Capstone Project

Showcase You & Build Your Digital Media Literacy

Conceptualization and implementation of a campus-wide communication campaign for the promotion of digital media literacy using the Engaged Learning & ePortfolio Showcase

Below, you'll find... (Click on the hyperlinks to be taken directly to what you're looking for!)

Week Zero - Research and Planning

Check out the ePortfolio workbook I adapted from Auburn University with the help of my boss, Debbie Oesch-Minor, and distributed to IU Indianapolis students and faculty at my events!

Week One - Panel at PRSSA Event and More Planning

Weeks Two-Three - Social Media Promos

Weeks Four-Five - Special Events

What Did Students Think? - Survey About The Events

Replicated?

"Can I integrate my work with the ePortfolio Studio and the Institute for Engaged Learning into my capstone project?"

I asked this to my deeply positively impactful mentor and boss, Debbie Oesch-Minor, at the beginning of this semester after learning that the topic for my capstone project course was digital media literacy. I partnered with the IU Indianapolis Institute for Engaged Learning to create this project spanning all students on our campus in just over a month.

"This opportunity is huge."

I raved about how much I was looking forward to my capstone project all August until it finally began. If you've clicked through this ePortfolio, you may have learned that I have a deep passion for communication strategy. In addition to this capstone project of conceptualizing and implementing a campus-wide communication campaign for the promotion of digital media literacy using the Engaged Learning & ePortfolio Showcase, I have simultaneously been working on a communication strategy regarding the Showcase tool at large for administrative implementation and deliverables as early as next semester. The work from this capstone will be featured in the preliminary research phase of my larger communication strategy.

Week Zero - Research and Planning

ACP Pitch.pdf

Pre-Pitch Slides

I developed my initial ideas into a set of slides that were used in a presentation video at the beginning of my capstone project.

ACP Pitch.mp4

Pre-Pitch Video

Above you'll find the video presentation using the pre-pitch slides developed previously.

Hathaway Finished ACP Proposal Worksheet-1.pdf

ACP Proposal Worksheet

Our applied communication capstone project required us to fill out this proposal worksheet.

ACP Project Timeline.pdf

ACP Timeline

The applied communication project timeline was used as reference throughout the project to keep tasks on schedule.

ACP Full Proposal, Hathaway (1).docx

ACP (Applied Communication Project) Full Formal Pitch

The final puzzle piece in the preliminary research and planning phases of the applied communication project was the full "pitch". This document was conceived from the previously discussed proposal worksheet and pre-pitch materials.

Current Copy of eP Checklist (1).pdf

Check out the ePortfolio workbook I adapted from Auburn University with the help of my boss, Debbie Oesch-Minor, and distributed to IU Indianapolis students and faculty at my events!

This document can take you through the step-by-step process of creating a professional ePortfolio.

Week One - Panel at PRSSA Event and More Planning

The first application of my proposal was a collaboration with the student organization PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America). This collaboration took place in Cavanaugh Hall on October 1st in classroom 233. After students received a presentation about PRSSA, they were asked if they would like to participate in a game called "What Will You Showcase?"

What Will You Showcase_ 1.pptx

For a good overview of the mini-presentations I gave to students at each event, take a look at the slides that went along with the presentation. These slides were developed in weeks zero-one and used until the very last event. The research noted, referenced, and cited in these slides served as a foundation for the project.

Weeks Two-Three - Social Media Promos

Making and scheduling posts for the Institute for Engaged Learning social media - along with planning the upcoming events - took up the bulk of my time during weeks two and three of the capstone project. I collaborated with our office's digital media coordinator and project manager to coordinate times to post on social media that did not interfere with previously scheduled postings for other engaged learning opportunities. For the making of the social media posts, I primarily used Canva, along with utilizing the repository of footage from past events and interviews I've done, created by me this summer, to make the assets resonate more with IU Indianapolis students.

Showcase YOU.mp4

I interviewed an IU Indianapolis top 10 student about her ePortfolio and Showcase submission to raise student awareness of digital media literacy

WHAT WILL YOU SHOWCASE TABLE PROMO.mp4

The graphic above was created to gain student interest of the Showcase You game played throughout this campaign as a key tool for building digital media literacy

eP Showcase Video (2).mp4

This Instagram video was created raise awareness of the Showcase tool and the long-term benefits of engaging with this tool for digital media literacy

Add a heading.mp4

This Instagram reel was created to highlight the multi-functionality and benefits of the Showcase

I created this Instagram post to stimulate Showcase interest on fall break

TableWithMe.mp4

I made this video for our Instagram to humanize the tabling process

This is an Instagram post used to spread awareness of the digital media literacy campaign

This Instagram post was created to help students connect ePortfolio and digital media literacy with career readiness

Impromptu Podcast Appearance:

My friend asked if he could interview me about ePortfolio for a podcast assignment he had -- of course I jumped at the chance to spread digital media literacy at IU Indianapolis.

Thanks for the opportunity, Kyle!

Weeks Four-Five - Special Events

Weeks four through five were busy! I hosted four tabling events - each 2 hours long or longer - throughout the campaign in the Campus Center at the information tables. In week five I hosted an event at the IU Indianapolis ePortfolio Studio where students picked up pizza, refreshments, snacks, and engaged with the digital media literacy materials I presented at the tabling events.

draft 2 BDML F1 (2).pdf

Digital Media Literacy With ePortfolio and The Showcase Flyer

This flyer was made with the intention of educating IU Indianapolis students about the impact of digital media literacy skills and how to gain these skills with engagement of IU Indianapolis's ePortfolio and the Showcase.

New Showcase Game Banner.pdf

Improved "What Will You Showcase?" Game

I took the framework of the "What Will You Showcase?" game I presented in the slides used at the PRSSA callout meeting digital media literacy panel and revamped the game following student feedback. The previous iteration of the game had less prompts and different wording. I reworked the previous tool to use the language "Showcase You" for improved student brand recognition of the IU Indianapolis Engaged Learning and ePortfolio Showcase.

Setting up my table

I use a wagon from the Institute for Engaged Learning to carry my posters, flyers, materials I give out at tabling, and decorations for the table to the Campus Center from Hine Hall. Shout out to my mentor for giving me a great short-cut for getting to and from -- this certainly helped on days when it was raining.

Tabling photos

My fellow engaged learning ambassador, Kayden, and my friend from the podcast, Kyle, stopped by with his coworkers! It was fun to chat with friends here and there in-between meeting many new faces.

Social media posts to promote the tabling events

Below are just a few social media posts I made on various accounts to promote the tabling events.

5676b94c13f34d7cad6baeb9dcb4ea5e.mov

The ePortfolio open house event was held on November 4th in Hine Hall 241 and ran from 12pm to 4pm.

Photos from the open house event

A very special thank you to Amanda Blevins and Debbie Oesch-Minor for helping me organize and set up this event. Students were served pizza from Hot Box, snacks, soda, juice, and the famous IEL office candy! At the event, students were invited to play the "What Will You Showcase?" game featured earlier. Every student who played received a prize of either a pen, pencil pouch, magnet, chapstick, or multiple all branded with IU Indianapolis if they won an extra prize in the game. I distributed the digital media literacy flyers I made earlier in the semester at this event and invited students to look at the Showcase on the office TV screens, which were connected to a computer that had the Showcase pulled up. In addition to the game, flyer, prizes, and pizza, students had the opportunity to receive walk-in ePortfolio consultations. Three out of the over twenty students in attendance at the event received a consultation, but more inquired about a consultation after the event.

Digital Event Promotion

The digital flyer above was posted on the Institute for Engaged Learning Instagram account and was reposted by several other IU-official accounts to raise awareness of the event.

Print Event Promotion

I created the flyer above using Canva and distributed these around the IEL office on campus. I also gave flyers to The Idea Garden and a few other organizations with ties to our office on campus.

What Did Students Think? - Survey About The Events

To gauge student perception of the materials provided at each digital media literacy event throughout the campaign I created a survey. Well, this is technically incorrect. I created three surveys. The first two were created using my IU Google Forms. When students were still not able to get into the survey after I created the second iteration, I finally realized that the issue was that because my survey was created through my IU account, students had to sign into their IU account to take the survey -- which made them think it was inaccessible to them. To remedy the issue, I created a survey using a Google account unaffiliated with IU. By the time I figured out the issue, I had already completed most of my events. However, I still received some survey results and even additional optional feedback via this final forms iteration.

Expand to see survey results

Promotion of Digital Media Literacy

on a Larger Scale

The entirety of this capstone project will be synthesized into reports for the research and discovery phase in my portion of a $25,000 grant project through the Division of Undergraduate Education. The implication of this is that the communication strategies formed through this grant will be grounded in digital media literacy research. That being said, I feel confident saying that this capstone project will continue to advance digital media literacy in IU Indianapolis students for years to come. The "What Will You Showcase?" game played at tabling and events throughout this campaign -- conceptualized from digital literacy media research -- will be integrated into marketing campaigns for the Engaged Learning and ePortfolio Showcase.

Replicated?

The success of this capstone project leads me to believe that this campaign could be replicated at other colleges with similar results. A varying factor I would be interested in exploring with these same materials in other contexts would be the career readiness focus of the communication strategy. IU Indianapolis students traditionally value a high ROI of their education in the way of future earnings and career readiness -- often valuing professional development over other uses of time. I focused on this aspect of digital media literacy because I felt it would resonate with my primary audience, IU Indianapolis students, the most. For success in other colleges, I recommend administration examine the desires and pain points of their students and reflect on if a career readiness approach is the most advantageous for their messaging. However, due to the success of the project and the strength of the preliminary research conducted before its implementation, I believe the main framework I've created of the "spin the wheel" game melding technical and physical spaces using QR codes to the Showcase may be replicated in other contexts for digital media literacy initiatives successfully.