you want to make a video call you can click the videocam icon on the left.

You can also send messages by just typing a message and sending it, attaching photos, files and emoticons to your messages.

Among other features, you can use the shared screen to view presentations or photos, you can make high-definition video calls, you can translate in real time both in calls and in chats, you can get a local phone number in another country or region and answer calls on Skype, and you can arrange job interviews to find the perfect candidate for our company or to find a suitable job.

Gmail

Gmail is Google's email service. Gmail is one of the most used Google tools after the search engine.

Sending an email from an account in Gmail is very simple, the platform saves the contacts, creating a book easily accessible from the inbox. Its security protocols defend us from junk or malicious emails.

To create a Gmail account you just need to go to the Google Account creation page

and sign up for Gmail to create a Google Account. You can use the username and password to sign in to Gmail and other Google products like YouTube, Google Play, and Google Drive. Follow the steps on the screen to set up your account. And finally use the account you created to sign in to Gmail.

Twitter

Twitter is an online social network that allows users to send and read short messages of 140 characters called "tweets". Registered users can read and post tweets, but those who are not registered can only read them.

Twitter is useful for communicating via digital content as it is:

Viral: due to its global, social and synchronic nature, it facilitates the rapid circulation of messages.

Intuitive: it consists of an interface based on simplicity and usability.

Asymmetric: it is based on relationships follow / be followed, in which mutual consent is not required.

Brief: Messages format is limited to 140 characters per message.

Global: it is available in several languages ​​and all over the planet.

YouTube

YouTube is a free service to share videos on the internet.

The use of YouTube is very simple, you just have to sign up in YouTube or use your Gmail account and upload your video from your own computer. The site collects any type of video.

You can also create your YouTube channel which is a fantastic resource to communicate online via digital contents.

Active users can write comments to videos they like and do not like. This platform has allowed many people to express themselves, and even some stars to make themselves known and leave the anonymity.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp is an application that allows you to send and receive text and multimedia messages to your contacts at very low prices or for free. Messages are sent over the Internet, either using our data plan or the Wi-Fi connection. The only limit is that the contacts to whom we send messages must also have WhatsApp installed.

You can use it on your smartphone, you just have to download and install WhatsApp from your phone’s app store. Open the app. Allow the Access to your contacts. Type your phone number. Insert name and photo and done!

In addition to sending and receiving text messages, some interesting functions are:

- Send photos, videos and audio messages.

- Chat between different groups of users.

- Share your location within the messages (using Google Maps)

- Have your own "status" to tell your contacts if you are available or not.



Keywords

Smartphones, app, social media, communication, digital contents.

Description

In this course, you will find basic information on Digital skills and in particular you will learn how to make the most of smartphones. You will also find some insights on digital communication and digital contents which are useful for communicating via digital contents.

Bibliography

  • https://www.tccrocks.com/blog/useful-smartphone-tips-and-tricks/
  • https://www.lifeder.com/para-que-sirve-facebook/
  • https://support.skype.com
  • https://es.wikipedia.org
  • https://iiemd.com/twitter/que-es-twitter_crear
  • https://www.data.cam.ac.uk/data-management-guide/organising-your-data
  • https://www.tccrocks.com/blog/useful-smartphone-tips-and-tricks/
  • https://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/110621-android-for-beginners-tips-and-tricks-for-your-new-smartphone
  • https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/guide-to-android/
  • https://www.gcflearnfree.org/internetbasics/what-is-the-internet/1/
  • https://www.wikihow.com/Use-WhatsApp
  • https://mashable.com/2014/07/09/skype-for-beginners/#5Igiu9qaoGqB