The Certificate in Creativity & Social Media aims to provide the learner with an understanding of the role and importance of creativity and innovation as an effective tool in social, political and community development. It surveys the most influential and effective social media platforms from local, national and international perspectives. The primary objective of this course is to enable learners to develop the knowledge and competence to creatively engage with online communities and to critically analyse the use and potential of social media in social, political and community contexts.

Credits: 10 ECTS

Delivery: One evening per week (3-hours online) for 12 weeks. See January 2024 Programme Schedule for further details.

Learners will gain an understanding of creativity and social media theory and knowledge, as well as develop practical skills to enable the application of their learning to the virtual environment. 

Topics covered will include:

• Nature of creativity; historical context; contemporary notions of creativity; recent academic trends in creativity research.
• Collaborative creativity in community settings at local and national level: creative projects fostering social cohesion in communities of shared heritage, identity, ethnicity, faith and interest.
• The emergence of social media; overview of primary relevant social media platforms, their integration and management; creation of iconic personas and their global top-down influence and power in social media; bottom-up online development of grassroots followings.
• Analysis of the role of creative media in political movements and campaigns on a global scale. Creativity in activism and propaganda: advocacy and empowerment; online petitions; oppression and terrorism. Ethical issues in creative social media: safeguarding; intellectual property rights; privacy and confidentiality.
• Development of skills in online self-promotion and publicity: advertisement, dissemination of material to targeted communities. Curation and maintenance of online presence.
• Familiarization with key website builders and domain management. Techniques in employing meta data for search engine optimization (SEO).
• Experience and skill in web development software through project learning (weebly, wix, squarespace) and establishment and use of an online social networking profile (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube)
• Implementation of creativity and activism theory through other social media platforms (such as Change.org, GoFundMe.com and social media search engines such as social-searcher.com).

Entry Requirements

Applications are assessed on a case by case basis in accordance with Carlow College Admission Guidelines and Procedures for Part-Time Learners

Fees

Course fees are €350 and payable at registration.

Applications

Applications for Certificates commencing in January open in late October. Full application details are available here