We started our conversation about social media and TV in class today. While the primary focus for the next couple weeks is going to be on Twitter and TV, we did begin by just thinking about social media more broadly. To start the conversation, students got into groups and were given three sheets of paper (one for TV, one for Social Media, and one for Social TV). They were tasked with defining and visually representing each of those terms. I personally love activities like this because I think they provide space for those who think in a variety of different ways to come together and make meaning. After they were finished, they had to post their papers on the wall, and we did a mini-gallery walk before launching into conversation. Here’s some shots from the class:
We spent the rest of the class talking about the network/show reasoning for encouraging live tweeting & then we picked up our case study for the week, which was Scandal. Incidentally (or perhaps not so incidentally), that show was the first that I personally felt deeply driven to live tweet & the connection between those two things was responsible for my first ever conference paper in 2013 (shout out to PAMLA). I mainly wanted students to understand today why the network has such an investment in the being live tweeted and why this particular show lends itself to such engagement, and I think both goals were accomplished.
Teach to learn. Learn to teach. 