This article discusses two interview assignments used in a class on political representation. Instructor observations, as well as student-provided survey data, indicate the assignment was a successful learning tool. Students who provided feedback on the assignment reported high levels of enjoyment and learning. Moreover, students reported higher…

A teaching team composed of a faculty member (lecture) and a graduate teaching assistant (lab) endeavored to engage students enrolled in several sections of the same organic chemistry course through the use of social media. Students were encouraged to follow both instructors on Twitter and were asked to share aspects of the class using the social…

A common observation on college campuses today is "students do not look up when walking on campus." It is often thought that such attachment to communication devices demonstrates a lack of connection to the "real world." This perspective exemplifies the need for faculty to connect with the "digital generation" and do…

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are courses offered for free for any students with an internet connection. Many institutions now offer free MOOCs, including prestigious state universities and private schools. MOOCs are differentiated from ordinary online classes in several ways. Some MOOCs may have as many 50,000 students enrolled in a course…

As more and more library and LIS education migrates to the online environment, college and university faculty are called upon to expand their pedagogy. Interactivity has been cited as one factor in attracting and retaining students in online courses and programs. LIS educators can reach outside the online learning management system (LMS) to…

This paper describes the process used and experiences gained in developing a social media and marketing course. As the first known paper on this topic appearing in the marketing education literature, the paper provides educators with a framework for developing similar courses. The course was developed using a sound instructional design model, the…

The authors describe an assignment in which first-year university students develop a sense of community by discussing personally relevant topics via the shared experience enabled by the social media tools Twitter and Paper.li. A list of references and suggested readings is included.

This paper will describe pedagogical approaches for re-purposing an open educational resource (OER) designed and produced by the Deutsche Welle. This free online program, "Deutsch Interaktiv," consists of authentic digital videos, slideshows and audio texts and gives a contemporary overview of the culture and language in Germany, Austria…

A growing trend in post-secondary education is the supplementing of classroom discourse with online discourse. This new discourse is often situated in social networking and course management applications. There are several reasons for the move toward online discourse. Wide availability of new hardware and software has played a role. Even more…

The transformative experiences afforded by technology are wide and varied. Among them is the extended reach these technologies give us in connecting with others around the world, or even in our own communities, who may be from very different backgrounds than ourselves. Emerging technologies are providing new opportunities in education, and this…

While Web 2.0 has no universal definition, it always refers to online interactions in which user groups both provide and receive content with the aim of collective intelligence. Since 2005, online software has provided Web 2.0 collaboration technologies, for little or no charge, that were formerly available only to wealthy organizations. Academic…

Mentoring has transformed from traditional master-apprentice relationships into multiple developmental relationships that extend beyond functional, organizational, and geographic boundaries. The Internet provides one mechanism for proteges to identify mentors to help navigate career opportunities. The online mentor activity presented here requires…

Social cohesion is understood as the social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from connections among individuals. When students attend higher education institutions, they go through a process of socialization, and it is vital to ensure that they acquire the core values that underpin the social cohesion. This…

Many course websites and much of the literature about them address the delivery of distance education. However, course websites are also useful for bringing the world to campus-based social work students, as well as for communicating between classes and making up for missed sessions. Course websites can incorporate synchronous or asynchronous…

Although the literature on social networks has made a considerable contribution to the sociological imagination in recent years, it has been largely ignored in conventional course materials. Such an omission is curious, considering social networks' intuitive imagery, broad theoretical relevance and extensive empirical application. This article…