By: Piergiorgio Degli Esposti (Università di Bologna)
Session type: Multiple sessions, Undergraduate/Graduate level, Small/Medium size
Topics:
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Digitalization
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Global connectedness
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Communication - media studies
Introduction to the teaching example:
Students in this course interact with theoretical perspectives on consumption in a globalized world while considering how digitization and globalization have affected consumer dynamics. These three in-class exercises are emphasized and further described below:
A 20-minute ice-breaker is designed to foster a sense of community among the students and acquaint them with online personalities. When utilizing the chat feature in the classroom (or via Zoom or MS Teams), students select a famous person with media exposure and submit brief remarks about them on Twitter. Chats between students are visible. The activity is pretty entertaining and exposes what knowledge and appreciation (or lack thereof) students have for various figures in the field of digital media. A chat feature also encourages classroom interaction.
The second exercise, which lasts around an hour, provides an overview of how historical advertising demonstrates the persuasive power of language and what this may teach us about how businesses currently employ marketing in the digital space. Students watch a PowerPoint presentation regarding historical product and service advertising by businesses. Examples are selected to illustrate the effectiveness of persuasive arguments based on sustainability or health claims.
The final activity is a digital detox challenge, which takes place over the weekend. Students can choose to forgo using any digital products or services for two days. They are asked to try out this task after receiving a straightforward set of instructions from the teacher and to report back to class the following week. Students are expected to understand how digitization affects them on a daily basis. During class, those who like to contribute share testimonies.