We have seen many programs of course create social media classes (pretty much is standard for most universities now), but there are others that have taken it a step further and have a designated person assigned to be the professor of social media. This seems to be the current trend we are seeing both in the job market as well as from universities.
However, when we are looking and what it really means to be a social media professor, what does this exactly mean? What are the necessary qualifications for someone to have when it comes to have this title? What research do they have to do and what assignments should they have their students do in social media classes?
Well, I am going to tell you what it means. BlitzMetrics interviewed both Scott Sanders (UofL’s new social media professor hire this year and got his PhD from University of Southern California) and I a few weeks ago about this very issue, and we were able to share how we use social media into the classroom in this interview on their corporate blog.
Scott and I both share our perspectives when it comes to how we not only incorporate social media into the classroom, but also how we teach the social media class specifically as well. I am currently teaching the social media class at UofL last spring and again this fall semester, but Scott will also be teaching the class as well at UofL. We hope to continue building this specialization within the Department of Communication as well as for the university.
While Scott is coming from a Communications perspective and my background is more on the PR side, there are still certain characteristics, best practices, and ideas we share when it comes to social media. This is what is great about teaching and researching in social media – there is going to be crossover when it comes to what has been done in research as well as how it can be used both in and outside the classroom. One thing we both agree on is the balance between theory and practice, especially when it comes to the classroom.
Special thanks to Dennis Yu and the entire Blitzmetrics team for taking the time to speak to both Scott and I about what we are doing in the classroom when it comes to social media. It was fun and a great experience sharing with you our ideas, perspectives, and insights on this topic! 🙂
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
0 Comments