Course Outline
CMN276 Social Media Communication
Course Coordinator:Karen Sutherland (ksutherl@usc.edu.au) School:School of Business and Creative Industries
2026Trimester 1
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
What is this course about?
Description
This course offers a critical understanding of the ways social media communication affects political, business and socio-cultural spheres. The course explores social media communication from differing perspectives including debates on truth, power, ethics and control, examination of personal/professional branding, risk management and social media research. This course provides students with opportunities to practically apply theory by developing of blogs and vlogs, undertaking social media content analysis to write a journal-style article and participation in an online professional community.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – Interactive online learning activities. | 1hr | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Scheduled face to face workshops. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
| Online | |||
| Learning materials – Interactive online learning activities. | 1hr | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Scheduled online workshops (Recorded). | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
Course Topics
- Understanding our Digital World.
- Social Media: Ethics, Control and Regulation.
- Building a Personal Brand.
- Internet Media: Multiplatform Journalism and Citizen Journalism.
- Risk, Issues and Crisis Management.
- Social Media Customer Service and Relationship Management.
- Influencer Marketing.
- Social Media Health Campaigns.
- Researching Social Media: Content Analysis.
- Researching Social Media: Big Data, Netnography, Monitoring and Measurement.
- Citizen Activism and Culture Jamming.
- Using Social Media to Inspire.
What level is this course?
200 Level (Developing)
What is the unit value of this course?
12 units
How does this course contribute to my learning?
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | To understand, narrate and debate key public issues through creative and responsible online construction and discussion. | Creative and critical thinker |
| 2 | To engage in critical argumentation on the ethical, political and cultural impact of social networking sites on individuals and communities. |
Knowledgeable Ethical |
| 3 | To learn methods of researching the Internet and develop skills in interpreting social media data. | Empowered |
| 4 | To develop collaborative learning skills. | Empowered |
Am I eligible to enrol in this course?
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Pre-requisites
Not applicable
Co-requisites
Not applicable
Anti-requisites
Not applicable
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
Not applicable
Microcredential Information
Not applicable
How am I going to be assessed?
Grading Scale
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Details of early feedback on progress
You will receive feedback on the blogging component of Task 1 in the Week 4 tutorial and/or Zoom session.
Assessment tasks
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Artefact - Creative, and Written Piece | Individual | 45% | 750 word blog with embedded 1 -2 minute YouTube vlog. |
Week 8 | Online Submission |
| All | 2 | Written Piece | Individual | 40% | 1800 words |
Week 12 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Written Piece | Individual | 15% | Weeks 1-13; At least one post and one interaction with another student's post per week. |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | Online Submission |
| All - Assessment Task 1:WordPress/YouTube Blogging/Vlogging Project | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | This assessment requires you to set up your own personal blog using WordPress and YouTube channel. You will write a blog post exploring different aspects of, and attempting to spark discussion about, one of the lecture topics from the trimester. The post will also incorporate a vlog (video blog) with you discussing the topic and providing additional information. The post (and vlog) must relate to the same lecture topic, investigating a different angle in each piece. |
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| Product: | Artefact - Creative, and Written Piece | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | The blog post must contain: - A succinct and relevant headline - An image (captioned with its source) - A professional yet conversational tone - In-text links to three different, relevant online sources - References if citing offline sources - Encouragement to readers to continue discussion The 1-2-minute vlog (embedded in the blog post) must contain: - Additional information on the chosen topic conveyed in a conversational piece-to-camera by the student - Quality production skills (clearly audible sound, appropriate lighting and composition). |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | |||||||||||||||||||
| All - Assessment Task 2:Social Media Research Project. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | You will be required to carry out a content analysis of a public campaign or a specific public post on social networking sites and present an individual written piece in the style of a research journal article in week 13. |
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| Product: | Written Piece | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | You will develop a research question and use the research method of content analysis to examine a social media campaign or the comments generated from a controversial social media post. You will submit individual written research piece in the style of a research journal article, 1800 words in length using the preferred Harvard referencing style. This task is weighted at 40% and due in Week 12. |
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| Criteria: |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Microsoft Teams Community Participation | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | This task is designed to encourage your active participation in an online community using Microsoft Teams, a tool for internal communication within large organisations. |
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| Product: | Written Piece | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | From Weeks 1 -12 you will be required to post at least once per week about the week's topic or reading for that particular week. Posts can involve sharing a relevant article or video or starting a conversation. The focus will be on you making a valuable and relevant contribution to the community each week. You will also be required to interact, at least once, with another student's post for the week by posting a relevant comment to participate in the discussion. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | |||||||||||||
Directed study hours
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
What resources do I need to undertake this course?
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Prescribed text(s) or course reader
Specific requirements
Students enrolled in this course will need access to:A reliable internet connectionA computer (https://usc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1371)A Smartphone with:a reliable internet connection video and photo capabilities
How are risks managed in this course?
What administrative information is relevant to this course?
Assessment: Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Assessment: Additional Requirements
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct.
Assessment: Submission penalties
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
Links to relevant University policy and procedures
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
- Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
- Review of Assessment and Final Grades
- Supplementary Assessment
- Central Examinations
- Deferred Examinations
- Student Conduct
- Students with a Disability
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
Student Charter
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
General Enquiries
For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
For other enquiries or to access support, please contact Student Central: