School of Communications offers free professional development course for alumni

Beginning in January 2015, the School of Communications faculty and Interactive Media master’s program will host a free online course for communications alumni, highlighting the fast-changing topics in mass communication today.  

Was upgrading your career knowledge a resolution for you this year? The School of Communications and the Elon iMedia program can help. Register for our free, online course iMedia Sampler launching Jan. 19.
Was upgrading your career knowledge a resolution for you this year? The School of Communications and the Elon iMedia program can help. Register for our free, online course iMedia Sampler launching Jan. 19.[/caption]

Elon University School of Communications faculty, in conjunction with the Interactive Media master’s program, are offering a free professional development course for all communications alumni this spring. The course, titled iMedia Sampler, begins Jan. 19, and can be accessed at http://blogs.elon.edu/imediasampler/.

The iMedia Sampler course allows alumni to explore some of the fast-changing topics in mass communication that may have changed or even emerged since they graduated, with iMedia faculty serving as guide. Each week features a new topic; see the course’s schedule listed below.

Topics consist of one or more faculty videos, some readings and a discussion board that will be facilitated by an iMedia faculty member for conversations with faculty and other alumni. Those who complete the course by participating in discussion for all weeks will receive a sampler completion logo suitable for a LinkedIn profile or other social media use. The course is of no cost to participants.

For more information, contact Amanda Sturgill, associate professor of communications and course coordinator, at elonimedia@gmail.com.

Schedule

Week of Jan. 19: The changing media model – SEO, funding and more, with Amanda Sturgill

Week of Jan. 26: Multimedia storytelling, with Harlen Makemson

Week of Feb. 2: Gamification, with Derek Lackaff

Week of Feb. 9: User/audience research, with Qian Xu

Week of Feb. 16: Design for mobile devices, with Phillip Motley

Week of Feb. 23: The relationship of code and web design, with Brian Walsh

Week of March 2: New directions for web design with open source communities, with William Moner