International Connections through Social Media
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
International Connections through Social Media
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
The decades of social media has changed the world traval and toursim industry in a fundemental way. Today's hospitality industry exceedinly relys on social media to engage customers and clients in dialogue and recognize their needs.
Studying this module prompts me to modify our hospitality & tourism education curriculum in the near future. The updated curriculum should certainly incorporate the concept of responsible social media use as a critical component of global digital citizenship and as an essential skill for employability.
I have been training the students to fumulate right questions before conducting interviews with the hospitality industry professionals and international parteners. With the GFT mothod, I now have tools to improve the questions formulation process.
Social media has become a key instrument for connectivity and engagement in my courses. We often reach out to other individuals, administer opinion polls and share information to stimulate intellectual curiosity and inquirery.
Social media is a key resource for technical writers -- our tech writing certificate includes coursework on using digital media for conveyiing information and marketing. And its global reach is undeniable.
I think I may have spent to much time exploring in each of these modules toward the end, but I was grateful to be able to do so. Having students turn one of their core curriculum projects into another medium, is a relevant, real-world lesson. This framwork based on ethics provides a pause to ensure that students don't simply slap something together because they are more comfortable with these technologies.
I don't share the Asia Society's enthusiasm for social media. The issue of misinformation is not addressed in this module and should be. I see in some of the comments that social media and digital media are conflated; digital media is essential to communication but I find social media to be mostly superficial.
To create international connections through social media in my courses, I will start by identifying relevant social media platforms that are popular internationally and commonly used by students from different countries. Then, I will establish course-specific accounts or groups on these platforms where students can engage with each other and share their perspectives. I will encourage students to connect with peers from other countries, participate in discussions, and collaborate on assignments or projects. Additionally, I will leverage social media to facilitate virtual cultural exchanges by organizing live sessions where students can interact with guest speakers or students from partner institutions abroad. Moreover, I will encourage students to share content related to the course, such as articles, videos, or research findings, that highlight diverse cultural perspectives. By integrating social media into my courses in this way, I aim to foster a sense of global community among students and provide opportunities for meaningful cross-cultural learning experiences.
