You want us to do WHAT?

Oh, boy, they don't look excited about this. Well, I guess excited might have been a little much to expect, but interested would have been nice. This could be a long term ... then again, maybe it's because I'm talking about technical communication at 2 p.m. in a small room on a summer day.

I'm not sure that's exactly what I was thinking, but that's probably pretty close to what was running through my mind as I introduced the course assignments to my undergraduate summer technical communication students. I put a lot of work into my class prep, since I added a new unit to the course - new media - so I was hoping for something more than 11 "you want us to do WHAT?" looks.

Since that first day, the students have come around a little. We've talked more about the media I expect them to create by Aug. 4, and a couple of them even have asked why we're doing more than writing papers and fact sheets. That explanation was simple - new media is here, guys, and it's not going anywhere. You need to know the basics of how to use Facebook for something other than posting your 21st birthday pictures and stalking the cute guy in the front row. You need to be prepared to embrace Twitter and blogging as a professional, even if you swear now that you'll never use them. And, you need to be comfortable with the technologies and media available now so that you're prepared for what is coming, the things we haven't even thought of yet, that you'll have to learn on the fly as a big kid.

Most of them pretended they understood what I was saying.

Even if they didn't understand, maybe they will by the end of the summer, after they choose a topic to research and write about, and an organization to represent. Based on their topics and organizations, they will create a strategic communication plan that has to include tweets, blogs and a Facebook page (among other, more archaic publications, like memos, fact sheets, press releases and reports). And - because I'm one of those instructors that expects way too much sometimes - all 11 of my students will have to observe and participate in streaming conversations over Twitter ... if they can keep up.

I'm trying to keep the assignments fairly simple. Tweets and blogs have to be about the topics they choose. That shouldn't be rocket science ... but we'll see. Their Facebook pages are supposed to represent their organizations/topics, and be connected to their tweets and blogs. I want those Facebook pages to be hidden - here's to hoping they follow directions - which isn't ideal, but the idea is to give them the experience of creating something professional on Facebook without starting a Facebook fan page battle that they may not be prepared to deal with.

Keeping the assignments simple also will allow me to include a few basic things about content development and management. We'll see how that goes.

So, one last question that I had to answer for myself, when we decided to share this info: Why does it matter to us - the faculty members, the graduate students, the professional communicators? That was simple. SAAS ... ACT Professional Development ... Western ... AAAE ... ACE ... NACTA ... AMS/NACT ... seven conferences, seven ongoing conversations about using and teaching new media.

Identification of New Media for Educators

Are we as far from robot teachers as we think? In the movie, “Class of 1999,” robots are secretly substituted for human teachers. Today’s classroom usually contains a human instructor, however, instructional methods and/or course materials often rely on technology in order to access, deliver or supplement lecture. Human educators are constantly searching for new and innovative ways to reach their audience, the digital native. Whether it be facebook.com to coordinate discussion or twitter.com to create a course resource database, students are using new media to learn or enhance learning. So should educators.

Facebook.com is a social network, but lends itself to multiple learning components. In agricultural media and communication, facebook.com is being used by media professionals in various ways from coordinating public relations campaigns to disseminating educational materials to negate crises. Utilizing facebook.com in the classroom allows students to gain experience in using an otherwise social tool to communicate to pertinent audiences in a professional manner.

Twitter.com was originally used as a micro blogging site by users interested in knowing where their social network was and what they were doing. In recent years, twitter.com has been a pivotal communication tool for agricultural industries and news outlets. In addition, consumers and advocates of and for almost every agricultural product have created groups and #hashtags to discuss trending issues or to show their support. Respectively, groups against agricultural practices are also using twitter.com to form groups and discuss trending issues. From an educational component, bringing in twitter feeds and/or trending topics on twitter.com allows educators to bring the most current and trendy topics about agriculture to the classroom.

Prezi.com as a freeware version, enables students and faculty to create an interactive, text-based presentation and share with students. The sharing of presentations creates a database for classroom materials and encourages students to view lectures outside of class. Also, this presentation tool allows students to get excited about layout and design for professional audiences and encourages presentation skills through the use of supporting materials. From an educators’ stand point, prezis create a new and innovative way to create lecture materials that adds motion and movement to notes.

Youtube.com is one of the fastest growing websites in the world, and for good reason. The concept of posting videos to a centralized server has endless benefits for personal gain (record deals, acting gigs, etc.), personal entertainment and education. Students are utilizing this media to serve multiple needs. Educators may find youtube.com important for supporting materials such as a how to video of the 4-cycle engine or a 3:00 minute clip on gerunds.

Second Life or other virtual reality worlds play a new role in society and this role can be extended to education. These worlds are fluid and constantly change based on the dynamic of the users. Scenarios play out and can be created, directed or observed by educators. These virtual worlds provide endless opportunity for students to gain hands-on learning without leaving the comfort of their own reality.

Blogs and/or vlogs (video blogs) are becoming ever popular with college-age students both as a form of entertainment and expression. From an educators stand point, blogs are a great way to disseminate course information, create topics for discussion and/or to strengthen writing and critical thinking skills.

Skype.com has allowed the world to be more global. Students are slowly adapting this technology, and industry is too – perhaps at a quicker pace. Not only can skype.com be used to communicate to global experts from the classroom increasing students’ global awareness, but also can be used by educators who are absent from lecture. Live video feeds to the classroom from other areas will allow faculty to be more available to student learning as well as more available to industry support.

Free website development software is available in almost every corner of the web. Sites such as Joomla allow students and web users to create interactive sites with little to no knowledge about design or technical code language(s). This technology paired with guided instruction could allow students to interactively learn design skills, promote critical thinking skills, promote skills to potential employers and/or provide students an online “portfolio” of course assignments or work. No more excuses about the dog eating your homework!

Podcasts are not just for NPR anymore! Podcasting now incorporates audio and visual cues to produce an array of content. Again, students use podcasts for entertainment but also as a supplemental learning tool. With free software such as Audacity or freeware programs pre-installed on most platforms (Microsoft Movie Maker and Imovie), students have new, more interactive ways to learn.