The new rules at universities – authors connecting with students

I went to Kenyon College, graduating in 1983 with a BA in Economics. I took only one English class and got a "gentleman’s C" so it's an odd thing that I should end up writing books. Go figure.

While at Kenyon, the professors' ideas were clearly important to the education process. Reading and independent study outside of the classroom environment was also a valuable aspect of learning (although in my case, I was more interested in the finer points of partying and debating the merits of punk, ska, reggae and new wave bands, so I didn’t do all that much studying). Considering Kenyon is a small liberal arts college that uses the seminar approach for advanced classes, fellow students were also an a significant part of the learning experience.

However in four years, I don't ever recall giving the authors of the books we were reading for class any thought whatsoever. I vaguely recall Milton somebody wrote my Economics 101 text, but don't recall any other names. I never met any authors and they were not a part of my learning experience whatsoever.

There is a new model for learning today, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

Forward thinking schools are involving authors of the books used in class by including them in a virtual social media classroom. Web-based collaboration tools and social networking allows an author to be an input into the learning process (from the comfort of their own offices) and smart professors understand this.

I've been asked a number of times by professors who use my book The New Rules of Marketing & PR for class to participate in virtual classroom discussions and I enjoy volunteering a bit of my time. I hear from students that they find the experience helpful too.

Robert French, who teaches public relations at Auburn University offered me my first exposure to virtual guest lectures. I spoke to his class via Skype and as a result of "meeting" students, have taken a look at some their blogs (students are given the assignment of creating a blog for class). Nothing like having the professor and the author of the text used in class looking over your virtual shoulder to get you thinking about that blog assignment!

I've also done virtual presentations to students at Diane Thieke's PR class at Rider University and Karen Russell's class at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.

One of the most interesting experiences is with Steve Quigley's New Media and PR class at Boston University. Each term, the class has a (closed) Facebook group and in the past two terms, the students invited me to be a member. Last term the Facebook group was called "New Media Rocks my PR World" (love the name) and this term the Facebook group is called "Media Socialites" (love this name even more).

Here is the Media Socialites Facebook group description: Professor Quigley's new batch of student social media sponges, eager to soak up as much information about New Media and PR in a semester as is humanly possible ... and, in proper social networking fashion, making important connections along the way.

In the group they share ideas and have pulled me into a few virtual discussions. I enjoyed the interaction so much that I joined the class in person last week for a conversation with students.

A new crop of really smart and social media savvy people are graduating this May. Companies should consider hiring people like Christine and Pamela and their many classmates.

University classrooms are being transformed by social media. How about your business? Is it transforming too?

Comments

[Pamela Seiple]

David,

As I mentioned before, my class was extremely privileged to have you visit us. New media and PR is an extremely critical topic for us college students entering the professional world.

[Rebecca Corliss]

I agree, Pam.

David-- Again, I can't thank you enough for how helpful you've been. It feels good to know pros like you believe in us.

[Karen Russell]

I've always enjoyed having PR pros into class, but having our book's author is a first. Today we discussed writing a new rules PR-mktg plan and after spring break we're putting it into action. Thanks for inspiring us!

[Abby]

Really interesting David. While I am a marketing professional, my company has a focus on healthcare clients. Healthcare where I live is slow to get on the social marketing train, but a few of my clients are trying to lead the way -- conservatively getting their feet wet with blogging.

[Erin Williams]

While my class doesn't use your book, we are diving into the wide world of social media. My professor maintains her own blog, http://prpost.wordpress.com, and each student is required to post two blogs each week.

I have seen similar assignments from other universities as I roam the blogosphere.

I am lucky enough to study at a school that values new media and prepares me as I enter the public relations profession.

[Robert French]

Great to see more classes reaching out to you, David. You're very kind to join in. My students still talk about our virtual guest lecture. Thanks.

Ask Steve about what he called a "teachable moment" when I was able to read their Facebook group last semester. Seems that Facebook had (maybe still has) a wide open back door.

They were writing about me and our class with a link to my blog. The back links to the group appeared in my site's tracking software. I was able to get right in there via that link and see every post. I was not a member of the group and they *did* have it set to private.

So, as we all know - nothing we write is private, no matter how much a site may claim to the contrary.

[David Meerman Scott]

Hey Robert,

Steph did tell me about that teachable moment. Interesting!

Cheers, David

[Barbara Rozgonyi, Wired PR Works]

Good to see students and professors conmecting with you, David. In my marketing execution class for non-profits, we tossed out the 500+ page outdated PR/advertising textbook and substitued your easy-to-read and follow manual. Thanks to a grant, your books were free. One of my students, who had recently completed a PR class at another college, asked me why they didn't teach any of the newer stuff there. Appreciate you keeping me and my students on the edge of the learning curve.
Cheers!
Barbara

[Mario Bonilla]

Great post David. And Bravo! to those educators and students that do not just rely on info that is just handed to them but want to reach out and converse in the languages that the real world is speaking in.

[Christine Busacca]

Hey David.
Thanks again for speaking with my class at Rider University. I personally know it made me really think about how much new media can really impact the public relations field as well as my own life. The link that you sent me about the resume blog has encouraged me to go for it. I'm planning to start that next week while on spring break!
Thanks.
Christine Busacca

[Tatiana Tugbaeva]

David,
While we didn’t use your book in my Writing for Interactive Media class (at The University of Tampa), we were asked to set up our own blogs and post on them on related topics. It was my first real exposure to social media, other than Facebook and MySpace, and I loved it!

In my opinion, universities should include social media practices into their curriculum not only for those students pursuing communication career, but also business, marketing, writing and more. As social media gaining more momentum, not all universities are keeping up. I wish I have had more experience with social media and received a better insight into how to apply it to my everyday/business life.

[Josef Katz]

David,
Very interesting post. It would have been great to learn directly from the authors. Would have cut the reading time in half... or doubled it if they were great.

Working for a non traditional education company this really resonates. We deliver material in almost every medium except for the traditional classroom. A number of authors actually teach for us in a variety of ways and we use all forms of new and social media to deliver education. I think the challenge for our traditional education system is there are too many 'old school' professors/teachers who are not ready to get social or use the new technology.

[Prof. Kyle F. Reinson]

Students who live "in the now" have a tough time connecting with knowledge that was produced by scholars over many decades. Why does that stuff really matter to them? For most students, it is about checking all the boxes to get their degree which they hope will lead to a career. I think students struggle with the memorization and the standardized testing that, to them, does not translate into the practical use of the knowledge. In my class I try not to be so rigid because things are changing. The best I can do is engage them in thought leadership discussions so they can be of value to potential employers right out of college. I still bring in the theory, but the lessons in that are between the lines. Nice blog.
-KFR