Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Senior Lecturer
Theresa Senft
Contact via Email
10 Hadenfeld Ave Room 147
Please make appointment by email
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MCreIndMFJ or MFJ or MCreInd or MIntComm or MIntCommMIntRel or MIntBusMIntComm or MMedia or MCreIndMMedia
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This subject will offer students an advanced understanding of the key role social media now plays in professional media practice and of the way it is reshaping public debate and media business models. It will involve students in integrating emerging online platforms and technologies into media practice, including news gathering, feature and current affairs production, and opinion writing. Students will analyse the way mainstream media organisations are utilising social media to produce and augment media production and enlist media users in producing content. They will also examine the way social and online media have opened up new possibilities for media producers to bypass traditional media organisations and attract large audiences using blogs, Twitter and Youtube.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Present Your Brand | 40% | No | Week 6, Monday by 11 pm |
Build a Class-inspired Brand | 60% | No | Week 13, Monday by 11pm |
Due: Week 6, Monday by 11 pm
Weighting: 40%
Assessment 1: Personal Brand Portfolio
Purpose:
The purpose of this assessment is evaluate your understanding of the term “personal social media presence.” At the level of theory, you are being asked to reflect on how online presence works in active and passive ways, via image, message and affiliation, structured through the technological affordances of chosen and affiliated platforms. At the level of practice, you will be required to conceptualize a your own online brand, execute proof of concept in the form of a pitch portfolio, and produce a process document where you assess your creative choices in light of academic concepts learned from class.
Tasks:
1. Conceptualize and create a ‘brand presence’ for yourself online (or revamp your existing one.)
To create your brand presence, you are free to work with any platform (s) you wish, keeping in mind the “presentation, narration, demonstration, and solicitation” categories we will discuss at length in class. This isn’t something you will formally submit, but will be necessary to produce in order to successfully create your pitch portfolio and process document (discussed below), which will be formally submitted.
2. Produce a ‘pitch portfolio’ that walks a client through the brand presence you’ve developed.
Your pitch portfolio should be a primarily visual document that you might show a client at an in-person meeting. It should be loosely structured along the lines of walkthrough, with the user objective being “to determine as much as possible about the professional identity of this person as possible.” We will be discussing the walk-through technique in detail in class.
3. Produce a ‘process document’ linking your creative choices to classroom learning.
Your pitch portfolio must be accompanied by a short process document (approx 1000 words print or 2-3 min video.) We will cover process documents more in class, but in brief, it should show how you have tried to synthesize your creative ideas about self-branding with classroom learning, which means it should reference at least two concepts from class lectures and reading. Format:
Portfolio Format
Pitch portfolios should take the form of an 8-10 page illustrated document/slide deck, or may be presented as a 1-2 minute video/animated slide show.
Process Document Format
Process documents can take the form of a short (1000-1200 word) illustrated essay, or may be presented as a 2-3 minute video/animated slide show.
Marking:
The marking for this assessment will be equally split between portfolio and process document.
Portfolio Marking Criteria:
This is not a production class, and it is worth nothing you submit (with the exception of writing) will be assessed for quality of production. Although it’s great to showcase skills in filmmaking, photography, coding, music, etc as part of your brand identity, that is not what is being assessed for this class. Here is how I will be evaluating your portfolio submission:
PLEASE NOTE that clarity of vision, cohesion of narrative, and demonstration of creative imagination are different than “full execution.” Although you need to have put in some labor to show proof of concept, you don’t need to have full execution of your work to score well on your portfolio. A compelling idea for a curated feed with ten posts can be more exciting at the conceptual level than a feed with 1000 items, but no clear rationale in terms of branding. If you have any concerns about how much labor needs to be visible to establish proof of concept, you are urged to raise these questions in tutorial.
Process Document Marking Criteria:
When evaluating your process document, I will be considering how you have addressed the elements below:
1. Presentation (of identity)
Creative choices you might discuss: site design(s), color, layout, images, sound, font, navigation choices. Theory you might discuss include: symbolic interaction theory, context collapse.
2. Narration (of message)
Creative choices you might discuss: voice, audience, storytelling.Theory you might discuss: inter and multimodal theory, performance and performativity theories.
3. Demonstration (of skills, services)
Creative choices you might discuss: your choices of clips, images you’ve made, resume posting. Theory you might discuss: cultural branding theory
4. Solicitation (of contact, mostly)
Creative choices you might discuss : email, ‘find me elsewhere,” Patreon links, GoFundme links, Kiva. Theory you might discuss: Microcelebrity theory
5. Curation (of affiliation, inspiration, etc)
Creative choices you might discuss : Explanation of curated feeds such as: YouTube or Twitch channel, Twitter or Insta feed, Spotify or other playlists, Zotero linked biblio, etc. Theory: taste theory; affinity theory; spreadable media theory
6. Evaluation (of ethical issues, platform impact, outreach, effectiveness)
Creative choices you might discuss: platform assessment, user engagement, metrics, etc. Theory: platform affordance theory, user testing methods, theories around ethics of care, etc.
Due: Week 13, Monday by 11pm
Weighting: 60%
Although this assessment involves the same tasks as Assessment 1 (portfolio and process document devoted to social media brand presence) the brief differs in three significant ways:
Tasks for this Assessment
(This is the same sequence you went through for Assessment 1)
Portfolio Format
Pitch portfolios should take the form of an 8-10 page illustrated document/slide deck, or may be presented as a 1-2 minute video/animated slide show.
Process Document Format
Process documents can take the form of a short (1000-1200 word) illustrated essay, or may be presented as a 2-3 minute video/animated slide show.
Marking:
The marking for this assessment will be equally split between portfolio and process document.
Portfolio Marking Criteria:
This is not a production class, and it is worth nothing you submit (with the exception of writing) will be assessed for quality of production. Although it’s great to showcase skills in filmmaking, photography, coding, music, etc as part of your brand identity, that is not what is being assessed for this class. Here is how I will be evaluating your portfolio submission:
PLEASE NOTE that clarity of vision, cohesion of narrative, and demonstration of creative imagination are different than “full execution.” Although you need to have put in some labor to show proof of concept, you don’t need to have full execution of your work to score well on your portfolio. A compelling idea for a curated feed with ten posts can be more exciting at the conceptual level than a feed with 1000 items, but no clear rationale in terms of branding. If you have any concerns about how much labor needs to be visible to establish proof of concept, you are urged to raise these questions in tutorial.
Process Document Marking Criteria:
When evaluating your process document, I will be considering how you have addressed the elements below:
Start of classes and tutorials
Classes and tutorials begin Week 1.
Delivery of unit
This unit will be delivered as two-hour interactive seminar. It will combine lecture-style material with guided inquiry, production tasks, writing workshops, small group activities and discussions.
For current updates, classrooms and times please consult the MQU Timetables website: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au
Lecture portions of the class will be recorded for review purposes only. See Echo block on iLearn for filmed weekly lectures.Any workshops, discussions, activities or media viewed or listened to will not be available for review.
Readings and Other Media
Please consult the iLearn site for weekly readings and media
Laptop Policy
Please DO bring your own devices for use in class (laptops or tablets + mobile phones). The library has laptops and iPads available for lending if you don't have your own. http://www.mq.edu.au/about/campus-services-and-facilities/library/facilities/computer- facilities and there are other computer labs on campus. Please also bring a pen or pencil and paper to class.
Other Technology Matters
Students are expected to make use of everyday information technologies to complete their assignments (i.e. Personal Computers, mobile Phones, freely available editing software and online publishing platforms). As this is not a production unit, students should not contact the department's technical staff for equipment or support. Feel free to challenge yourself but work within your technical abilities.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues
This graduate capability is supported by: