Quotation practice: digital skills

Identify the errors

The following quotations have been taken from 3 reading texts on the topic of digital skills (See PDF Reading texts - Digital skills). In each example, there is an error (or something missing). See if you can identify and correct the error (note that there may be more than one error). The first one has been done for you, followed by a full explanation.

1. Poor investment in ICT affects students results.

Answer: As it stands, this would be completely unacceptable. There is no indication of where this quotation came from (author, year), no reporting verb, and no context or supporting remark (why is this quotation being used?). Thus, to correctly use this quotation, we need something like this:

The allocation of funding for using digital resources might be an issue for student outcomes. This is illustrated in a study by Youssef, Dahmani, and Ragni (2022), who suggested that poor investment in ICT affects students results.

2. A report found that 75% of job openings request digital skills.

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3. It has been found that student performance improves with the innovative and collaborative use of ICTs.

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4. According to a report published by the department for Digital Culture, media, & Sport, having digital skills is no longer simply desirable, stating that digital skills are becoming near-universal requirements for employment.

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5. Pagani et al. stated that Internet skills have a positive impact on academic achievement.

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6. This effect is stronger for students with low academic performance or low family background.

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7. A report states that roles requiring digital skills pay 29% (8,300 per annum) over those roles that do not (37,000 p.a. vs 28,700 p.a.)

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and digital skills on students' academic performance and to explore the digital divide in France. Data were collected through face-to-face questionnaires administered to 1323 students enrolled in three french universities. Principal component analysis, a non-hierarchical k-means clustering approach and multilevel ordered Iogistic regression were used for data analysis and provide four main findings: first, poor investment in ICT affects students' resuits; second, the ICT training offered by universities has little impact on students' results; third, student performance improves with the innovative and collaborative use of ICTs; fourth, the acquisition of digital skills increases students' academic performance. The results show that the digital divide still exists, and this raises questions about the effectiveness of education policies in France. They suggest also that organizational change in universities is essential to enable an exploitation of ICT. Text 3 No Longer optional: Employer Demand for Digital Skills (Extract from a report by the Department for Digital Culture, media \& Sport, June 2019) Executive Summary We know digital skills are becoming ever more important in today's economy, and employers indicate that about one-third of vacancies they find difficult to fill are, to some degree, attributable to a lack of appropriate digital skills amongst applicants. But the term "digital skills" covers a wide array of competencies, knowledge, and skills, making it difficult to design interventions to address digital skills needs. This report attempts to illuminate the issue through analysis of millions of online job adverts in the UK to highlight the skills employers demand. It aims to provide an overview of digital skills demand and provide a useful basis to inform an evidence-based skills development policy. Specifically, the research highlights the importance of both baseline digital skils, such as those required to use productivity software tools, and of skills for more specific software tools that are critical for job seekers to qualify for middle-and high skill roles. Specific digital skills are key to unlocking opportunities for job seekers and addressing the shortage of digitally skilled workers in the UK. Digital skills are essential entry requirements for two-thirds of UK SOC occupations and carry with them a wage differential over non-digital roles. These occupations account for 82%3 of cnline job vacancies. To understand the demand for digital skills at various levels of the market, we have broken the job market down by skill level 4 - low-skill jobs that require minimal training, middle-skill jobs that require Higher National Diplomas / Certificates, and high-skill jobs that require a degree or above. We examined the importance of digital skills at each level. Through this analysis, we find digital skills are becoming near-universal requirements for employment. The move up the career ladder from low- to high-skill jobs comes with increased demand for specific digital skills. Acquiring specific digital skills makes career progression as well as a pay increase more likely, in certain fields, job seekers need to develop digital skills related to specific technical tools of their chosen discipline to advance their careers. Examples are computer-aided design for engineers and technicians, search engine optimisation for marketers, and data analysis skills such as the programming languages SQL and R for analysts. Specifically, this paper focuses on understanding demand in terms of eight common clusters of digital skills (clusters are skills that are often found together in job postings that have been grouped together). The Productivity Software cluster is requested in the vast majority of job adverts across the economy, and we categorise these as 'baseline' digital skills. The other seven clusters are digital skills required within specific roles or sectors: - Software and Programming - Networking Systems - Data Analysis - Digital Marketing - Digital Design - Customer Relationship - Management Software - Machining and Manufacturing Technology. Job seekers who develop skills in one or more of these clusters can qualify for many of the best paying and fastest-growing jobs in today's economy. Reading texts: Digital skills Text 1 The impact of digital skills on educational outcomes: Evidence from performance tests. Pagani, Argentin, Gui, and Stanca (2016) Abstract Digital skills are increasingly important for labour market outcomes and social participation. Do they also matter for academic performance? This paper investigates the effects of digital literacy on educational outcomes by merging data from the Italian National Assessment in secondary schools with an original data-set on performance tests of Internet skills for tenth-grade students. Our identification strategy relies on a rich set of individual, family. school, and classroom control variables that are not commonly available in previous studies. The findings indicate that, overall, Internet skills have a positive impact on academic achievement. This effect is stronger for students with low academic performance or low family background, it is also stronger for students in technical or vocational schools. Text 2 ICT Use, Digital Skills, and Students' Academic Performance: Exploring the Digital Divide. Youssef, Dahmani, and Ragni (2022) Abstract Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are an integral part of our environment, and their uses vary across generations and among individuals. Today's student population is made up of "digital natives" who have grown up under the ubiquitous influence of digital technologies, and for whom the use of ICT is common and whose daily activities are structured around media use. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of ICT use Key Findings from the Research Include: Digital skills are near-universal requirements: 'Baseline' digital skills such as Microsoft Office and other productivity software tools are commonly required in jobs across all skills levels and have become a ticket to entry in the labour market. When breaking the job market down by skill level into low-, middle-, and high-skill roles, we find that over 75% of job openings at each level request digital skills. Digital skills carry a wage differential: Overall, roles requiring digital skills pay 29% (8,300 per annum) over those roles that do not ( 37,000 p.a. vs 28,700 p.a.). This difference is apparent at all skill levels, but the differential increases at higher levels. The salary differential for digital skills ranges from 2,700 for low-skill jobs ( 24,000 vs 21,300), 5,800 for middle-skill jobs ( 32,200 vs 26,400 ) and 11,300 for high-skill jobs ( 45,300 vs 34,000). Digital skills are in demand everywhere: Digital skills are required in at least 82% of online advertised openings across the UK but the precise skills demanded are not uniform across the country. For example, the capital region has the greatest demand with 87% of advertised roles, spread across almost all sectors while the West Midlands has a slightly lower demand at 82% of roles, but the well-developed manufacturing sector means that machining and engineering software skills are required in 24% of those roles. Specific digital skills may help workers avoid the risk of automation: By entering a role that requires specific digital skills, workers can reduce their risk of automation by a dramatic 59%. Specific digital skills commonly complement uniquely human skills such as design, writing or communication, which in combination are difficult to automate and critical to a firm's success Specific digital skills promote career progression: To maximise chances of success in the digital economy, job seekers must go beyond baseline digital skills and develop more specific skills. Importantly, these specific digital skills are not solely required in the tech sector but are in demand across all sectors of the economy. This may include digital tools such as Adobe Photoshop for designers; computer-aided design for engineers and manufacturing workers; customer relationship management software for sales and marketing professionals; and computer programming and networking for IT professionals. These specific digital skills are required in 28% of low-skill jobs, 56% of middle-skill jobs, and 68% of high-skill jobs