"Digital skills" is one of those expressions that are repeated so often they lose their meaning. It's not about knowing how to use a mobile phone—any student knows that better than most adults—but about four specific skills that determine how you do in the course and, in the case of university admissions, whether you manage to complete the application process on time.
This guide explains what they are, which ones really matter before starting university, and where technology is doing harm instead of helping.
What are they, precisely?
The European reference framework (DigComp) organizes them into five areas :
- Information and media literacy: search, evaluate and organize information.
- Communication and collaboration: working with others in digital environments.
- Digital content creation.
- Safety: data protection, devices and digital wellbeing.
- Conflict resolution with digital tools.
Notice that the first skill isn't "knowing how to use programs": it's knowing how to distinguish what information is valuable. It's the skill that's most often taken for granted and the one that's most lacking.
The four that change the course
1. Evaluate a source in thirty seconds
Being a digital native doesn't mean knowing how to spot fake news. In fact, it's the opposite of what's commonly assumed: familiarity with screens makes us lower our guard.
This directly relates to the exam. The university entrance exam (PAU) is competency-based : it gives you a text, a graph, or a source and asks you to interpret and argue your point. Those trained to critically read material they're seeing for the first time have a real advantage, and that's no coincidence: it's the same skill.
2. Use AI without emptying the learning curve
This deserves its own section below, because it is what has changed the most in the last two years and where the most damage is being done.
3. Organize your own study
A calendar with real dates, a single place for all your notes, and a system to track your progress. It sounds simple, but it makes all the difference between arriving in June with the syllabus covered or chasing after it.
The tool itself is of little importance. What matters is that there's a single place : the usual problem isn't a lack of apps, it's having notes scattered among four people.
4. Managing the procedures
The most invisible and the one that costs the most when it fails. It belongs in its own section.
AI: where it helps and where it hurts you
It's important to be clear, because the answer isn't "don't use it".
Where it helps: to explain something you don't understand otherwise, to generate practice questions on a topic, to correct your writing and tell you why it's wrong, or to summarize something you've already read and want to remember.
Where it hurts you: when it produces what you were supposed to produce yourself. And here's the underlying problem, which almost no one notices while it's happening: reading a correct answer feels the same as having understood it . It isn't. The feeling of having studied comes without the learning, and that's only revealed in the exam, when there's nothing left to ask about.
The practical rule is simple: use it to understand and to correct yourself , never to hand it in . And if it asks for argumentation—which is exactly what the university entrance exam asks for—the argument must have been constructed in your mind at least once.
There's also a technical detail worth noting: these tools fabricate data with complete confidence, especially dates, figures, and legal references. They are not suitable as a source for regulatory content—deadlines, weightings, schedules. Official websites are for that purpose.
Access to university is, from beginning to end, a digital process
This is the part that nobody includes when talking about digital skills, and it's the one that has immediate consequences.
The entire process that determines your placement takes place on a screen and has deadlines that close automatically:
- La university pre-registration, in the Portal d'Accés a la Universitat, with eight preferences that must be ordered and a PDF receipt that must be downloaded and saved.
- The acceptance or reassignment of a position, which is a active processIf you don't get involved, you're out of the process.
- The application of scholarshipwith its own calendar, different from that of pre-registration.
- For international students, UNEDasiss accreditation and registration for the PCE.
None of those steps are difficult. But you can lose places by not logging into a website on time , and that's not something you can make up for with a good grade. The two habits that prevent this are: keeping the dates on a calendar with reminders, and downloading and saving all the confirmations the system generates.
Digital skills are one part of a broader set of skills that are required of students today. We review them all in the guide to 21st-century skills.
What is not digital competence
- Knowing how to use social media. It does not transfer to any of the above.
- Accumulate tools. Having five unused productivity apps is a way to procrastinate with a clear conscience.
- Studying with your mobile phone next to you. Part of digital competence lies precisely in knowing how to turn it off.
And a problem that cannot be solved at an individual level.
The digital divide is real: not everyone has the same access to a decent device, a good internet connection, or a quiet place to use them. Saying that digital skills are a matter of personal effort ignores this fact.
If that's you, there's an underrated resource: public libraries. Computers, internet access, and quiet, all for free. In Barcelona, they're a practical solution for those who don't have access to them at home.
FAQ
What are digital skills?
The set of knowledge and skills for using technology safely, critically, and effectively. The European DigComp framework groups these into five areas: information and data, communication and collaboration, content creation, security, and problem-solving.
Do young people already have them because they grew up with screens?
Not necessarily. Being comfortable with devices doesn't necessarily mean knowing how to evaluate a source, protect data, or organize one's own study, which are the parts that matter academically.
Can I use artificial intelligence to study?
Yes, so they can explain what you don't understand, generate practice questions, or correct your work. Not to produce what you were supposed to produce yourself: reading a correct answer is very similar to understanding it, and they are not the same thing.
Is AI useful for checking deadlines and regulations?
It's not advisable. Make up dates and figures with complete certainty. For deadlines, weightings, and schedules, you should consult official sources.
What do digital skills have to do with university entrance exams?
Two things. The exam is competency-based: it gives you sources and asks you to interpret and argue them. And the entire application process—pre-registration, acceptance of a place, scholarships—is digital and has deadlines that close.
Which tool is best for getting organized?
Whichever one you're going to use. It's more important to have a single place with your notes and dates than to choose the right app.
