Welcome to TCO 491 Special Topics, Social Media.
Instructor: Dr. Susan Codone, office Rm 241 SEB, 301-4185, codone_s@mercer.edu
Meeting Room: Lab 216A, EGC
Time: T/R 1:40-2:55
Our Course Purpose
You will learn to utilize, manage, and integrate a spectrum of social media applications to create and maintain a consistent organizational profile. Throughout the course, you will learn best practices in social media usage, trends in social media management applications, and strategies for maintaining a constant and compelling online social presence.
Our Readings
All reading will be online and will consist of journal articles, online books, whitepapers, blogs, videos, and other online writing. No textbook purchases are required.
Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to do the following:
1. Understand how organizational use of social media differs from personal use.
2. Review and compile academic research in social media into an annotated bibliography reflecting a particular research trend in social media across industries.
3. Review and compile practitioner research into a summary reflecting industry trends.
4. Analyze existing social media/social networking applications available for organizational communication, information sharing, international communication, documentation and project management, and personal networking and create a written summary.
5. Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of an organization’s social media profile, including the intended audiences, communication strategy (purpose), integration of applications used, organizational profiles, information deployment (content shared), deployment management (schedule and frequency of content sharing), and recommendations for expansion.
6. Utilize at least two social media tools and social media management tools to share information and administratively control, schedule, and manage information-sharing in an integrated, consistent method.
7. Develop an understanding of social media platforms used outside the United States and their effect on international communication.
8. Participate daily/weekly in class social media accounts to share user-generated content and external content, and to discuss class-related concepts.
9. Identify and compile best practices in social media usage and social media management at the organizational level.
10. Become fluent with social media-related terminology.
11. Describe the job duties of a social media manager for a company or other organization.
Grading and Course Standards
Your final grade will be based on the number of points you receive on the assignments, which are subject to modification throughout the semester. Information for assignments will be added throughout the semester. See the Assignments page for more information about each assignment.
Total points possible: 1000 points plus up to 100 points via optional bonus assignments
Grading:
900-1000 = A
875-899 = B+
800-874 = B
775-799 = C+
700-774 = C
675-699 = D+
650-674 = D
Don't drop below 650 points or you'll earn an F
Note: this is a projects-based course. There will not be a midterm and the final exam will be take-home.
Course Standards
1. Class attendance is required. Because this course involves a great deal of hands-on work and collaborative activity, your presence is important not only to the instructor but also to your learning colleagues. Students who miss more than 3 classes in a semester will lose 10 points from their final grade, with an additional 10 points for each additional absence. When you are absent, email me explaining the circumstances and asking for permission to make up missed work.
2. Computer proficiency is mandatory for success in TCO 491 Social Media along with extensive use of browser-based social media applications.
3. Grading standards are typical for TCO courses: points devoted to examinations and laboratory exercises, major projects, daily grades, and class participation. Grading of documents will include not only design and technical proficiency, but also grammatical proficiency. Assignment submissions that demonstrate technical proficiency but contain multiple grammatical and spelling errors will be graded accordingly.
4. The honor code provisions as outlined in the Bulletin and in the student handbook, The Lair, will be assumed for everyone. Please ask if you have any questions. Plagiarism is a violation of the honor code and is prohibited.
5. Out of courtesy for all those participating in the learning experience, turn all cell phones to vibrate before entering the classroom or lab.
6. Students with a documented disability should inform the instructor at the close of the first class meeting. The instructor will refer you to the office of Student Support Services (SSS) for consultation regarding evaluation, documentation of your disability, and recommendations for accomodation, if needed. Students will receive from SSS the Faculty Accomodation Form. On this form, SSS will identify reasonable accommodations for this class. The form must be given to the course instructor for signature and then returned to SSS. To take full advantage of disability services, it is recommended that students contact the Office of Student Support Services immediately. This office is located on the third floor of the Connell Student Center.
7. Lab 216A is now equipped with SmartSync, giving the instructor control over each student machine, including the ability to project the content of your screen to the class at any time. Please use your computer with awareness of this capability.
8. Assignments must be posted in a Dropbox account shared with the professor. Title your Dropbox folder as follows: "tco491_lastname". Documents must be in .doc or .docx format. You must create the Dropbox folder and share it with me at codone_s@mercer.edu.
9. You must submit each assignment no later than the date and time specified in the course schedule, including content designated for posting on social media sites. An assignment submitted after the specified deadline will be penalized one letter grade. Assignments more than 48 hours late will not be accepted and will receive a grade of 0 (zero).
10. You may request an extension without penalty on an assignment deadline but you must request such an extension in writing no later than 24 hours before the original deadline. In no case will an extension of more than 48 hours be granted.
11. Content shared on class social media sites must adhere to Mercer University online protocol and cannot be assumed to be private. See http://www.socialmedia.mercer.edu for more information.
12. You must use standard written English (grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation) even in social media posting -- avoid social media shorthand. Errors count in the course, just as in the real world.
Strategies for Learning Success
Be self-motivated and self-disciplined.
Be a good time manager.
Approach the course with a desire to learn.
Visit the course website frequently (at least every other day) to check for course updates.
Assume a leadership role, and be a teacher when necessary. Voluntarily help other students, bearing in mind, however, that doing other people's work for them in tantamount to cheating.
Develop needed technology skills; visit other social media sites unrelated to the class to observe trends and best practices.
Contribute to course discussions. Listen to others, and respond respectfully to their comments.
Contribute to team activities, and respect the ideas of others.
Conduct thoughtful peer reviews and provide constructive criticism.
Comply with all course policies.
Submit constructive suggestions for improving the course.
Final -- Word doc
Final -- pdf
If you are enrolled in TCO 491, click here and login to the Coursesites website.
Link to Shared Google doc folder