It is easy to assume that young people arrive at college already confident with technology. They use smartphones every day, so surely they must know how to navigate digital learning and communicate professionally online. Valentina Meninno’s experience at Northampton College suggests otherwise.
As Digital Innovation and Academic Development Coordinator, Valentina supports students at Entry Level and Level 1 to develop the digital confidence they need for college and employment. She also works closely with teaching staff, helping them introduce technology into subjects where its relevance may not be immediately obvious.
Her work shows that digital inclusion is not simply about providing devices or introducing the latest platform. It is about helping people understand why a digital skill matters in their own lives.
Looking beyond the digital native assumption
Many students are comfortable using social media, but this does not necessarily mean they can attach a document to a professional email or format an assignment correctly.
Some struggle to remember their college email address. Others have little experience of using Word beyond typing plain text. Everyday phone use can hide significant gaps in the skills needed for education and employment.
“We think our students are very tech savvy. They are not, not at all. We assume they know, but actually they often don’t.”
This realisation has shaped the work of Northampton College’s Digital and Academic Resources Centre, known as DARC. The Centre combines the familiar role of a college library with academic and digital development.
Its work includes everyday digital skills as well as more immersive experiences. However, Valentina is clear that innovation sometimes begins with the basics.
Students may be surrounded by technology, but they still need structured opportunities to learn how to use it purposefully.
Building digital skills into the college week
The College’s digital skills programme developed from an earlier study skills initiative. Instead of repeatedly printing guidance leaflets, the team created a structured programme that students could follow independently or with support.
This gradually became a weekly programme spanning much of the academic year. Teaching staff receive prepared materials and guide their students through a different digital task each week.
The content covers the skills students need to participate confidently in college and prepare for work. It also includes digital wellbeing and responsible online behaviour.
For Valentina, the challenge has not usually been producing the resources. It has been persuading staff that they are able to deliver them.
“Some teachers have taught for a long time without technology and ask, ‘Why should I introduce it? I have always done it this way.’ Often, it is about confidence.”
Technology can feel threatening when a teacher believes they are expected to be an expert. Valentina’s approach is more supportive. She talks colleagues through the material and encourages them to try it with their students.
Once staff have delivered a session successfully, their response often changes. Some have asked to continue with a dedicated digital skills hour the following year.
Showing students why it matters
Students can also resist digital skills when the activities appear disconnected from the careers they want to pursue.
This was particularly noticeable in construction-related courses. A student intending to become a plumber might reasonably ask why they need to learn how to use spreadsheets or write formal emails.
The answer became clearer when the activities were placed within a realistic professional context.
A self-employed plumber may need to respond to a potential customer and produce a quotation. They may also need to keep records or present information clearly. Digital skills are no longer an additional classroom requirement; they are part of doing the job.
“When students can see where the digital skills fit, they say, ‘Oh yes, I understand now.’”
This subject-specific framing has been central to the programme’s success. Generic digital activities may teach a function, but relevant scenarios help students understand when they would use it.
The approach also recognises that Valentina cannot be an expert in every vocational subject. Effective resources are developed through collaboration with the teachers who understand those industries.
Confidence matters more than knowing everything
Technology changes too quickly for any digital programme to teach every tool a student may encounter.
The more durable outcome is confidence in working out what to do.
“It is not only knowing how to format a Word document. It is students knowing that they can do it and that they can find out how.”
This problem-solving mindset supports students beyond their current course. They are likely to encounter unfamiliar systems throughout their working lives, so they need to believe that they can learn how to use them.
The same principle applies to staff. Valentina describes her role as “holding hands” until a colleague feels ready to continue independently.
This support needs to be offered without judgement. Staff must be able to say that they do not understand something without feeling embarrassed.
Over time, that patient approach has begun to change the culture. Teachers who were once hesitant are now suggesting how digital materials could be adapted for their own students.
“That is what I always wanted: people coming forward with their own ideas and feeling confident that they can do it.”
From basic fluency to immersive learning
The College’s digital work extends beyond office software. Its iLab spaces include facilities for virtual reality and 360-degree experiences.
Valentina is currently exploring how immersive content could support construction students. The focus is not on using VR for its own sake, but on creating experiences connected with their future work.
The team produces some of its own content using ThingLink and 360-degree cameras. This allows activities to be tailored to the College’s courses rather than relying only on generic commercial resources.
Accessibility is considered from the outset. A student who cannot or does not want to wear a headset can access the same content through a laptop or use the College’s 360-degree room.
This flexibility makes immersive learning available without assuming that one way of accessing it will suit everyone.
Students can also contribute to creating the environments. This changes their role from viewer to producer and gives them an opportunity to apply their subject knowledge through a digital medium.
Introducing AI with care
AI literacy is becoming another important part of the College’s digital work. Valentina sees value in using generative AI to create learning activities or support revision. She also believes staff need clear guidance about what should not be shared with these systems.
Student names and identifiable information should never be entered into an AI tool. The same caution applies when a member of staff wants help analysing a spreadsheet containing student records.
Responsible use needs to be modelled by staff before it can be expected from students.
“There is so much we need to be aware of. Staff need to understand the risks so that this knowledge can be passed on to students.”
Valentina’s approach is not to discourage experimentation. It is to give staff enough understanding to make informed decisions about when AI is useful and when another method would be more appropriate.
Changing culture takes time
Northampton College’s progress did not happen through a single training event. Valentina describes it as the result of years of trying, adapting and continuing when people were reluctant.
The pandemic accelerated recognition of the importance of digital access, but it did not remove the need for support. New platforms continue to appear, while staff confidence changes as people join or leave the College. The work therefore remains ongoing.
For colleges seeking to develop something similar, Valentina’s advice is to begin with the people rather than the technology. Find out what students need and connect digital activities with the subjects they are studying. Give teachers practical support and allow confidence to grow through experience.
Digital culture cannot simply be announced. It develops when people see that technology has a purpose and know that help is available when they need it.
As Valentina puts it: “Show people that it is possible and that it does not have to be painfully difficult. When they see the process, they begin to think, ‘Okay, I can try this.’”
