Social media course encourages in-class Facebooking

No need to shield your laptop screen from the lecturer during a new class at Quest College: the Maroochydore-based campus is pioneering a new direction in business education, and it involves using once-tabooed-in-class social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter during class hours.

Beginning in February, the college will offer a course titled The Secrets to Social Media as part of its fully accredited Certificate IV in Business qualifications.

SEE RELATED STORIES FROM THE WDM CONTENT NETWORK:

• Geoffrey Rush named 2012 'Australian of the Year'
• Cautious treading advised for Australian manufacturers

Click here to read the 'Best of 2011' issue of Business Review Australia

“After a long, 12 month journey of developing and gaining accreditation for this course, I am looking forward to working with the students to help them understand the benefits, power and even pitfalls of social media use,” said the course’s lecturer Lisa Harrison in a media release.

Harrison, a social media expert who also founded the Queensland-based company POMO Creative, pioneered the addition of this course to the curriculum in order to give business graduates the digital marketing and creative skills to succeed in the ever-evolving world of business.

“Smart businesses know that effective and targeted social media strategies can boost customer engagement, audience, traffic and turnover,” said Harrison. “Conversely, many businesses are lost and wasting valuable human and financial resources with their social media activity.”

Director of Quest College Glenn Smith is embracing this new concept as a worthy addition to the curriculum:

“The new Secrets to Social Media course will give participants the ability to confidently use, participate in and understand social networking sites. [This] kind of knowledge is fast becoming an important prerequisite to effective participation in the digital economy and society in general,” said Smith. “Consumers possess a great deal of power through social media. The information they share becomes a trusted source and businesses must engage, entertain and evolve to survive.”