KELA, OmaKanta and Keva
KELA has become familiar to me through various different connections. I have searched for information on KELA’s website related to study and housing allowances, military service, and benefits associated with the birth of a child. Through OmaKela (KELA’s personal service portal), I have submitted applications for study allowance housing supplement, parental allowance, and study grant. Payment of the higher education student health care fee is also done through OmaKela. I already have the European Health Insurance Card.
It is possible to access OmaKanta through the website www.kanta.fi/omakanta. There is a login link at the top of the page, which leads to the authentication process. Before authentication, the user is informed of what information will be released about them in this context. Logging into the service was easy and straightforward.
I tried to check through Kevan’s service portal on March 17, 2025, how much pension I would receive if I retired at the age of 63 or 68, but unfortunately, the service was unavailable at that time. I only received an error message saying, “The calculator is currently unavailable.” Unfortunately, I could not check through Kevan’s website how much my pension would be.
Digital shops
I visited eBay and Amazon online stores to research product pricing and the adequacy of product descriptions. On eBay, I focused on men’s clothing, while on Amazon, I looked at books. I compared the prices and product descriptions to those in local stores in Finland. Regarding Amazon, I noticed that the price level, regardless of the clothing subcategory, was fairly similar to that in local clothing stores. Some multi-packs (such as t-shirts and underwear) were available at very competitive and cheaper prices than in local stores. On eBay, the product descriptions for clothing varied depending on the seller. Some sellers provided very detailed information, including materials and care instructions, while others had significant gaps in these details. The varying product descriptions created some uncertainty and a lack of credibility for me, and I didn’t find eBay to be an attractive place to buy clothing.
For Amazon, I chose books as the product category. The pricing was quite comparable to local bookstores. There were many discounted books, and some were therefore priced more affordably than in local stores. The descriptions of the books were thorough and informative, providing enough details for the consumer. The selection of books was vast, and I believe that anyone would be able to find something interesting to read on Amazon. I could imagine buying books from Amazon if the shipping cost were reasonable.
Application from the insurance industry
I work in the insurance industry and chose Pohjola Insurance’s online service from this field. My insurance and my family’s insurance have historically been focused on Pohjola Insurance products, so I also have experience with their online service. I wanted to choose a service that can be smoothly used on mobile devices, like Pohjola Insurance’s online service. I have used the online service for reporting damages, downloading insurance terms, viewing insurance policies, and checking billing status.
I find Pohjola Insurance’s online service straightforward, clear, and suitable for mobile devices. On the insurance homepage, you can find icons for each type of insurance. There are also icons for messages, invoices, and archives, as well as for reporting damages. Navigation from these sections is seamless and logical. The customer profile also contains information about benefits and insurance events. It is also possible to obtain insurance or request quotes through the online service. Customer service contact details are also easy to find, which I think is a very good feature.
Digitalization and digital gap
Digitalization has gradually moved many different services online, and physical interactions have slowly been replaced by virtual services. The lack of use of virtual services poses certain limitations and challenges for consumers. Many sources of information, services, and resources are now available almost exclusively online. Without access to virtual services, it can be difficult to stay up to date with news, learning opportunities, or other important resources.
Online stores and services enable quick price and product comparisons. Without them, it may be challenging to find the best deals and make informed purchasing decisions. Virtual services like email and social media allow for easy communication, so without these services, one may experience difficulties in staying connected. Additionally, many jobs now require internet usage, especially for remote work and online meetings, so without internet access, it can be hard to find or maintain employment opportunities.
If virtual services are not used, one often has to rely on traditional, local services, which may be more expensive, less flexible, or harder to access compared to online alternatives. Such challenges can make life more difficult as digital services become increasingly important in many areas of life.
Digital competence test
Digital Competence Areas
Information 65%
Communication 52%
Production 47%
Safety 64%
My strongest area was information which means the ability to identify, locate, retrieve, store, organise and analyse digital information and evaluate relevance and purpose. My weakest area was production which means ability to create, configure, and edit digital content, solve digital problems and explore new ways to take advantage of technology. I am not surprised about the results since I am not that interested or capable to create or edit digital content for example in any social media platform.
Self-reflection
Through this task, I had the opportunity to explore the virtual services of various authorities more deeply. I noticed that there is a lot of information available to us Finnish consumers, and services can be used extensively online. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test the pension calculator, but since it was a new tool for me, I plan to try it later. eBay and Amazon were familiar to me only by name, but I had never actually used them or browsed products on those sites before.
It was also interesting to browse the articles of other course participants. We had made somewhat similar observations, but the background from different fields was also reflected in the responses.
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