Digital Literacy & Me

By Nicole Basaraba

This was my first attempt at creating a podcast and in doing so, it increased my digital literacy. My first challenge was figuring out what software to use. I have worked in iMovie before so my first thought was to create a YouTube video, but taking on the challenge of creating a true podcast was something I wanted to learn. After doing some online research on Apple forums, I found that GarageBand has a podcast feature so I learned how to use it. 

Nicole Basaraba's social media networks

After selecting the software, I wrote the script. It was 900 words and way too long for a three-minute podcast! I spent a while editing it down to the bare minimum. The 500 words I was left with doesn't seem to capture the whole narrative of my digital literacy, but it does give the listener the highlights. The time constraint was also great practice in learning to be more concise. I tend to be write a lot so this assignment was a real test for editing and capturing what listeners really need to know.

I noticed that a lot of podcasts on Audioboo use introductory music, so I added some music and sounds in an attempt to garner more listener interest. Overall it was a great way to focus on developing a concise auditory-focused communication rather than written/visual.

A couple of introductory notes I didn't have time to say in the podcast is that I'm a Communications and Events Coordinator with the University of Alberta. I've been working in communications for over four years and I'm also a freelance writer. Most of my technical and communicative digital literacies are self-taught because working in the communications field, I feel responsible to continually improve my skills and be aware of current digital practices and trends. My podcast focuses on more recent digital literacies that I have developed on my own time.

I use over a dozen social media platforms, but I could not cover my experience with all of them in this short podcast. The following links are to my main professionally-focused accounts:

• The Chron-nicole's blog: http://nicolebasaraba.com/chron-nicoles-blog/ 
• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/nicolebasarabawriter
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NicoleBasaraba
• Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/nicolebasaraba/
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolebasaraba
• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NicoleBasaraba?feature=mhee

My podcast refers to Dr. Doug Belshaw's 8 Elements of Digital Literacies.

References for podcast:

• Doug Belshaw's Tedx Warwick video

• Doug Belshaw describing the 8 C’s of digital literacy

• What is Digital Literacy? (Not used specifically in the podcast, but did help me decide to cover the 8 C's) 

Used with permission from

@dajbelshaw

listen to ‘Digital Literacy & Me - Nicole Basaraba’ on Audioboo