Teaching and Blogging

This is my spring 2010 teaching blog. But I consider it my mentoring blog. The idea is to help students understand the essential intersection of strategy and creative. I've posted some past student work and am showcasing individual student work I love. Let me know what you think.

My grad IMC class reviewed some hot industry books including Grown Up Digital and Culture Codes. They also created ethnographic Digital Brand Stories. I've showcased two: Growing Power and Starbucks VIA.

In my undergrad Strategy class I use, Advertising Creative, as the foundation. Then I send my Marquette students off into the real world to explore branded social media, work with real clients, and dive into industry books. In fall they tracked some of my favorite blogs and posted comments about why some ideas stick: stories, emotion, credibility, concreateness, the unexpected, and simplicity. (Thanks Chip & Dan Heath.) This spring we blogged. Check out some of their blogs, along with a few of my industry favorites.

It's a Quirky World

This is one of my favorite assignments. After considering what might be an unusual habit or experience - their own personal quirk - each student develops their own quirky blog. There are a number of things I love about this assignment. First, it allows them to express their creativity fairly easily. Second, the blogs can be anonymous, allowing them the freedom to make mistakes. Finally, they support each other, sharing ideas about what's working and what's not. In the process they learn how to blog more effectively. At the end of the semester they report on the success of their blogs, in terms of both content and analytics.

In the end, if their blog is a huge success - great, promote it to the world. However, if it was less then they hoped for - fine, they've learned and their nameless blog can disappear. I'll track them for the rest of the semester making comments both here and on their sites. Check them out and join the fun.