Saint-Louis University - Bruxelles
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COMU2109 - Interdisciplinary technical workshop in interactive and collaborative communication


Institut Supérieur de Formation Sociale et de la Communication


Credits : 8

Lecturers :
Mode of delivery :
Face-to-face , first and second term, 45 hours of theory.

Language of instruction :
French

Learning outcomes :
Skill 1 - The ability to manage an organisation's presence in social and collaborative media
Learning Outcomes (students will be able to):
1. Perform prospective analysis of an organisation's digital communication activities, taking into account the market in which it operates, as well as social, cultural, technological, commercial, political and legal contexts.
2. Design the objectives and strategy for an organisation's digital communication plan, as part of its overall communication effort.
3. Design and implement digital communication tools and activities - harnessing an organisation's human, financial, material and legal resources, and taking constraints into account.
4. Design and implement a methodology for evaluating communication tools and activities including demonstrating good judgement in the interpretation of data and in taking appropriate corrective measures.
5. Design and implement strategic intelligence tools; demonstrate the ability to exploit the results to catalyse and steer innovation in the organisation's digital communication effort.
6. Ensure that the organisation's digital communication practices comply with the law, as well as with deontological and ethical norms.

Skill 2 - Possess an excellent command of and ability to apply the methods, tools and channels of digital communication
Learning Outcomes (students will have/be able to):
1. An excellent command of and ability to apply the main principles of the architecture, operation and security of an organisation's computer-based, telecommunications and digital social networks.
2. An excellent command of and ability to apply the languages and techniques used in communication (spoken word, written, photography, video, sound, graphic design and multimedia).
3. An excellent command of and ability to apply the methods and techniques used in the design, drafting, editing, referencing and sharing of content on social media and collaboration platforms.
4. An excellent command of and ability to apply the principal methods and techniques for gathering, processing and visualising data from the web environment.
5. Create, maintain and exploit internal and external communication networks in practice.
6. Optimise the facilitation and moderation of online communities.

Skill 3 - The ability to mobilise an organisations' management team, staff and partners around digital communication projects.
Learning Outcomes (students will be to):
1. Advise an organisation's decision-making bodies on digital communication topics (the objectives and strategies of communication, crisis resolution scenarios, the digital social revolution affecting organisations, etc.).
2. Present, explain and defend an digital communication project (notably to decision-making bodies) from its development phase through to the final evaluation and reporting phase, in a clear, coherent and structured manner, in written and spoken forms, and in compliance with the organisation's communication requirements.
3. Identify, unite and mobilise the individual and collective skills present in the organisation with a view to implementing digital communication projects.
4. Identify relevant potential partners for an organisation; catalyse and support the creation of partnerships, including for action research activities.
5. Facilitate the sharing of information, experimental results and innovation in the field of digital communication; ensure that information from strategic intelligence gathering, audits, research and from an organisation's staff and operations is communicated to its decision making bodies.
6. Develop interdisciplinary practices and integrate culturally diverse approaches in an organisation's internal and outward-facing activities, including internationally.

Skill 4 - As a basis for personal critical reflection or use in research projects - use appropriate methods to gather, marshal and generate useful knowledge in the field of digital communication.
Learning Outcomes (students will be able to):
1. Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the principal theoretical and methodological approaches in the field of social media and digital communication research.
2. Draw on knowledge from different disciplines to develop and defend personal critical reflection on the human and social implications of digital technologies, including relating to legal, deontological and ethical questions.
3. Undertake a novel action research project, applying theory and method with good judgement.
4. Present the results of a research project in a clear, coherent and structured manner, in written and spoken form, and in compliance with the norms for presenting and publishing academic work.
5. Keep personal expertise and practice up-to-date through strategic intelligence gathering on digital issues, social media and digital communication.



Prerequisites :
None

Co-requisites :
For the Master in Communication strategy and digital culture :


Course contents :
The workshop enables students to experiment with actions and digital communication devices considered for the thesis and / or internship. Unlike the Methodology in transmedia and cross-media communication course, where “projects” are offered and supervised by the teacher, the workshop starts with questions and concerns raised by the students and for which they would like to experiment with certain “answers” in collaboration with the other students.

The workshop is part of the spirit of action research: immersion, followed by a critical analysis of the experiments carried out to lead to the co-construction of actions. It allows students to exercise their creativity on different platforms, collaborative tools and social media, possibly using new technologies (such as connected objects, to name just one example).

The workshop encourages innovation. It stimulates the interdisciplinary research inherent in socio-digital communication which combines at least social sciences, computer science and the arts of expression. The workshop puts students in a situation of developing new representations.

To carry out their experiments and solve the problems encountered in an innovative way, the students will seek the relevant information and tools and will call upon their peers. They may also bring in experts.



Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
The workshop starts from the questions and concerns brought by the students, stimulated and supervised by the professors.
The answers will be experienced and shared by the students.
Professors and students can also bring in experts.
Depending on a pre-established budget (to be defined), students will have the opportunity to test certain tools and / or take certain outings.

EU-specific media: none


Assessment methods and criteria :
-1/3 individual assessment mark: teachers will mark each student out of 20; the assessment criteria used to justify the rating are presence, participation in discussions, projects, the ability to set an example, convince, organize, get involved, motivate, unite
-1/3 evaluation score for individual projects: teachers will mark each individual project presentation out of 20; the assessment criteria used to justify the score are originality, clarity of communication (oral & written), the ability to capture attention, convince, generate debate by building a reflection on the subject, sharing an experience
-1/3 evaluation score for collective projects: teachers will rate each presentation of a collective project out of 20; all the students of the same collective project will have the same grade; the assessment criteria used to justify the mark are originality, clarity of communication (oral & written), the ability to capture attention, convince, arouse debate by building a reflection on the subject, sharing an experience , give the floor to one or more experts, the relevance of the communication strategy

Success criteria:

The EU is worth 8 credits.

An active presence at least 50% of the hours is required, failing which the student may be blocked for the activity concerned. Between 50 and 80% of the active attendance rate, the final grade will be proportional to the active attendance rate (example: a student obtained an evaluation grade of 16/20 and has an active attendance rate of 70%, his grade final will be 16 * 70% or 11.2 / 20). Above 80% active attendance rate, the evaluation score becomes the final score.
Absences justified for medical reasons (attesting medical certificate) are not included in this calculation.
A student has passed when the final mark is greater than or equal to 10/20, even if one or more of the assessments fails (mark less than 10/20).

In the event of failure in the first session, the student who wishes to validate this UE must improve his individual work and / or the work of his group, depending on the failures in one or more assessments.

In the event of failure in the second session, when the average of the 3 evaluation scores is strictly less than 10/20, even in the event of success in one or more of the evaluations (score greater than or equal to 10/20), the student who wishes to validate this UE during the following academic year will have to submit again to his entire evaluation, the terms of which are likely to change from one year to another.



Recommended or required reading :
Ries, E. (2011). The Lean Startup. Retrieved from http://theleanstartup.com
Ferriss, T. (2007). The 4-Hour Workweek. Retrieved from https://fourhourworkweek.com
Gothelf, J. (2013). Lean UX. Retrieved from https://www.jeffgothelf.com/lean-ux-book