Professor TechCommGeekMom? Not quite…

I’m about to start into a new adventure. In a sense, I’m entering the “family business”, as my father implied when I told him the news. It’s certainly going to be a new adventure, for sure.

As of yesterday, I’ve been hired to be an adjunct instructor at my alma mater, the New Jersey Institute of Technology. I’ll be working in the Humanities department, specifically working in the graduate program for the Master of Science in Professional and Technical Communications (MSPTC), which is the program I went through to get my Master’s degree. Ironically enough, I’ll be teaching the course that started TechCommGeekMom, which is the Theory and Practice of Social Media.  The official course description reads:

Introduces social media strategies for reading and writing in today’s multi-cultural, screen-oriented, networked culture. Students study relationship between mediated communication and human community and gain hands-on experience with chatting, blogging, tagging, wiki writing, tweeting and social media presentation. Students strategize, plan, design and produce social media projects of their own.

I remember it being an enjoyable class, or at least, I enjoyed it. I’m planning on using the current curriculum as a template, but adding a few extra things to it, like talking about the impact of social media marketing, and how it is impacting current events (that latter part I’ll have to do carefully).

To clarify, I’m not a PhD, nor do I pretend to be one. But this is a great opportunity that NJIT is giving me, with the potential to be teaching more and helping to grow the program.  I’m excited, and understandably anxious about this new adventure. But it holds some promise–even as a part-time gig.  I’m looking forward to sharing concepts and ideas with my students, and the conversations we’ll have.

But don’t call me professor…I’m an adjunct instructor. Mrs. Villegas or Danielle is fine. 😉