I’m meeting with a Cal Poly journalism professor Monday to talk about ways he can use social media as a supplement to his global communications class.

I don’t know much about the class or the professor, but I’ve embedded the syllabus from 2007 below. I don’t imagine it’s changed much, if at all. (Disclosure: I’m enrolled in this course for fall quarter, which starts in two weeks. )

A few ideas I have for how he can use social media in his class:

Social bookmarking

From the syllabus:

Students will choose a particular country whose media/news they will monitor at least twice a week. Students are expected to bring to each class session an article they have downloaded from the media of the country they have chosen.

That system is antiquated.

Instead, students should be bookmarking those articles along with their personal commentary using Publish2 or Delicious. Not only does it save us paper in bad financial times, but it makes more sense as a way of organizing and keeping track of content (tags, anyone?).

Instead of going around and reading off our printed-out articles, the professor could open our Publish2 group on the projector at the start of each class and pull up each student’s article as it comes up in discussion.

Twitter/blogs to gauge hot topics

From the syllabus:

The article should be recent and not older than 2-4 days. It is up to the students to choose the articles they feel are the most the important for the people of that country.

Just because we’re in the United States doesn’t mean we should have to make guesses about hot topics in foreign countries. Twitter, blogs, Digg — and now, even searchable Facebook updates — can give us a very realistic idea of topics people care about in certain places at given times.

By using search.twitter.com, you can filter results by city using filters like near:Kabul to see tweets from Afghanistan’s capitol. Sites like GeoFollow have a similar feature with a translation option.

RSS and Google Alerts

If we’re expected to follow world news for ten weeks from specific countries, we need to become deeply consumed in their affairs. On the first day, every student should be required to sign up for Google Alerts and subscribe to RSS feeds in Google Reader for media from their assigned countries.

According to student critiques of Professor Havandjian on PolyRatings (and stories I’ve heard from classmates), he spends the first 15 minutes of class writing notes up on the board. Students should use that time to catch up on their RSS feeds (assuming the class is held in one of the journalism labs) instead of sitting around waiting for class to start.

Reaching out to individuals over social media

From the syllabus:

There will be a number of written assignments based on those handouts where students will deploy critical analysis to dissect material they have researched to supplement the handouts.

In any other journalism class, an analysis would mean talking to people who are directly impacted by widespread news issues. In a global communications class, the same thing is possible thanks to Twitter direct messages and Facebook messages. I’m sure people are willing to Skype or IM about issues in their country. Although this doesn’t have to be a requirement for the class (because of privacy/security/safety issues), for anyone who really wants to leverage their resources to have a true, accurate analysis of global issues, why not? (I know I will!)

Do you have better ideas for how social media can be used in a class like this? If so, share ‘em in the comments.

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Twitter is about the conversation. It’s about connections. It’s about transparency.

So a question for you: In any other public conversation, would you make your peers and professionals sign a request form before you let them hear what you have to say?

Hopefully you’re not saying anything on Twitter that will get you in trouble. By now you should be in the habit of knowing that if it’s on the Web, it can get out– private or not.

Protecting your updates goes against everything Twitter is all about.

Conversation
One of the most valuable aspects of Twitter is being hyper-connected to a huge group of people all the time. There is so much to be learned from partaking in discussions with students, educators and professionals in your industry, but if you protect your updates, the conversation is one-way. It implies “I want to see what you say, but you have to be worthy of seeing what I have to say.”

In the Twitterverse, we’re all equals — whether you’re Ashton Kutcher, Lance Armstrong or just some dude from a small town. Protecting your updates impedes that equality and creates an almost hierarchical feel to Twitter.

Connections
As what I consistently refer to as the most powerful text-based medium on the Web, Twitter gives people who otherwise would never know each other the chance to develop lasting relationships– on a both personal and professional level. All Twitterers have their own niche, whether it be industry-related or hobby-specific or even geographically bound. Twitter unites people.

If you’re on Twitter to make connections, the likelihood of someone following you back is low if your updates are blocked.

People follow you based on your recent tweets, the way you tweet, the links you post, the insight you share and your contributions to the worldwide conversation. You’re depriving potential followers all of those things when you force them to follow you before they know what you’re all about. Is that fair?

Transparency
For student journalists, it’s an especially risky business to have private tweets. With the rise of social media, our industry is increasingly about putting a person behind the words. It’s about transparency.

Reporters who protect their updates make it seem as though they have something to hide. Do you have something to hide? Are you going to choose who gets to see what you tweet and who doesn’t? If you reject someone, you’re excluding them from your conversation and trashing your personal identity and transparency.

Be smart
I know many people protect their updates for privacy and safety. But there are better ways to attain both of those things. Twitter is not a place for privacy. Twitter is wide open for everyone. If you’re worried someone will stalk you if they know you’re at the market or know more about you than they ought to, then maybe you should rethink the way you Twitter.

Is the social network really a way to broadcast where you are and what you’re doing at all times? No. It’s a tool to build your identity and expand your mind. Be a smart Twitterer. And if someone truly does creep you out, the “block” option is there for a reason.