The Digital Communications & Engagement Skills Course offers practical digital & multimedia communication skills to communication officers, spokespersons, public relations practitioners, communications professionals and trainers; and all those who seek to achieve public appreciation and influence with their messaging across digital media platforms.

Innovations in digital communication technology and the digital transformation are impacting global media and communication production, distribution and consumption at unprecedented levels. This information flow is increasingly delivering content across personal mobile devices, placing pressure on traditional institutions and giving rise to new and emerging forms of content production and distribution. It’s therefore important for organizations and individuals to prepare and tap into this resource of digital tools, platforms and especially social media.

This course is a fundamental introduction to the principles and systems for digital transmission of information over online channels, including the basics of design, strategy, as well as an understanding of expected impact of messages and their targets. Through project works, learners will examine how digital communication works and get explanations of how to use the new communication tools to improve messaging and achieve the intended goals. It covers the basics of why digital communication is effective and provides practical uses for digital technology.

Beyond the basics of how best to utilize digital tools and platform to improve communication (internal and external), participants will acquire skills and knowledge to document projects and programs to identify the best practice, identify and describe the lessons learned, most significant changes, write case stories and document key achievements (impacts or outcomes). Participants will also be exposed to creative knowledge capture and knowledge management to ensure their organization are learning entities capturing, packaging and sharing tacit and explicit knowledge.

Most important, communication practitioners will learn to measure the return on investment of communication strategies, messaging campaigns and daily communication activities. This course provides knowledge and practical skills to undertake communication and media measurement, as well as getting and interpreting analytics/ metrics to inform ongoing strategy and activities.

At the end of the course, learners will get a Certificate in Digital Communication Skills from Makerere University. They will be required to produce a digital communication strategy, documentation or digital communications project/campaigning to be utilized by their respective organizations or company or group and or cause. They may also monitor and evaluate an online digital communication campaign for their respective organization or group and or selected organizations or ongoing communication campaigns in the community.

Objectives:

1. Equip communication practitioners with digital communication skills necessary and knowledge to power effective communication across digital platform.
2. Learn how to maximise online presence and extend that all-important reach; discover how to harness the potential of blogging, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn for engagement and brand awareness.
3. To provide learners with an understanding of the practical digital communication principles, techniques that will enable trainees to take advantage of the new media technology in the modern digital world.
4. Help participants to acquire skills and knowledge to effectively document projects and programs using digital tools.
5. Learners will be able to capture, store, share and utilize the knowledge and experience of an organization or individuals to provide evidence for improvement.

Areas of Training/Course Outline

We have designed a hands-on training programme in a way that learners will be able to get skills and apply them in the real life situations of digital communication.  In this course participants will learn skills necessary in digital communication with emphasis on the use of new digital tools and technology, the key areas of instruction among others will include;

1. New (digital) media thinking
2. Writing for online and mobile
3. Introduction to Multimedia Communication and Elements of Multimedia
4. Basic website design basics (html, css, php, mysql) and Content management systems
5. Creating and running successful blogs (create blog to use through course)
6. Effective Documentation
7. Knowledge Capture and Knowledge Management
8. New Media analytics, research and measurement
9. Basic web design and publishing skills
10. Digital Audio Production and publishing online and mobile
11. Digital Video Production and publishing online and mobile
12. Digital Photography and imaging for the web and social media
13. Digital security essentials
14. Internet search strategies
15. Search Engine Optimization
16. Computer Aided research and reporting, research and surveys
17. Basic mapping for news and information delivery
18. Data Visualization
19. Multimedia design including Making logos, banners etc
20. Social media essentials and digital marketing
21. Live streaming and Live reporting
22. Producing immersive content experiences about your organisational activities
23. Developing digital communications strategy and content calendar.

Method of teaching/delivery:

The following approaches will be used during the teaching and learning process:

Interactive lectures, demonstrations, presentations, guided class discussions and debates, group work, case studies among others. The teaching–learning process is participatory offering both the facilitators & trainees chance to share their experiences and to practically work on what they learn on a regular basis.

Equipment needed: Computer or good capacity mobile phone with space to install and test apps

Targeted market: Communication officials, Journalists, Activists, online business owners, Digital communication officers, Online Marketers & advertising Agencies, & Media Students,

To read more about this course or to apply, please click here.