First Time Teacher
When I was in college, and then in grad school some ten years later, there were no courses on social media. But now, things are different. I’m proud to say I am helping this new discipline come to life on one college campus. This semester I am teaching a course in social media marketing. I do have experience teaching – I’ve been a guest lecturer, provided corporate training to executives, marketers and salespeople, and coached a team of social media marketers, but this is my first time teaching social media to college students for an entire semester.
This winter, I learned how much time and thought goes into preparing a college course. A surprising amount of time! I am a person who likes to be prepared. So I developed the syllabus before my job interview in order to prove to the dean (and to myself) I could do this. I received the offer and accepted. #Win!
The Workload
With the syllabus done, my framework was built out. I had my guide for bringing social media to life for my students. Whew! I should be all set for the semester, I thought. Just put together some slides, some online discussion questions, a template for developing campaigns. Should be all set – the big work is behind me! Well, I quickly learned that the syllabus was just the start to teaching this semester.
The syllabus is a great guide and I am still following it, but there’s so much more than that. I need to review the course materials each week, prepare slides and activities, learn new technologies, grade and provide feedback on assignments – it’s a really big commitment! Teaching a college course is taking a lot of time and energy, but I feel it is definitely worth it. I want to provide my students with a valuable experience with the discipline of social media. So how are they responding?
The Student Response
In our first class I put everything on the table. Although I’d worked in the education industry for most of my career and worked at schools, classroom teaching was new. I wanted to provide real world skills that they could bring to their next internship or job. We’d be testing some things out in this course and hoping for a positive outcome. I was clear to my students that this was my first time and we were in this together. I needed them to be with me. And from that first class, they committed just like I did.
I started with a full roster and have retained every student. I even had an additional student ask to join – a good sign! The students are doing their work thoughtfully. They are engaging in discussions in the learning management system and in class. I’ve been happily surprised that my own deep commitment to developing a course in this discipline has been returned by theirs. And I see it happening – students in the room have the potential to be rising social media stars. They engage in heated debates about whether a certain campaign deserved to win a Shorty Award. I look at the campaign posts they’ve developed with Hootsuite, Pixabay and Canva, and I see thoughtful planning. We critique big brand campaigns and they come up with brilliant next steps those brands should take with their social media strategy. Wow – these students are talented and have great ideas!
Bring it!
It’s early days, we’ve got just 4 weeks behind us and I am looking forward to seeing my students’ work go deeper into the discipline of social media. Their first strategic project will come together in campaign pitches they are developing. I am full of expectation for the road ahead this semester. I am ready to be wowed. So bring it, you next generation of rising social media stars! Let’s see what you’ve got!
Are you a social media manager? A college educator? Do you work to support new professionals in the field of marketing? Please share your thoughts on teaching and learning social media in the comments below – I’m looking forward to the conversation!