Posts Tagged ‘education’

Students, Take Responsibility For Your Own Education

Monday, October 20th, 2008
Marc Hausman recently sparked a debate with his article Colleges Fail on Social Media, which was followed up by Auburn University Professor, Robert French, who stated Someone Claims: Colleges Fail on Social Media :: I Don't Agree. Both make valid points. There are, in fact, some communications students who remain uninformed about what social media is really all about, but this broad generalization against college education is unfair. There are also are a number of professors taking amazing leaps forward to educate their students, and even more students who are taking it upon themselves to participate and learn first-hand (which is, by far, the best way to learn social media). I started this blog to encourage students to take it upon themselves to learn through participation outside of the classroom. I've said it before, and I'll say it again—your college degree is not a free ticket to a valuable career. I didn't get my job at Edelman Digital because of the classes I took at Michigan State. In fact, I never took a single PR class in college. I got there because I participated, read blogs, listened to podcasts , started my own podcast, talked to professionals and read a lot of books. There are thousands of free resources out there to learn social media. Students who choose not to learn have no one to blame but themselves.

Tags: ,
Posted in blog | 6 Comments »

An Interview With Auburn University’s Robert French, Creator of PROpenMic

Sunday, July 13th, 2008
note: Robert pointed out that I had a little typo in my title. "Univesity" has been changed to "University" in the title, but remains"Univesity" in the URL. [display_podcast] Robert French teaches at Auburn University in Alabama—most of his courses involve some form of emerging digital and social media. His goal is to get students involved in experiences beyond reading, to get them engaging in the real world. Robert originally became interested in digital media for education back in 2000 when he started using a content management system in the classroom. He later adopted blogs in the classroom, and saw an opportunity for his students to network with PR practitioners online whom they may never otherwise have met. He also recognized that online communication would probably have a strong place in the future of PR. This has shaped his courses at Auburn. This spring, Robert launched PROpenMic, the social network connecting Public Relations students, professors and practitioners. The network has already led to some valuable connections . Site From the Show The New PR Wiki PROpenMic Ning.com Book Recommendations—Books About People and Culture All The King's Men To Kill a Mockingbird Thanks Robert!

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in podcast | 1 Comment »

Three Core Transferable Skills

Saturday, July 12th, 2008
Selecting a major often leaves students with a limited view of career opportunities, which can lead to discouragement and regret when the job hunt rolls around. Graduating students need to look beyond the confinements of their majors and realize that some universities are slightly behind when it comes to adapting and keeping up with rapidly changing business needs and opportunities. Generally, if you can gain three core transferable skills over the course of your college experience, these can be applied across a number of careers:
  1. Organization
  2. Strategic Thinking
  3. Communication
No matter the label on your diploma, if you can prove mastery of these three core skills, a number of opportunities will be open to you (keep in mind, you won't master these in a classroom alone). Have any other important core skills to add? Feel free to chime in.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in blog | 1 Comment »