GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA ASSIGNMENTS

Below is a social media assignment you might give history students to have them engage with digital communities relevant to your class.

History Assignment:

Chose a topic from the list provided by your professor or propose a new topic for your professor’s approval. Your goal is to create a social media page dedicated to your topic.

  1. Decide the topic of your Instagram/Facebook/Twitter/TikTok/etc.

  2. Create your social media account.

    1. The account must be public! Otherwise, it cannot be viewed/graded.

    2. Please do NOT use your personal social media accounts for this assignment. 

    3. Create a new email address to use for your account, then use it to sign up for a new Instagram/Facebook/Twitter/TikTok/etc. 

    4. Name your account something related to your topic. 

    5. Add a relevant bio and profile photo.

  3. Create 8-10 short posts about your topic.

    1. Be sure to cite any sources you consult and images you use in CMS style. You can paste these in the comments so they don’t distract from your main post.

    2. These posts can be about anything you want as long as they relate to your topic. Think creatively! They can be short, but each post must be substantive. If you share a post made by another account, be sure to add a substantive comment. 

      1. Consider sharing related articles, videos, podcast episodes, etc. and explaining the relevance to your topic.

      2. Consider sharing photos relating to your topic and explaining the connection. 

      3. Consider following related accounts.

      4. Consider sharing posts by museums, universities, historians, journals, etc. 

      5. Consider making original posts about your topic. 

        1. What is your topic’s relevance to themes we’ve explored in class? 

        2. What would an average person need to know about your topic? 

        3. What’s an exciting fact about your topic many people may not know?

        4. See the example accounts for more ideas. 

  4. Submit to Canvas.

    1. Your professor will make a canvas discussion board with the assignment instructions. All you have to do is comment the link to your social media account on the post.