Social Media in the Classroom

Cindy Royal, Ph.D

Associate Professor

Texas State University

School of Journalism and Mass Communication

croyal@txstate.edu

www.cindyroyal.com

www.onthatnote.com

tech.cindyroyal.net

twitter.com/cindyroyal

facebook.com/cindyroyal

linkedin.com/in/cindyroyal

Social Media in the Classroom Teach students professional use of social

media to achieve goals: promote, interact, share, connect and evaluate

Any class, whether technology-related or not, can use social media to engage students

Many colleges now include Social Media-specific courses

Social media can be used in special projects or events

Blogs Use blogs as discussion forums for courses; encourage

students to fully utilize features of blog: links, images, embedded media, commenting

Twitter• Set up accounts

• Follower recommendations around course topicex. Follow local or national politicians or media that focus on politics, like @texastribune

• Encourage students to follow meetup groups in their field and attend events in real life

• Twitter assignments

• Use of course hashtag

Facebook• Set up a Facebook group or page for class – students don't

need to “friend” instructor

• Show examples of Facebook pages for groups and entities

YouTube

• Search the site to find instructional or related videos

• Have an assignment where students find relevant videos and embed on blog

LinkedIn

• Regardless of whether it is course-related or not, all instructors should encourage students to sign up on LinkedIn. It's a great way to start their professional networks.

• Professors' networks can be helpful to students.

Guest Speakers• Always great to have guest speakers, whether in person or via

Skype.

Social Media Course Social Media at Work –

cindyroyal.com/social Goal of course is for students

to explore the concept of professional uses of social media and personal branding; students should emerge from the class with a the tools necessary to develop and improve their own personal brand

Students create their own blog on a topic; we use Wordpress

Twitter and Twitter assignments

Facebook group related to blog YouTube video embedding Integrated discussions on

current topics and implications

Social Media Course

Photo and Video Assignments• Most students have access to a camera that shoots photos and video

• Students are to develop both a photo slideshow (using Picasa and Flickr) and a video (uploaded on YouTube)

• Both projects require context and content; captions for photos; interview or demonstration for video.

• Students don't need to edit video, just point and shoot. But can if they want to. YouTube even has a video editor now (http://www.youtube.com/editor)

• Embed media on blog

Final Assignment• Social Media Strategy paper

• Can write on ideas for improving own personal brand or how they would implement concepts for an organization

• Requires background, research, and 4-8 specific strategies with detailed descriptions of how they would implement

• Summary blog post

• Many students have indicated that this paper, along with their developed online presence, helped them in interviews and in securing a job

• Students practice writing, linking, visual journalism and have a perspective on current topics

• Course itself does not required advanced technical skills, just a curiosity to try out new things.

Special Projects

sxtxstate.com

txstatemcweek.com

Other Examples of Political Use• Arrested tweet - 2008

• Mumbai attacks - 2008

• Iran Election - 2009

• Egypt – 2011

• Japan earthquake - 2011

• Jeff Jarvis use of #fuwashington hashtag

• Obama tweets for #compromise

Find this presentation at slidesha.re/royal_classroom_aej