For students interested in making the most of their social media experience, Southeast Community College is offering a new course beginning with the Fall Quarter.

“Social Media and Citizen Journalism” is a 4.5 credit-hour class that will be offered online starting Oct. 5. Joshua Whitney is the instructor. Smartphones and their ability to capture images and video have empowered citizens to document both the ordinary and the extraordinary, Whitney said.

“As we’ve seen in the last year, video recordings made by people on the street have shaped the news and the discourse in this country,” Whitney said.

Social Media and Citizen Journalism will study events impacted by social media, but it also will focus on enabling students to produce their own content and broadcast it more skillfully.

As photography instructor Bradley Peters observed, “These are essential skills for everyone.”

As part of the course, students will develop their own Word Press website where they can post news, videos and blogs related to their own neighborhood or area of interest and connect them with social media accounts.

“We’re living in an era of sharing,” Whitney said, “but like anything, it’s important to do it well because your credibility and reputation depend on it.”

The course will be taught by Whitney and Peters and available as an online Special Topics course, JOUR/PHOT 2798. In addition to Social Media and Citizen Journalism, other journalism and photography courses offered this fall are Digital Photography and Creative Imaging, Public Relations, Introduction to Mass Communications, and Media Writing.

Persons interested in more information are asked to contact Whitney at 402-437-2476.