The mission statement for the Center for Social Media states that it "showcases and analyzes strategies to use media as creative tools for public knowledge and action. It focuses on social documentaries for civil society and democracy, and on the public media environment that supports them. The Center is part of the School of Communication at American University. The website provides a wealth of resources in its library ranging from policy issues such as copyright and fair use, funding social media and policy issues. The site also includes to teaching materials on fair use as well as syllabi and tips submitted by professors in the broadcast field. Furthermore, the site includes online videos and related links for each of its many resources.
Type of Material:
Reference Material
Recommended Uses:
- The site largely consists of resource material about media for social impact.
- Of particular interest to educators, there is a teaching tools page within the resources portal that contains many articles about fair use and other topics such as sustainable film making and best practices about filming documentaries.
- Depending upon the course and topic objectives, instructors can find reports, videos, case studies and documentaries on a multitude of topics, all using media application.
Technical Requirements:
Chrome used
Identify Major Learning Goals:
- To learn about resources for analyzing and investigating the use of media for social change.
- To understand key programs in the following areas: *Creative Incubator *Documentary, Independent, and Public Media *Fair Use, Free Speech, and Independent Media *Media Culture and Impact.
- To stay informed with the center's communications through an email newsletter and social media.
Target Student Population:
- Marketing or communication students, either undergraduate or graduate level.
- Can also be used by practitioners, and researchers with an interest in media for social impact.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
A basic understanding of the role of media in culture and how both businesses and consumers view the role of media in society/culture would be very helpful.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
- The content on this website appears to be current, updated frequently, and highly focused on their mission of media for social impact.
- The breadth of content is impressive.
- Content and coverage include independent and public media as well as Fair Use, Free Speech and Intellectual Property.
- The Resources section includes teaching tools, reports, codes and principles related to journalism and media, case studies and resource books.
Concerns:
- The center is a part of the American University School of Communication so many of the offerings, such as assistantships, classes and volunteer opportunities are meant for SOC students.
- The content is very broad and varied, so instructors will need to be specific in direction to students.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
- The website is primarily a content resource about media for social impact.
- For individuals with an interest in this topic, this website contains a wide variety of resources, programs, and events to explore further such as books, case studies, and reports.
- The breadth of coverage, and the teaching resources provide the most benefit to instructor who want to apply any of this site's content to their instructional materials.
Concerns:
- No specific learning objectives are provided for individual items, so instructors will need to develop specific objectives and assignment tasks for students.
- While there are many resources on this site, they are not accompanied by supplemental teaching tools such as assignments, quizzes, questions, etc. to guide learning.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
- Great quality of the content and layout.
- Videos are excellent.
- The site map/links are fully functional and accurate.
- The site is easy to navigate with menus, sub-menus that appear with mouse hovers, and an internal search feature.
Concerns:
-Instructors will need to preview the materials, and develop specific assignments/activities for students to use the material.
- The portal called books is a bit misleading as it contains book reviews, articles, and videos. There is nothing wrong with the information contained within, but the word books appears to be a misleading name for the contents found within.
Other Issues and Comments:
Most materials appear to be relatively recent--within 2-4 years regarding documentaries and films.
Creative Commons:
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