Strategic Presentation Methods in Digital Media is a great course for Rutgers students with a Digital Communication Information and Media (DCIM) minor to learn more about digital tools. We live in such a technological world where we are constantly utilizing the digital landscape. Before this class, I would say I was technology savvy, knowing how to use digital tools due to my experiences from internships, jobs, and previous courses. However, Strategic Presentation enhanced my skills in this area by strengthening my public speaking, editing, and critical thinking skills. This type of class is what I find the most useful as someone entering the “real world.” I can read hundreds of articles, learn theories, and analyze readings that are important to acknowledge. However, I find it more practical to experience how to do something and physically create a project rather than writing a paper and reading articles. Two major takeaways from this class were creating a podcast and building a website to give me a personal brand. Both projects have helped me enhance my skills and helped me learn new skills I can use in the future.
The first takeaway I will discuss is the podcast project. I discussed social media’s role in DJs promoting their creative work for my podcast. Before this project, I only created one podcast for my class, Interpersonal Communication. It differed from this podcast because my Interpersonal Communication class was a group project, and we didn’t have to edit too much. This one required more editing and adding music clips, which I didn’t mind because I learned something new. I find projects like this to be more fun and engaging because I have an interest in editing. Since I want to pursue a career in social media, this was a great way to enhance my skills using digital tools like GarageBand. I used GarageBand to edit my sound clips, and it was a great tool because I have used it in the past, but not to this extent. So, I was familiar with it, but I still had to learn how to maneuver the platform. I also enjoyed this project because I was able to choose my topic. I picked social media and DJ-ing because, as I mentioned, I want to pursue a career in social media, and I love to DJ in my free time. When I can pick a topic that demonstrates my interests, researching and creating a meaningful project is always more fun. Most of the podcast listeners heard was my interview with a female DJ who is a student at Rutgers University. This project gave me the opportunity to get an insight into what it is like to DJ at events, how social media plays a role in her promoting her work, and what it is like to DJ in a male-dominated field, which related to my PSA that I added in the podcast. Overall, it was a great way to apply my knowledge of using these digital tools and expand my knowledge and interest in editing since I will most likely be editing clips in the near future. Check out my podcast below!
My second takeaway from this class was building my own website. Creating this website has allowed me to display who I am as a person on a professional and personal level. People who view my website can get a better understanding of my interests, passions, goals, previous projects, and experience through a screen. Many jobs ask applicants to attach a portfolio when applying for a position. So, having a website is a great way for me to display my work to potential employers when I apply for jobs since everything they need to know is here on my website. In the past, I have scrambled to make portfolios when applying for jobs, so now I feel prepared to apply to jobs since everything is up-to-date. Before this class, I was not familiar with WordPress. So, it took time to familiarize myself with the website and learn how to make posts and add everything there. But it was easy once I got the hang of it. There’s also a creative side to making your own website. I was able to pick colors and templates that fit with my brand, and I was able to choose the layout of where everything was and how my blog posts were laid out. I will definitely use my website post-college and keep up-to-date with my future projects because I think it is a vital tool for anyone in the workforce, no matter what field. Stay tuned for new content, updates on my projects, and continued growth in my professional career!
Overall, Strategic Presentation was a great course for me to learn more about digital tools and grow my skills. Other assignments that I would like to include that helped expand my proficiency were the Blog Meme Post and the annotation for the readings. Blog Meme Post was a fun assignment where I took memes that fit into my website brand and further analyzed them. Annotating readings was also important because it allowed me to really understand what I was reading and how to apply the information to other discussions or real-world situations. I recommend this class to any Rutgers student, even if they are not a DCIM minor. It is a beneficial class for getting a better understanding of digital tools. Many jobs require digital communication or presentation skills, and this course provides a solid foundation in these areas. Technology isn’t going away anytime soon, so it is important for us to stay on top of the trends and tools in the digital world.
References
Villalta, E. (2021, November 7). Rutgers sign that reads “RevolUtionary” [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/a-sign-that-says-revolution-in-front-of-a-building-nXCm8J2G5zA.
Gabby Meyer 