Mehraban teaching his first-ever New Media Driver License course
The New Media Drivers License course at MSU is becoming a popular topic among Advertising students. This course focuses on teaching students how to utilize new media tools relevant to the business world students will soon experience. It has been offered to students since May 2009 and is taught by Ingenex Digital Marketing’s CEO, Derek Mehraban. Mehraban, who is also a MSU Advertising alum, blogger of Digital Bus blog and owner of Social Harbor, a social media network site, feels it is important for students to be familiar with social media tools.
“I wanted to teach this New Media course to help MSU Advertising and PR students to expand their skill set and learn material they haven’t yet learned in other classes,” said Mehraban. “I ultimately want them to understand how digital communications works so they can use it to their advantage when competing with other students in the real world.”
It essential for students to become familiar with social media techniques now more than ever considering companies are conducting the majority of their business online. The New Media course teaches students Facebook, Linkedin, Blogging, Podcasting, New Marketing, Digital Public Relations, Google Tools, Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing.
The 13-week New Media course meets only two times a semester— at the beginning of the term and at the end of the term. In the remaining 11 weeks, the class communicates through Google Groups and email. The research and homework assigned is done entirely online, so students essentially rely on the web and social media to complete their homework.
Students are learning about these new media by actually using these tools and blogging about their experiences on the New Media Drivers License Web site. One of Mehraban’s students, Shawn Kemp, says he has had a positive experience with this class and he knows it will help in the future.
"This class is set up in a way that students remember what is taught to them," said Kemp. "It helps that the material is so interesting and relevant to the real world. My knowledge of social media, after taking this class, will give me a competitive advantage and help me land an internship in the near future.”
The New Media DL course is offered to undergraduate students as well as graduate students specializing in advertising.
For more information visit the New Media Driver License Course at www.newmediadl.com.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
