What do you think about Barclays' Digital Driving Licence? £100 vouchers to be won by testers and non-testers! NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the 100 Mumsnetters who were tasked with testing out Barclays’ Digital Driving Licence, a free resource to help people gain the confidence needed to make the most of digital and also for non-testers to give their views.

Here’s what Barclays say, “Barclays Digital Driving Licence is an interactive learning experience that gives you all the knowledge, all the confidence you need to do more with digital. It’s available to everyone, free online or as an app and endorsed by City & Guilds.”

Below is a video put together from Mumsnetters’ feedback about the Digital Driving Licence so far.

Non-testers: we’d love to hear what you think of the look of Barclays’ Digital Driving Licence. Do you feel like you have the tools to speak to and teach your DCs about digital? Do you think the Digital Driving Licence is something that would be useful to you? What kind of things do you think you’d learn from it, and is it something you think you’ll sign up to use?

If you do want to try it, simply visit the website here to create an account. All non-testers who posts on this thread with their comments will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 John Lewis voucher.

Testers: we’d like you to answer the below questions.
Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

All testers who add their feedback to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where 3 Mumsnetters will win a £100 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

[snowymum12]

Q1) I reallu liked the digital driving licence. I thought that I was pretty ICT literate prior to starting the licence but soon found that I had a lot to learn, particularly in relation to coding! The layout was really clear and easy to navigate and I liked that it was smart phone compatible.
Q2) I learnt rather a lot. I quite liked that factual stuff around the different people who invented various applications. I also learnt loads about coding (and actually it inspired me to use another site to do a bit of coding with my daughter!).
Q3) some of the units were pretty quick to complete (multiple choice) and some took several attempts. They did vary in the length of quiz but I'd say they took 30 mins on average per unit.
Q4) I'd definitely recommend the driving licence to others; it's free, for a start off, and it actually brings us older parents (I'm well over 30!) up to date with the kinds of things our children will be learning in school as well as some interesting background stuff.

[glasgowlass]

Q1. I liked this. It was easy to understand, user friendly & easy to do on my phone.
Q2. I learned that I knew a bit more than I thought I did! However, coding was like a different language!
Q3. On average around 20 mins as they were clear and easy to understand. The multiple choice ones took a few attemps & were a bit repetative I felt.
Q4. Without a doubt I would recommend this as I picked up lots of new information & it has given me more confidence. I like that I now understand more of what my oldest child learns in school.

[zippyants]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole? It was easy to setup and get started - held my interest from the start.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ? I thought I knew a little bit about coding but learnt much more! It is great as 'coding' seems to be the 'in' thang at the moment.

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others? About the same really - they were interesting so didn't really take note of the time.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not? YES! There was lots to learn on there and it wasn't daunting at all! All ready told peeps about it!

[asuwere]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
I thought it was ok, it does have a lot of information and can be useful but I didn't really enjoy it. I found the quiz/test a bit annoying, it was quite slow; would be good to skip the delay from asking question to giving options, then also skip to next question once the answer has been confirmed. It doesn't seem like much but it did put me off and I haven't completed it as I just don't enjoy using it.
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
I learnt quite a bit about Skype - having never used it, it was interested to know about.
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
They did vary in length, maybe about 20mins on average. Some were easier as they were things that I deal with.
Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
I'm not sure if I would. I would maybe mention it but not recommend as such. Although it is endorsed by City & Guilds, I'm not sure it would be worthwhile on a CV as it's all multiple choice and can be retaken numerous times. Although the information is good, it can also all be found elsewhere if you were looking for specific information.
I personally found that it was maybe more aimed at mobile/app use and the leaderboard feature gave it more of a social media type angle. Maybe that' why I didn't really like it as don't use social media or use apps! (maybe I'm just old and boring!)

[missorinoco]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
I liked it. I liked the way it was broken up, and that i could do a quiz before doing rthe topic to see what my knowledge base was. I also liked that I could redo the quiz/re read sections to see where I had gone wrong.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
I learned quite a bit about internet security and parental settings. I went back through these as it was topical to me and I wanted to know more about what i didn't know.

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
About 30 minutes, but I went through tehm thoroughly.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
Probably.I liked it as a resource.

[hermancakedestroyer]

Testers: we’d like you to answer the below questions.
Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
i liked it. I seem to be in the generation that grew up with one computer in the school if we were lucky and little knowledge of the Internet. Anything that can help improve my digital knowledge is very welcome.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
i liked refreshing my knowledge on keeping children safe on the Internet and also the coding section

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules?
i worked on it in the evenings when I had time and dipped in and out of it.

Did you find some easier than others?
yes, I found basic Internet knowledge fine but learnt a lot from the other modules.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

personally I would recommend it (and have recommended it) to family and friends especially those in my age range
i do find that useful Internet training and or refreshing of Internet knowledge is lacking and so fully support Barclays for filling that knowledge gap.

[flamingtoaster]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole? It was easy to use and the layout was very "clean". I enjoyed it - it was surprising to see how much I knew in some areas - and some of the new facts I learned were very interesting. Other facts I wasn't sure I needed to know them.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ? I learned a lot of background facts re the internet, Digital Global Trends etc. but was surprised I learned nothing which would increase my efficiency/safety in day to day use of the internet - I obviously knew more than I thought about the bit of the internet I regularly use.


Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others? I didn't time myself - some modules I did very quickly on my first run through. Others took me many tries to complete. The module about Keeping children safe online I passed first attempt, I found the Coding Module more difficult (though I did have some knowledge of coding) and the Digital Global Trends module very difficult - it was interesting though.


Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
I would recommend the Digital Driving Licence as it gave me insights and information I didn't already have. It would be wonderful for people who had used the internet less than I had - or who were just starting to use it.

[Sixgeese]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
It was ok, not particularly thrilling though, it did cover some things that I didn't already know.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
It was good that you could do test your base level before starting any of the modules, but and it is a big but they should make you wait before resitting them. I don't feel that I remember anything new from the modules that took and passed as the n information just went into my short term memory

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
Not long, maybe ten minutes at the most per module.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
Probably not, I am the least computer literate out of my family and I don't feel that I remember any of the new information that I should have learnt doing the Digital Driving licence.

[skippink]

Q1. It was okay,did really hold my attention
Q2. It was good how you could test yourself and I did learnt a few things that I thought I knew but didn't.
Q3. About ten minutes
Q4. Not really as I don't really see it as important.

[RubySparks]

I liked it, thought it was pitched at a good level. I learnt a lot too.

It didn't take long to do each test or long to read the material though I did wonder if you could read the information and then take the test as I seemed to always do the test and then be referred to the material if needed!

I have already recommended it to others as I work on an IT skills project with volunteers who help people get online. Feedback from the volunteers was also good.

[Biscetti]

1. Very easy to use, good layout and surprisingly tempting to keep going.
   

1. I learnt a fair old bit actually, including stuff which I thought I knew already. On the flip side, I also knew more than I realised.
   

1. I didn't pay huge attention to the time, but I guess some (that I wasn't so cluded up on) took around 20 mins, and the ones where I either knew or discovered I knew without realising, probably around 10 minutes.
   

1. Probably not to the net savvy generation (my teens/early 20s Dc) as they're are thoroughly clued up on most things tbh. But have recommended it to my Mum who has definitely learnt stuff. When younger DC are slightly older, I will go through it with them too. It was good to learn things I had limited knowledge of, and it has certainly inspired me to pay more attention to coding etc, particularly as DS2 and Dd3 are now learning it at school.

[CopperPan]

Non Tester

It looks very good from the video. I feel as if I'm reasonably tech savvy but it looks like there is a lot more I could learn. Hopefully I could also convince my parents to have a go as they are always calling on me or DS to help them out with internet issues!

[muddledsheep]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole? I liked it, it was easy to use and easy to waste time on!
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ? That I didn't know as much as I thought I did! I didn't know much about coding for example!
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others? Some were definitely easier than others so on average it took between 10-20 minutes for a module depending on whether I had any knowledge!
Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not? Yes I would recommend - I enjoyed the modules and learnt a lot and i think it's easy to use so anyone else would learn too!

[gingercat12]

Q1 I really liked it. The only criticism I could make that there were just too many interesting topics to choose from.

Q2 I especially liked the security topics. It seems I had a lot to catch up on.

Q3 The topics took about 20-30 minutes depending on distractions. Plus all the Google get and reading up on further subjects that came up in the material. I got quite enthusiastic.

Q4 I would whole-hearted recommend this tool. The topics are useful and interest, the modules are practical and concise.

[nushcar]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?

A great idea, an easy way to plunge into topic areas like Internet Security, Skype, Coding, Data Analytics...things you think you should know more about, but never find the time and take a multiple choice question pop quiz (most only took me about 8 minutes, but, if I actually read course material before I started rather than just guessing the multiple choice, would be longer). You are timed as you answer questions, can repeat test and have a leaderboard score. This works very well in phone app format most of all, something to do in a spare few minutes or whilst TV on


Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?

Most of this technology that I think of as being part of the Generation Y all started in my time, just was obviously blissfully unaware. You get a better idea of what analytics, Skype can do for example as well as some comfort where what you do know is confirmed. Once you complete all modules, you can at least feel like you have a basic understanding and maybe your interest is piqued to learn more.

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?

8-10 minutes without pre-read. maybe 20 with.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Definitely, I have already recommended to a colleague at work, but hope she doesn't take offence. The type of people who could most benefit may inherently mistrust IT and new technology, which might be a barrier. This is free, gives you broad knowledge quickly and you can improve your score, so would fully recommend. the only improvement I could suggest is that it does actually give you some kind of basic qualification if you get a high score - that could be very useful for your CV. I could, in fact, see this type of technology being used in employer assessment centres where you have to read information and respond to a quiz in a set time.

[marymanc]

Testers: we’d like you to answer the below questions.
Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
It is very good for anyone as you can refresh your skills and learn some more.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
I learned a lot on children's safety and coding

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules?
Around 20 minutes per module.

Did you find some easier than others?
They were all very user friendly and it has been nice to go through them.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

I would recommend the Digital Driving Licence as I think it is an important tool for refreshing your digital skills and keep up to date with the latest digital information.

[CMOTDibbler]

Non tester - though I'm quite knowledgeable about IT, it still looks really interesting, and I'll be signing up to do this as I know I don't always keep up to date with everything

[FPATEL]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?

Easy to use, interesting to know how much you really do know.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
There was lots of little things popping up which I didn't have a clue on but then I did wonder to myself how important is it really that I need to know this.

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules?
It varied a lot as some modules I finished quite quickly and scored well and some took me a lot longer.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

If I knew someone was keen on getting up to date with technology and was looking for a starting point or even if I knew someone who thought themselves to be very up to date, I would recommend this app to them to test their knowledge.

[WhatTheHellaballoo]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?

I thought it was quite thorough and covered all sorts of topics that I wouldn't have known about like coding for example or the history of things. It was interesting and and easy to use. Sometimes the multiple questions seemed a bit repetitive and asked quite ransom questions which wasn't really useful to know! I did find completing the whole course a bit of a drag towards the end but that just might be me!

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
i learnt about some coding, history, parental control and safety which was particularly useful.

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?

It took about 20 to 30 minutes to complete one module. Some were super easy and covered things I already knew. Others took a bit longer as it covered things I had never come across before like coding.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

I probably would but more for people my age or people who just need a bit of a refresher of whats going on in the world of computers. I used to be quite up to date and considered myself quite knowledgeable before i had a kids which was 4 years ago and have been out of touch since then, so it has really helped bring me back up to date. Things change so much and so fast, its really quite hard to keep up with it if its not part of your daily work etc.

thank you!

[InAndOfMyself]

Non-Tester

I'll be honest, right now, with a 2 and almost 4 year old, I am just too tired to avail myself of something line this. In principle it's a great idea and I can see myself being interested in 2-3 years but at the moment my down time has to be mindless!

I like to think of myself as Internet savvy but I am sure I could learn from the modules.

[Boglin]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?

I thought it was really interesting and I appreciated the chance to test it. It was very user-friendly and easy for me to dip in and out of when I had the opportunity so it never seemed daunting or like a chore. I'm a bit of a geek at heart so I enjoyed the quiz element although I was frustrated when I failed some of the modules on the first attempt.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?

I learnt that I'm not as tech-savvy as I thought I was and that I would really like to learn more about coding as it's an area which my children are likely to learn about and I don't want to be completely clueless!

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?

Some were definitely easier than others and those modules where I had reasonable knowledge to begin with and could pass the quiz at first attempt took ten minutes or less. It probably took around thirty minutes for the modules where I needed to read the accompanying information.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes, definitely. I found it a fun, free and easy way to boost my knowledge and learn new things and I would recommend it to anyone that uses the internet with any regularity. Not all the modules will be relevant to everyone but it's easy enough just to focus on those relevant to you.

[OriginalHugsy]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
I found it overall a really easy to use and helpful app. I enjoyed testing myself and I actually suprised myself as to how much I actually got right! Although could do better on all topics. It has made me feel a bit interested to learn more as I feel a little awakened to how important it is to be moving forward in technology as my young daughter is part of the 'native digital era'.


Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?

I learnt that I need to ensure my child uses the Internet and is educated well in this area so as to not use it naively etc. I learnt about Google foundations and where it all started.

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?

Some where definitely easier than others, I would say it took between 5 and 15 minutes to complete depending on how much I had to think about it.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes I would recommend and will be recommendeding to my mum and dad who use the Internet a lot but have just bought a new tablet and I feel this app would guide them well. I also feel it would be good for all ages too.

[MangoBiscuit]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?

I actually liked it more than I thought I would. It was easy to use, quick to load, and I liked that I could do the test first and see how I did. However, I'm not sold on how useful things like the history of skype will be. It felt like a fair few of the questions weren't actually useful, but were more marketing related. I liked the leader board (yes, I'm overly competitive!)

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
The history of skype! Also heard about coder dojo for the first time, which I think I'll have a look at with DD1 over the summer (DD2 stilll too small)

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?

Was quite pleased at passing the coding related ones first time (minus the coder dojo part, but as I'd never heard of it I'm still counting that as a win! ) I found the unfamiliar topics a bit harder, and took a few attempts, but I think I learnt something. I also found the amount of questions on less than useful information a bit annoying.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Depending on who I was talking to, I might. I can't see my Mum being much interested, my Dad might though. He'd probably like the challenge.

[Ratbagcatbag]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
I thought some of it was really good, but some of it not so fab. I'm still trying to work out who it's aimed at. I do think the topics on child safety and Internet safety were really good. I find things like the google back ground a bit weird and don't know why that classes me as being Internet savvy. It felt a bit like the big corps were added in due to possibly paying for it.
That said overall I liked the format and kept trying to beat my score.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
I learned quite a bit about internet security and child safety online. I think that will help going forward with regards to parental controls as I have a two year old who likes grabbing the iPad and bashing around randomly.

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
Between 10 and 30 minutes, it depended on whether I was massively interested in the modules (coding took forever) and what I knew already.

Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?
I think it would depend who it was, my mum who is completely Internet/computer illiterate I think it would be a fab tool to get more information. Someone who can do coding etc, probably not. I think I'd direct people for specific modules rather than the whole thing.

[Spydra]

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?

I enjoyed the quizzes, I didn't read (or find) the materials to support the questions, but managed to pass anyway after a few repeats. The city and guilds endorsement and the badges for backpacks seemed to be unneccesary - it's mostly a self-teach tool, and I doubt people will be putting scores on CVs.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?

Child safety stuff was interesting, and also the coding education resources for children.

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?

10 minutes or so for each module (though a few I did have to repeat, and google for.) I didn't find the supporting materials. Lots of it was very applicable, but the detail about specific companies founding members, user stats etc wasn't really relevant. I prefered the areas where what you learn can be applied to your daily use of the net.


Q4. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend the Digital Driving Licence to friends and/or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes I've had a few good conversations already!