Story by Greta Gillen
At Drake University, professor Lori Blachford regularly has students use social media, especially Twitter, for her classes. Students in Media Responsibility Over Time, more commonly known as J66, are required to tweet about current events in the news five times a week.
There are, however, consequences for bringing academics into a platform traditionally used for social purposes.
“My followers are annoyed about all the random postings of news articles,” said sophomore Devon Jacobs. “Some of them ask me if I’m just posting for fun. I’ve never had anyone favorite or retweet one of these #j66 tweets, and people have gone so far to even make up fake #j66 tweets to mock my requirement for the class.”
Not all followers of J66 students have reacted negatively.
“My followers were confused at first about my J66 tweets, but they have actually inspired some of my followers to pay closer attention to the news,” said senior Emily Gadient. “There are interesting things going on outside of our little bubble here in Iowa, and I love opening my followers’ eyes to that.”
Students are not just learning more about current events. They are also learning more about how to use Twitter effectively.
Sophomore Allison Trebacz tries to keep her #j66 tweets interesting.
“I know that everyone is tired of seeing the same breaking news from CNN, “ Trebacz said. “So, I try to keep my tweets and the news articles more obscure and at least slightly humorous.”
Trebacz said she now looks more critically at the news and tries to provide articles that would be valuable to her followers.
Most students are used to tweeting things that they think only their peers will see, but many journalism professors, including Blachford, follow their students on Twitter.
This causes students to self-censor what they are posting. Gadient said she likes having her professors follow her because it’s an “extra motivator” to stay more responsible on social media.
“I think it is an awesome way to interact and get more information to and from our professors,” Gadient said.
Jacobs is more cautious when using Twitter now that he has a professor following him.
“I know Twitter is a public forum, and I use it wisely,” Jacobs said. “However, the fact that a professor is following me always stays at the back of my mind when I tweet something to the public or even a friend.”
While some students love being able to use Twitter in classes, others are not as enthused.
Jason Tong, a student in J66, only joined Twitter for the class. While he acknowledges that Twitter is an “impressive source of information,” he uses it strictly for the five tweets per week that he is required to do.
Blachford said she believes that, while she cannot force someone to like Twitter, it is important for her to teach students about it.
“Some people just have the five tweets a week and one follower, and for me that’s fine,” Blachford said. “I’m at least introducing it to them. I can’t make them participate, but it’s important that if we are going to talk about media responsibility, and news delivery, we have got to talk about Twitter.”
Learning how to use Twitter properly is more than about knowing how to tweet about news articles. It is a skill professionals are looking for when hiring new employees.
“We can’t send students out into the work world without having any understanding of how to use Twitter because we aren’t doing well by our students then. We can’t teach them everything, but we can at least get them thinking critically about it and knowing what that platform can do for you,” Blachford said.
Students also recognize the importance of having a social media.
Jacobs, a pharmacy student, said that even though he isn’t in the journalism field, it is still important to have a social media presence.
“Employers sometimes even look at your Twitter account to see how many followers you have to judge how likable of a person you are. Twitter in general can be used as a powerful marketing tool if used in the correct way,” Jacobs said.
Despite Twitter’s immense popularity and usefulness, Blachford said she does not think Twitter is perfect.
“In a lot of ways Twitter is just terrible. But it is, and so we have to deal with that,” she said. “It’s a flash in the pan, and yet it can have so much influence. It’s just crazy, but it doesn’t do you any good to close the blinds and hope it goes away because it’s not.”
