Empowering Digital Creativity Developing Critical Knowledge Through a University Blog, Social Media and Podcasts

Most Reports depict young people among the major users of Internet and social media. Assuming the hypothesis that digital media can have a strategic role in empowering youth’s creativity, we might consider them not only as consumers but as active creators. High education can support the development of a creative thinking to generate and extend ideas, to suggest hypotheses, to apply critical imagination, and to look for innovative outcomes. Since 2012, the master's degree in journalism, public and corporate communication of the University of Bologna promotes Laboratories involving the students in different communication activities also in collaboration with other institutional and social actors. In this paper we focus on the last edition of the Laboratory in Digital Communication and Social Media Management, where students make up a web editorial office. An average of 70 students takes part to the Laboratory. Everyone is called to contribute to the management of the Compassunibo blog, the official blog of the master's degree, a space for report, articles, news and storytelling, as well as to manage the official social network profiles. Through our participant observation and the thematic analysis of contents we reflect on how a teaching method based on ‘pro-activity’ can improve digital creativity and foster a critical awareness on professional ICT skills. The analysis starts from the output produced by the students using digital platforms as WordPress for blogging, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter for content marketing on social media, and Spotify for podcasting. Students act like content creators who learn by doing, sharing abilities and experiences with others. They gain awareness of the gatekeeper’s role about news and social issues that they propose to a community of readers made up particularly by their peers. At the same time, they have the role to build and reinforce the community’s bonds. Creating digital contents allows them to develop skills such as sources searching, frame analysis and interpretation, web writing and search engine optimization (SEO). Using the social media and podcast in a professional way they learn to practice new forms of digital literacy. Overall, this learning experience in Laboratory allows students not only to get technical communication skills but also to develop a greater and mature awareness to cooperate effectively in a team, and an immediate portfolio for their future job.