Students will work in pairs to prepare a 8 minute in-class presentation on the benefits and weaknesses of a thematic social media tool/service. The aim is to provide the class insights about a specific form of social media, from blogging to photo-sharing to self-representation. The presentation should address the importance of a particular type of social media, covering its:

• Use in journalism, business or other fields
• Impact on journalism, business or other fields
• Examples of best practice in journalism, business or other fields

There will be two presentations every week, starting from on January 27. The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with an opportunity to actively participate in your learning, teach others what you have learned, and practice the art of public speaking in a safe and supportive environment.

Grading criteria: Worth 15%

You will be graded on the value of your presentation to your fellow students, including:

1. What you say: Don’t rely on personal experience. Based your talk on research. Be wary of older data. Provide context: users and usage, purpose and prospects, Synthesize, draw from multiple sources and interpret meaning.
2. How you say it: Don’t read your slides. Be clear and engaging, ensuring you stick to the allotted time.
3. The quality of your presentation slides: Don’t pack slides with chunks of unreadable text. Only use photos or graphic only if they are relevant to the points you are making.
4. The overall substance of your presentation and the way you handle the task of presenting the topic to your audience will be evaluated.
5. How you facilitate the discussion and answer questions.

Note, the 10 minute limit is firm – you will be stopped at exactly 10 minutes. Rehearse and ensure you can cover the material that you intend to in your allotted time.