when social media joins the university classroom
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1/15/2015 When Social Media Joins the University Classroom Social Media Club, Inc.
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Search... When Social Media Joins the University Classroomby Ethan Parry on February 3, 2014 in from the clubhouse
Social Media + University Classroom = Perfect Combination
This semester, Brigham Young University’s Department of Communications decided to, forthe first time, offer a social media marketing class.
Everyone pulled out their laptops and learned how to tweet. For those of us who were more
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1/15/2015 When Social Media Joins the University Classroom Social Media Club, Inc.
http://socialmediaclub.org/blogs/fromtheclubhouse/whensocialmediajoinstheuniversityclassroom 2/5
familiar with Twitter, we helped our classmatesfollow others, taught them what a retweet was,and talked about how lists make everythingmore organized. This is social media educationat its finest.
Although schools like Georgetown and Syracuseare known for social media programs, I feel likethere is a long road ahead when it comes tointegrating social media into the universityclassroom.
Cory Edwards, head of Adobe’s Social Business Center of Excellence:
“The issue is not whether social media courses are couched within PR studies, marketing, or business but if universities offer them at all. Many schools are beginning tointegrate social components for their existing courses, but few are solidifying fullsemesterlong courses that focus entirely on social.”
Universities are all about providing their student body with the opportunities to grow andbe prepared to enter the workforce.
As the need for more social media savvy practitioners continues to grow, I encourageuniversities to consider the following levels of social media integration:
Level 1: Basic (Integrate Social Media into Existing Classes)
At the very least, universities can begin integrating more social media into their classes.Twitter is a great way for students to stay uptodate on news events and also encourageconversation with an entire class, especially if there are any shy students.
For universities who want to start here, I recommend that they keep it simple. They shouldnot feel like they have to use every social media network in order to be effective. Pick oneor two, and they can go from there as time progresses.
The guiding question educators should ask themselves is, “How will I use this social medianetwork to further my course’s objectives and goals?”
Level 2: Intermediate (University is ready to have its own Social Mediaclass)
These universities understand the value of social media, but lack the resources to have anentire major/program dedicated to the topic of social media marketing. I feel that mostuniversities fall into this category. Many have social media certificates or a class of somesort, but nothing more than that.
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It is important that the university have their social media class open to all students andnot just limit this essential 21st century skill to communications professionals. Universitiesmay want to consider in having this class as a general, and therefore, make it mandatoryfor all students to take it.
Level 3: Advanced (University has a major, or equivalent, in socialmedia marketing)
In the not too distant future, I hope to see universities offering undergraduate andgraduate degrees in social media marketing. Like anything else in life, it is important toplan for the future. I encourage university administration to consider how fast social mediais growing and to start by creating a comprehensive plan.
Universities have the opportunity to distinguish themselves from other schools if they doestablish some sort of social media marketing degree before others.
Despite which level the university you go to, went to, or will go, is on, I hope moreuniversities will embrace all the power that social has to offer and prepare students fortheir professional careers.
Do you feel that universities should offer social media classes? Why or why not?
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