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Tips Tricks and Productivity

The Ultimate Guide to Starting an Academic Blog Today

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This post contains affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, if you click a link and make a purchase, I will make a commission. Please read my disclosure for details.

How to Start an Academic Blog Today

Are you a researcher, faculty member, or PhD student considering starting a blog? Good, because the best professor websites are blogs. And this is the post is for you!

There are many reasons why academics should blog. But getting started can be tough. You’ve got a lot on your plate and are probably wondering if blogging is worth the time investment. You may be wondering what to even blog about.

Have no fear! In the below post, I’ve put together my ultimate guide to starting an academic blog, whether you’re a PhD student, a university professor, a post-doc, or other scholar. This guide contains everything you need to start a blog today.

It includes:

  • Reasons why academics should blog.
  • Examples of successful academic blogs – both from PhDs and PhD students.
  • A step-by-step guide for planning a successful academic blog.
  • Resources for finding a web host and setting up your blog.
  • WordPress plugins that make blogging easier.

Continue reading The Ultimate Guide to Starting an Academic Blog Today →

Book Reviews

Discovering Public Relations by Karen Freberg [Big Announcement]

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This page may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, if you click a link and make a purchase, I will make a commission. Please read my disclosure for details.

Discovering Public Relations by Karen Freberg: What is it?

The public relations educator’s community is abuzz with news that Dr. Karen Freberg has a new public relations textbook coming out, Discovering Public Relations: An Introduction to Creative and Strategic Practices.

I’m thrilled to announce that I have had the honor of creating the ancillary materials for Karen’s new textbook. This new textbook is designed for the public relations class. It is currently on pre-order and will be available in August, in time for the fall 2020 academic year.  Below, I discuss Discovering Public Relations: An Introduction to Creative and Strategic Practices and the ancillary materials I have created for it.

Continue reading Discovering Public Relations by Karen Freberg [Big Announcement] →

Online Teaching, Social Media

Brand Crisis Response Activity for Social Media and PR Online Classes

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COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Brand Crisis Response Compare and Contrast Activity: Brands Doing Good in a Time of Crisis

I’ve created a brief online discussion/presentation activity for students in my Public Relations Principles class. The assignment asks students to compare and contrast 2 brands in the same category in terms of how they are communicating with publics amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here’s my ask for students: Find 2 organizations that are doing good during these trying times and share them with us.

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Online Teaching

Transitioning to Online Teaching During COVID-19: Resources and Tools

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Teaching Online in the Age of COVID-19

With the news that many universities are closing in person classes, the transition to online teaching is underfoot. Many of us are scrambling to take our face-to-face model and put it online, amid the general uncertainty and other pressures we are facing (e.g., concerns for our loved ones, children suddenly out of school or daycare, runs of food and household supplies, the general stress of this event, etc).

Below, are some online teaching resources that have been shared by amazing, dedicated faculty these last few days. It is so heartwarming to see professors from across the globe coming together to help one another out. I’ve also sprinkled in some of my past blog posts that you may find helpful for both online teaching and for thriving as a ‘virtual educator’ in the weeks and months ahead.

Continue reading Transitioning to Online Teaching During COVID-19: Resources and Tools →

Communication Research

Google Analytics Assignment in the Communication Research Class. Lab Guide Included!

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This page may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, if you click a link and make a purchase, I will make a commission. Please read my disclosure for details.

A Google Analytics Assignment in the Communication Research Class? Yes!

The question of teaching Google Analytics is part of the larger conversation of what we can manage to get in amid the many skills we want our students to learn.  Beyond that, we’ve been talking a lot lately in the social media community about what certifications we should require our students to complete. The Google Analytics Individual Qualifying (IQ) Exam, which evaluates knowledge about Google Analytics, is commonly brought up.

But how do we tie the certification into the classroom? How do we teach our students to navigate Google Analytics in a hands-on manner?

Continue reading Google Analytics Assignment in the Communication Research Class. Lab Guide Included! →

Book Reviews

A Review of Teach Social Media Published in the Journal of Public Relations Education

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This page may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, if you click a link and make a purchase, I will make a commission. Please read my disclosure for details.

Review of Teach Social Media Published in JPRE

I’m thrilled to share some exciting news!

My book, Teach Social Media: A Plan for Creating a Course Your Students Will Love, was reviewed in the Journal of Public Relations Education (JPRE). This review was written by Natalie Tindall.

Read the review of Teach Social Media here in the most recent issue of JPRE, issue 6, volume one.

journal of public relations education

Continue reading A Review of Teach Social Media Published in the Journal of Public Relations Education →

Classroom Activities and Exercises, Social Media, Teaching Social Media

The IGTV Video Class Assignment: Review and Tips

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This page may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, if you click a link and make a purchase, I will make a commission. Please read my disclosure for details.

The IGTV Video Class Assignment

How can we get our students learning and doing more with video? IGTV videos – or Instagram TV videos – is one such way.  That’s why I had my social media class create an IGTV video show this past fall. In the below post, I share how I set the IGTV class assignment up, link to examples of student work, and discuss key takeaways and considerations.

Continue reading The IGTV Video Class Assignment: Review and Tips →

A Social Media Education Blog by Matthew J. Kushin, Ph.D.