Google Applied Digital Skills

Google LLC

Google Applied Digital Skills is a flexible, video-based curriculum that guides and assesses learners as they build digital literacy skills through practical, project-based lessons.

What This Includes

Skills addressed: Digital Literacy, Communication, Self-Management, Financial Literacy, Goal Setting, Creative Thinking, Teamwork, Resourcefulness, Emotional Intelligence

Learner resources

Step-by-step, self-paced lessons with video guidance to using Google Suite tools to accomplish practical school, work, or everyday life goals
Rubrics to understand the goals and expectations of each assignment
Students in classes get assignments from their instructors and can use a dashboard to find archived lessons

Instructor resources

Comprehensive video-based lessons with group and/or individual tasks using Google Suite tools
Online lesson plans with learning objectives, guidance, rubrics, quizzes. and reflection sheets
Get Started Guide & Remote Learning Tips for in-person, remote, or hybrid classrooms
Teacher dashboard to assign or create lessons, invite students to class, and view learner completion rates
Certificates of completion for students

Key Takeaways

Users can learn foundational digital skills on their own with free lessons, such as Digital Tools for Everyday Tasks.
Each lesson culminates in a student-created product, such as a resume, presentation, or research project.
Lessons, such as Present Your Ideas for Classroom Expectations, using Slides, and Create a Study Schedule To Meet Your Goals, using Sheets, build self-management skills and social and emotional well-being.
Google Workspace lessons in using Google Docs, Drive, Slides, and Sheets are contextualized to job search or workplace situations.
Employability skills lessons, such as Start a Resume, Send Professional Emails, and Plan Effective Meetings, are tailored to adults
Flexible curriculum allows instructors to pick relevant class lessons, teach them in any order, and/or assign to individual students based on interest or need.
The curriculum integrates with Google Classroom.
Guardian’s Guide is designed for parents and guardians helping younger students learn at home.

Background

Google Applied Digital Skills is a free, online, project-based video curriculum, which was designed by Jamie Sue Goodman, a Google employee, with assistance from her colleagues and ongoing input from K–12 teachers. Ms. Goodman and her Google colleagues created an initial curriculum called CS First, which was organized around kid-oriented athletic-themed lessons. It launched in 2014. Later, Ms. Goodman and her colleagues developed the Google Applied Digital Skills curriculum with its focus on preparing learners for work and life skills. It was introduced in the 2017–2018 school year. It is now widely used with more than 500,000 teachers having signed up by 2019.

Tags: Adaptability & Flexibility, Communication, Critical & Creative Thinking, Digital Literacy, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership & Initiative, Navigating & Using Information, Self-Management, Teamwork & Collaboration, Assessment Tool, Instructional Material, Audio / Video, Online, Free (Registration Required), Adult Education, English Language Learners, Higher Education, Older Youth, Workforce Development