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

Non Tester :
Both my husband and I thought this was fantastic. Neither of us are very tech savvy these days so this was really helpful, easy to use and we would def recommend to others

Non tester: This looks really good. I like the fact it is backed by City and Guilds. Looks like it can be fitted in around your various other stuff in life. It seems fun, with a Gamey aspect to it. Will definitely sign up.

Non tester here
I'm not very digital savvy and this looks a user friendly ways of developing my skills and having the confidence to help (or just keep up with!) my DC.

I'm especially clueless about coding so would use it to get the basics on that. Good that it's backed up by City and Guilds, too.

Tester here - interesting product test to be part of
Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
It's an interesting concept and could be very useful. I liked the way it worked and the way it looked generally, was pretty slick. However, I'm not sure this type of learning works for me. I understand it's tests a baseline level of knowledge, but it lacks context and some of the knowledge points seemed really irrelevant which detracted from the more worthwhile pieces of learning.
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
I did learn quite a bit, though I thought I was pretty hot on things as I was an online apps specialist in my previous life (and a trainer more latterly). But found it difficult to slot in the new bits that I'd learnt as they lacked context - more just free - floating facts and stats.
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
Took me a couple of tries for some (so 15 mins) or so, others I went straight through (5 mins or there abouts)
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 I would, or if I did I'd suggest approaching it in a different way to the obvious (so not to jump straight into a quiz, then just try it until you passed it). I'd like to see it developed further and given more of a logical progression route through. Interesting idea though and I've enjoyed being part of it, so thank you!

Non-tester

Not for me, I find the concept quite patronising, and if I did need to brush up on basic IT skills I'd probably look for something impartial rather than something created by a bank.

Q1. I thought it was well laid out and easy to use.
Q2. I learned a few useful things I didn't already know but also some things I really didn't feel I needed to learn such as the year certain companies were founded etc.
Q3. Depended on the module but only about 15 mins on average.
Q4. I'm not sure I would recommend, I thought it was an OK app but I don't feel like it was useful enough to recommend it to others.

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
Good fun. An interesting way to pass a few minutes here and there.
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
I didn't know as much about modern computing and Internet technology as I thought I did. I'm an old-fashioned, out of date IT geek, and a lot of recent stuff that I'm not particularly interested in is confusing to me.
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
10 minutes or so. Some were very easy, some were educated guesses, others I had no idea on.
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, as a fun activity. I don't think there's any real value in it, more trivia knowledge building.

Tester here:-
Testers: we’d like you to answer the below questions.
Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
Lots of background information that is not thought of before.
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
How limited my existing knowledge is, there was loads to learn! Good that could go over the info.
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
20 minutes ish- some I had no clue about.
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-as a framework for different topics. Could then Google further as required.

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole? Initially I was unsure about the concept and who the project was aimed at but I enjoyed using it and felt it was packed with lots of useful information.
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
That I don't know as much as I thought I did!
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others? The time taken was quite varied, dependent on exiting 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, if someone was looking for an activity to expand their knowledge.

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
I thought it is a good idea and I ended up learning that I knew less than I thought (and learned new things)
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ? I learned quite a bit about coding and reinforced existing knowledge about Internet security.
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others? Different modules took different amounts of time - they were all around 20 to 30 minutes I think
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 someone wanted to find out knowledge all in one place, I would recommend it.

Tester here

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole? I thought it was really informative, easy to use and well designed. I thought there was some technical information which was potentially surplus to requirements which could be removed without detracting from the experience.
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ? That I'm not as internet savvy as I thought! I knew next to nothing about coding despite running my own website!
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others? Yes varied quite significantly dependent on existing knowledge, some were 5 min knockout jobs, others more like half an hour.
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? Absolutely, I think this is a really beneficial idea - I would particular recommend it to older relatives who want to get online and also to teens who, while social media savvy, could do with being reminded of the security risks. Overall though, I'd say most people could benefit!

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
I thought it looked good & was easy to use. Some of the modules were more interesting than others. However I can't really see the point of it. I got bored with it & did not complete many of the modules.
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
Not a huge amount. The fact that you could retake the test straight away, meant that my brain did not need to retain the info.
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
Varied - some I could pass first time, some I had to read through the articles. Probably 15-20mins.
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?
Not really, the name made me think of the old European Computer Driving Licence (I think that's what its called), which I believe was useful. To be honest I can't see who this is aimed at.

Thanks for picking me as a tester - sorry I did not really like the product

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
I enjoyed it overall. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I was surprised by the gaps in my knowledge

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
I learned about coding, and some things about internet security. My son has been studying A level IT and I have been proof reading somr of his work. This certainly helped me to understand my sons work!

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
Some were certainly easier than others for me. They took between 10 and 30 minutes.

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've already got my sister on it and I'm trying to get my husband to have a go. I enjoyed it and found it really useful. It's free too!!

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole? Very easy to use and great content
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ? Lots of learns around internet security as well as greatly improved general knowledge on all things digital
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others? Some definitely easier than others simply because i knew more already about some topics. some only took a few minutes whereas others took maybe 20/30 mins.
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 definitely would recommend it to everybody!

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole? It was easy to use which lulled me into a false sense of security because some of the multiple choice questions were really hard. I thought I was clued up but apparently not
I thought it went more I depth about certain things than necessary given it's meant ( I think?) for the average person on the street.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ? Digital Global Trends I knew nothing about at all, I thought I knew about the internet but really I just know how to use the bit of the internet I go on to every day.......The background, the logistics and the future not so much so.minlesnt that really I'm just scratching the surface and there's loads to learn.

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others? The module about Keeping online safety for children I passed first time, I never did pass the Coding Module and the Digital Global Trends module was scraped through at about the tenth go. I didn't time myself, I just logged on when I had time to spare and face them a got some I found interesting so actively wanted to pass them. Others didn't interest me very much so I wasn't so bothered if I didn't pass 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 to those who I thought might benefit from it or showed an interest in finding out more. I wouldn't just recommend it to random family and friends as I don't think it's for everyone. Some would find it difficult, others boring. It's an interesting thing to do if you know a bit and want to find out a bit more but impersonally think it's a little bit too in depth for day to day use for the average person.

I enjoyed the product test and have now realised my limitations and will try harder in the future

It looks friendly and relevant although at the moment my children are still very young so it doesn't hold my attention. I could pick up some useful tips it would seem and my parents could learn a whole lot!

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

i wasn't sure what to expect, so was pleasantly surprised when i first opened it. i liked the fact it was split into modules, although some like others have said seemed a bit like they didn't belong. it was a bit frustrating trying to upload badges as you had to go in and out of different programs. i did get quite competitive with myself

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
all about SKYPE, how to do coding. Some of the child saftey and other modules were similar to something i have to do at work, but at least it proved i had taken note

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

Some were really easy and took 5/10 mins max, while others that i had no clue about definitely took longer and i had to redo them several times (and even then couldn't remember the right answer!!). 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?

I would recommend it to my daughter (18) and maybe some of her friends as some of the info is really useful. My mum would go into complete panic mode! I think people of all generations would learn something new from one or all of the modules

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
Really great. I wasn't lucky enough to grow up with computers in school until I went to college so this is a great learning tool.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
I never knew anything about coding before so that was interesting.

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules?
Probably around 40 minutes but I dipped in and out and went through thoroughly.

Did you find some easier than others?
Yes the basic knowledge was easier.

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 definitely recommend it to Mums my age and also people slightly older too, (25-50+) its great and I think it is really useful.

I like the idea of this (non -tester) but agree that time is an issue. I work in the eves so would not want to spend my time on this. I do think that I would learn from this even though I am pretty internet savvy. It's a good idea for the right person.

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
I like the idea of it, I thought it was useful in various ways. I liked the way it was so easy to use and there were a broad range of topics to choose from.

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
I specifically found the child safety on the internet interesting, my DS is getting to the age where he wants to be on he computer a lot and I feel that this module was helpful in understanding what I should and can do to help keep him safe on the Internet.

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
Some modules were very quick, I took the test rig away on some modules knowing I would probably do ok. I passed a lot of these first time. Others that I was not so sure about I spent probably no more than 15 or 20 mins on learning and then took the test.

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 think that's I would recommend it, I think of myself as quite Internet aware and I still found it useful. So I know that friends and family would also find it useful.

Hi, I am a tester! I covered some of the topics, but haven't covered as many as I would like because I've been incredibly busy. However, I'm going to continue using the digital driving licence!
Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole? I think it's a brilliant idea. The digital technology is moving so fast, it's hard to keep up. I'm 35 and consider myself fairly clued up, but on going through the driving licence I realise I've got a lot to learn, especially from coding!
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ? I learnt things about skype I didn't know -500 million users! I've also built on my non existent knowledge of coding and feel better informed about parental controls - something I am concerned about.
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others? About 20mins - 30mins each, do like the way you can dip in and out of them. Sometimes, I found the timer didn't give enough time to read and thing about the multiple choice options but that might just be me!
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 definitely recommend this, it's brilliant and I'm going to keep using it. If you really are clued up with technology this probably wouldn't benefit you, but I think for a lot of people this would be really beneficial and make you think you are learning with and protecting your children.
Thanks mumsnet for picking me to be a tester!

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole? It was ok - lots of reading which while useful and interesting wasn't that entertaining and I am not sure how much of what I have read I will retain.
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ? Some interesting tidbitd here and there, basic understanding of coding was good - just to make you not completely clueless when talking to someone who knows about it.
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others? Yes - the things you do everyday are easy and you understand more than you think you do I found. 5 or 6 mins for the stuff I knew - a lot longer when you had to read and retake the test.
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? It depends what they wanted it for - I may suggest reading a module if they wanted a specific bit of knowledge but probably nothing further.

1. honestly found it all a bit tedious.
2. I least a lot of random facts long enough to pass the short test, but none of it had been remembered now.
3. 5-10 mins 4)No, because it was quite boring. If they wanted to know more about something there are more effective ways to learn about it.

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole?
A good idea - you always wonder about IT stuff you might be missing as it is evolving so fast

Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ?
Interesting stuff here and there. I was surprised at how much I did know. I plan to revisit it at some point to cover more information

Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others?
10-30 mins. i just went straight into taking the badges. To be honest, with more time i'm sure I could learn a lot more by reading through more 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?
Yes I would. It would be handy, say, to someone not working and has a bit of time to keep their skills up in this area, especially child safety.

Q1. What did you think of the Digital Driving Licence on the whole? Pretty good - lots of information and links. Made me realise there are gaps in my knowledge.
Q2. What did you learn from the Digital Driving Licence ? Coding was the main area I learnt most from. Also internet security and parental controls.
Q3. How long did it take you to complete the different modules? Did you find some easier than others? Mostly 20-30 minutes - found coding the most difficult.
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 as there is something for everyone, regardless of prior knowledge.