Top 10 Essential Computer Skills for College Students

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Essential Computer Skills for College Students: There are various computer skills such as

  • document writing and editing skills,
  • presentation skills, communication skills,
  • financial management skills,
  • social media skills,
  • English and Hindi typing skills,
  • basic photo editing skills and interest research skills etc.,

All of these help students unlock their creativity, increase technical thinking, and enables them to explore college subjects around the world.

Find out: Online Basic Computer Courses: Learn essential Computer Skills

It’s well known that there is no field in which computers and the internet do not operate the process. In the future, students can do business or they can do jobs or whatever, but they can’t escape using a computer and the internet to get things done.

They will find the computer and internet applications in their office even on the first day.

So just as studying before exams is important, learning these skills for jobs, and career development is also just as important. Dig the well in time, don’t wait for the fire to start.

Basic computer knowledge among school and college students today is as important as other subjects such as English, Hindi, math, and economics. As we see that computers and the Internet have become indispensable in our daily life, almost everything is becoming high-tech and integrated with information technology.

So this basic computer knowledge for students and adults is very important to survive in a career or to become successful. Basic computer literacy is considered an essential skill to have if you want any job or survival skill today.

Following are the articles I have written about this: 

Top 10 Uses of Computers in Our Daily Life

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Importance of Computer Education in Schools for Students

Will, Skills, and IT tools play a great role in a student’s personal and career development. Today, I will be talking only about skills that are essential and important to learn for students.

But now what are those computer skills that help college students in their studies and career and why learning the following computer skills is extremely important for them? So in this article, I am trying to explore the top skills that are essential for every college student to learn.

1. Computer Typing Skills in English and Hindi

Computer typing skills in English with a minimum speed of 40+ wpm (words per minute) and 25+ wpm in Hindi are considered must-haves, It helps them to type faster on an in-home pc and on a laptop.

Students need to present various assignments on subjects in college and all these assignments are created using computers and the internet. If students know how to type in English and Hindi faster and accurately they will save time and money.

Else if they don’t know how to type in English or Hindi, they have to pay someone in a cyber cafe who types it for them. If it’s regular work then yearly it will cost upwards of 5000+ rupees.

Typing skills for college students not only help them to type college assignments faster and save money but will also help them to get a government job later in life.

Once or twice every year, the state, central government, SSC, and Private companies notify people about the vacancies for secretarial work, clerical job openings, and data entry operator positions.

Most of these jobs are on the basis of 10+2 and graduate levels in which  40+ WPM in English and 25+ WPM in Hindi typing is essential for candidates to qualify. So learning and practicing computer typing in Hindi and English is a must-have computer skill for students.

2. Document Writing and Editing Skills

Document writing and editing are other vital skills for students. Students can learn and practice document writing and editing in Microsoft Word and Google Docs.

Both are very effective for creating assignments, project details, writing notes, and all kinds of editing works. Almost 90% of private and government offices use Microsoft Office applications for their official work.

Students can also use Office 365 and Google Docs online. The online use of Microsoft Word and Google Docs helps them to edit and create documents even on their mobiles.

This happens in real time and more than two students can work on a single document simultaneously from anywhere on any device.

Learning document writing increases their interest and creativity. Students will not stop there and they will learn next-level writing such as copywriting and content writing. And sooner they will have top writing skills that they can use for their personal blog, a professional blog, or part-time freelancing.

They can do it by using just 2 hours daily in the evening in the hostel or at home. And it’s a practical skill that is important in career and business. that’s how students started document writing but there will be a chance that one day students will be editors, writers, and designers.

3. Mathematical calculation and personal financial management skills

When we talk about mathematical calculation, personal and professional finance or money management then the leading software in this area is Microsoft Excel. There are various uses of Microsoft Excel in our daily life.

Learning Microsoft Excel skills will help students to regulate various college living expenses on a day-to-day basis such as paying fees, travel expenses, party expenses, etc. Excel also helps them to visualize calculations in charts and reports so that they can analyze where they are spending their money.

But Excel is not only helpful for personal use for students. It has hundreds of other benefits such as conducting calculations related to subjects such as economics etc.

4. Presentation Skills

Presentation is a behavioral skill that is displayed during the project presentation in class. To create presentations students can use and learn about Microsoft PowerPoint or Google slides. Microsoft PowerPoint is having more options than Google slides for presentations.

The effectiveness and quality of the present matter the most when it’s about impression, impact, and influence. Technically behaviors in this sense mean the color of slides’ background, selection of images, the process of animation, typeface, and orientation of subjects and objects in the presentation.

So as our behaviors matter on the job, in business, and in society, similarly, it’s important for the presentation.

Learning presentation skills on the computer is very easy using Microsoft PowerPoint and pre-designed templates.

5. Photo Editing, Graphic Designing, and Artistic skills

Photo editing and artistic skills are not considered important computer skills for students, even if the student has exceptional artistic skills. But the real truth that many people don’t know, is that everything that we do in our life, everything that we see around us is a combination of art and science.

So I believe that it’s very important for college students to identify their early childhood talents and explore them by using photo editing, graphics designing, and animation software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator etc. in their free time.

It’s highly possible that it can open up a whole new door to the creative side of their talent.

There are various powerful uses of photoshop in our life and it can be very helpful to build a career that is capable of providing part-time or full-time employment opportunities for students.

If you don’t have these applications, you can also use free online photo editing software and tools that spark your creativity. Also, as an added advantage, if you learn these skills, you can edit your selfies like no one else has done before, besides creating and editing designs for college projects and presentations.

Find out how Adobe Photoshop can be used,  in the following articles:-

Uses of Adobe Photoshop in Our Daily Life

Top 10 Benefits of Learning Adobe Photoshop Skills

6. Basic computer hardware and maintenance skills

Fixing computer and mobile problems is part of our life. It’s very important that students know about basic computer hardware and troubleshooting methods.

Students should know how to buy and download software. Students should know how to install new software and remove old software that is not in use. Students should know how to keep their pc clean and safe from viruses.

Students should know how to add certain equipment to their computers and laptops. Like installing RAM, Hard Disk, basic input-output peripherals etc.

If they know these basic computer and mobile repairing skills they can save thousands of rupees for their parents. The same money can be used for their books and other online and offline courses.

So it’s important for students to learn a few basic computer hardware skills so that they don’t need to visit computer technicians for smaller problems. Thanks to affordable internet data and good streaming speeds, they can learn such skills on youtube as well.

Read more: How to learn computer hardware repair: Tips and Skills

7. Internet Research and online learning skills

Research skills are the most important skill on the list. It’s my favorite. I love to research. Research for me means to know more, it means to explore the hidden truth. Such as what to do. Why does it? What can be its impact if I do it or don’t?

Research is not the only means to collect data for assignments. It’s also meant to find the truth. It also means careful analysis and making decisions based on the analysis. What can be the right solution?

In practical form: Research starts when there is a certain problem and we need the solution. Research starts when we want to innovate. Research starts when trying to find online accredited colleges, research starts when we compare the best online courses, etc., and research also starts when you take action on certain projects or plans.

And when looking at the results of a query,  we can visualize and analyze the data and information.

For example, it’s already proven that there is no substitute for hard work. This is a fact based on research. But if you want to test, then start working on some really hard learning for the subject you’re not good at for a few weeks. And after a few weeks, you will see that you’re getting great results. They are not so hard anymore because you cut the hardness with your hard work.

Research is not something that only scientists, doctors, and scholars can do. Research can be done by anyone on anything. The process is as simple as above. But yes, there are a few skills that make research reports better and it’s very important when a research report can influence the lives of millions of people positively and negatively.

So even learning basic research skills online using computers and the internet will be very helpful for students during college degree and after their degree. Online learning also means students can take online courses.

Students can join accredited degree programs etc. also part of research and learning. If students understand and use the power of the internet and research, then half of the world’s problems will be solved.

8. Data management, privacy, and security skills

Data management is the extra hard work and burden that is put by information technology on students. Such as Deleting WhatsApp messages, desktop files, pen drives data, mobile photos, and academic document management etc, it is a lot of work indeed.

Now, these things take time and management, deleting, transferring and uploading use many parts of the student’s brain. If they learn basic management of data it can be very helpful and make students stress-free and there is no fear of losing important data in the dust.

For example, students can use the free cloud storage space provided by Google, Microsoft, and many others. If the size of data is more than 15 GB such as videos and audio then using paid cloud storage plan is also helpful.

Today, students use mobile and computer and it’s obvious that it contains and creates lots of data.

So it’s also important for students to learn the basics of privacy and security of their data. So that it cannot be used by suspicious people.

9. Social Media Skills

Social media websites and apps are the most attractive due to their wide variety of content. A Student’s life is the most exciting time because there are not that many financial, family, and other burdens on them.

So in the time when they are free, they use social media and soon they become addicted to it. So it’s important that students should learn about the skills and methods to use social media wisely.

In the following articles, you can learn more about the social skills and uses of social media.

Impact of social media on school and college students

Uses of Social Media in Daily Life – Essay

10. Digital Communication Skills

Digital communication is on the rise. Everyone is using WhatsApp, emails, and chat apps much more than actual verbal communication. Profile pictures and selfies are also part of this communication. So it’s important for students what to communicate when to communicate and how to communicate by using these digital communication tools.

As you must be knowing that the latest innovations in Information Technology are about presentation and interaction. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robots are now communicators with humans on the internet and on computers. It’s not that much but following precautions and etiquette will be helpful.

So, friends, these are the essential computer skills I think you should learn and practice each day for an hour or trow.

  • You can learn these skills online on youtube or by joining online courses.
  • You can learn these skills offline after college in your city.
  • You can learn or hire teachers online and offline to teach you.
  • You can also learn these skills in your college if there is enough IT infrastructure and qualified teachers. I certainly hope there are.
  • If you want to learn from me then keep in touch.

That’s it!

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