Preparing Students To Produce Digital Content

6 Points To Consider When Preparing Your Students To Produce Digital Content 

To get sense of the importance of digital content creation in today’s classrooms, take a look at the Common Core Anchor Standard that calls for students to produce writing in a digital format:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.6
Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

Here are some things to consider when shifting your classroom into the digital age, and preparing your students to become capable digital content creators.

1. Distinguish between digital content consumption and digital content creation.
   Do you know the difference between using devices such as iPads and other tablets as consumption devices versus leveraging them as creation devices? While simply giving a student access to an app or an educational game does expose students to technology, it may not lead to the higher level thinking that should be the goal of incorporating technology into the classroom. While there are plenty of great applications that are useful to students to consume content, using applications that allow them to create and share content can completely change what a student’s end product is. This can be as simple as using an online storyboarding tool for students to collaborate, or as advanced as using video editing software to create a digital story as a book report.
2. Student ownership of content.
   It has long been thought that a student centered project that ends with them creating a piece of material engages the student because of the sense of ownership to the final piece. This has not changed today; yet, in a world where students are surrounded by digital content and rich media, it may be more engaging and motivating for them to create projects that are digital and can compete with the digital world they live in.
3. Same skills and content, different medium.
   The process of research, planning, scripting, storyboarding, and presenting information has not changed in the digital world. What has changed is the medium in which we have students create the projects. Building a diorama in a shoe box or creating a poster board may have been something we all did in school, and the research that goes into these projects remains extremely valuable. In today’s digital world, we can replace these projects with online tools to create multi-media posters that can include interactive web links, videos and more. These tools are more engaging to students simply because they incorporate technology into the creation process. For example, when I was in high school (circa 1999) I wrote articles for the school newspaper, which was then printed and distributed. Today, I would most likely be writing articles for a classroom blog or website. The process I go through to write the article is the same - only the medium has changed.
4. Global access.
   Now that the medium has changed, so has who can access it. My high school newspaper probably did not make it past the cafeteria, but with an online blog and social media, the range of people who can obtain access to student created content can literally be global. While it was very unlikely that another student from Australia could have read my high school newspaper, today being able to comment back and forth on my article with a student from across the globe is a very real possibility. Giving students a louder voice with their creations allows them to see how small the world can be, thanks to the internet.
5. Digital citizenship.
   Along with the benefits that digital content creation brings, there are also new responsibilities. There are many facets to being an upstanding digital citizen, and one of the most important when it comes to digital content creation is proper sourcing and citations. Would you allow a student to write a research paper and not source or cite their research? If not, then why allow students to use an image or video without citing the source, just because they were able to find it through Google images?
   While a student may not be penalized for using a copyrighted image in your class, they would be in the workplace. Understanding the rules around using “creative commons” or royalty free media is just as important a skill as the project itself.
6. Preparing students for the 21st century workplace.
   It is a safe assumption that technology and digital content will not just disappear once the student reaches the workforce. In fact, it will most likely be a prominent skill that is in high demand by employers. With many online creation tools lending themselves to collaboration between two people without ever needing to actually be together, putting students into this situation as early as possible will not only give them the technology skills to create digital content, but the interpersonal skills it takes to be able to collaborate through technology.

Keep these concepts in mind when teaching students how to approach creating digital content, from activities as simple as formatting a letter, to drafting an email, to creating multi-media projects, and more. The sky is the limit when it comes to digital content creation; and the classroom is an important place for students to learn the skills they’ll need to communicate and thrive in today’s digital world.