Digital and Media Literacy
Demonstrated by the ability to draft create and evaluate content on at least one digital or media platform related to a specific communication initiative and audience.
Different types of digital and media literacy were used throughout the program. They included PowerPoint presentations in almost every class, the analysis of videos and social media apps in classes like Communicating Mindfulness and the Mediated Construction of the Life Cycle. But it was my Social Creation of Organizing class that truly helped me build my digital and media literacy. For the class, I analyzed the Carolina Panthers Facebook page game day posts for a period of one month or the equivalent of four football games to determine what persuasive elements they used to build a collective identity with their fans. The analysis revealed that Carolina Panthers marketers utilized organizational symbols (e.g. logo, team colors) and graphics, videos and photos of the favorite team players to engage their fans in building a collective identity. Fan engagement was also important to the team and they regularly encouraged their participation by asking them questions. On average the Panthers marketers had 20 posts per day including both video and photos with a strong emphasis on video and audio components.
The second digital and media component to the class was the creation of a digital presentation. We were required to add audio as a voice over to our Power Point presentation. The addition of the audio component to Power Point presentation enhanced my knowledge of the program since I had never used that tool before. The addition of audio allowed us to share additional content and explanations of our findings with our classmates that would have been lost in a traditional PowerPoint presentation.
I also enhanced my digital and media literacy through the production of a weekly podcast. My weekly podcast was a reflection on my Communication Fluency readings. With podcasts becoming increasingly popular at the time, and even more so now, I believed it would be a good skill to have. The production of the podcast was a multi-step process. First, I completed our weekly readings. Secondly, a script was written, and revised for conciseness. A script was necessary to ensure a cohesive and intelligent episode was produced. Finally, the assignment was recorded and edited using the PodBean app on my smart phone. Since I was a novice at producing podcasts. I did not use any special equipment and kept the production very simple.
Throughout the process, I developed new skills that I can now use in my career. In hindsight, I realize how significant those classes were for me. Not only did I enhance my digital and media literacy skills through the creation of a digital presentation, but it was also where I was introduced to coding and the process of writing and revising a research paper. The creation of the podcast challenged me to utilize my current skills in a new way and also required me to think creatively when writing the script and in the delivery of the information.
Below are a two examples of digital and media literacy assignments: