Self-Designed Honors Experiential Learning Project Proposal

Basic Information
Full Name: Sarah Anne Morgason
UC Email: morgassa@mail.uc.edu
College: College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning
Major: Graphic Communications Design
Title of Project: Researching Social Media
Thematic Area: Research
Expected Project Start Date: January 1, 2014
Expected Project End Date: Around mid-February
Project Information
1. Provide a detailed abstract of your proposed honors experiential learning project.
For my self-designed honors experience I am planning on studying various social
media websites and their impact on culture and society. Studying the various websites
that are now popular could be a useful tool in understanding advertising and promotions.
I believe researching various popular websites such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and
more would help me personally as I would be learning about what attracts people to
certain products or advertising tactics. Since I am studying graphic design, I want to know
what kinds of things would grab viewers attention so I can create effective and
understandable graphics.
To accurately understand the size of impact social media websites have on society
today, I plan to take several different approaches to researching the topic. First, I plan to
meet with an advisor with an understanding of social media and various websites who
can recommend any literature or studies I can read to become more familiar with the
concepts discussed with regards to social media. Secondly, I would read all the
recommended works and then write a brief reflection on each to summarize the main
ideas and record my opinions on the content. Thirdly, I plan to attend a convention called
Playlist Live in Orlando, Florida on February 6-8, which holds various panels and
conferences discussing techniques and the business aspects of social media. While on this
trip, I will keep a journal of my daily experiences, take notes at all the panels I attend and
write a reflection of the whole experience after I return. Finally, I will compile all my
gathered data into a single document, sharing the results of all my studies. I plan to share
this information by recording a video summarizing my research, along with holding a
meeting with my peers in which I can show the video, present my findings and answer
any questions my peers may have about my research. Below I have included a table of the
predicted hours I will be spending on each event, as well as an itinerary of my time spent
in Florida.
Meeting with Advisor
1 hour
Reading various books and previous
10-15 hours
studies along with watching any relevant
films or documentaries

Reflection on books and studies

Organizing questions for Playlist Live
Playlist Live panels, meet & greets, and
networking
Nightly reflections
Reflection on Playlist Live experience
Compiling and reflecting on all data
Recording video of all my studies
Editing and Publishing video
Preparing for presentation

3-4 hours
2 hours
30 hours
5 hours
3 hours
5 hours
2 hours
3 hours
4 hours

2. Connection to Learning Outcomes within an Honors Thematic Area (Identified Above):

Possess a well-developed awareness of literature in the field.

For my experience, I plan to read many studies and published works detailing the
influence of social media on our culture and society. With social media becoming so
significant in everyday life, there should be plenty of works to look at and refer to. I also
plan to watch any films or documentaries with relevant information regarding social
media.

Ability to identify and apply appropriate methodologies to design research study, and
collect and analyze data.
I will be reflecting after each study or book I read, or each film I watch, by writing a
short paper summarizing the work. After the summary, I will add my own thoughts on
the work along with how my views on social media are developing. While at that
convention in Orlando, I plan to keep notes on all the panels and also keep a daily
reflection. When I have finished all this, I will compile all my data into a single
document along with recording a video discussing my findings.

Disseminate the research results and knowledge gained.

As mentioned earlier, I plan to record a short video of all my findings, in which I will
also mention my sources for my data, and I will summarize my results along with
explaining how social media can help people with their future. I plan to show this video
to a small group of peers and then allow them to ask any questions they may have about
my work.

3. Connection to Goals and Academic Theories:

A. My major, Graphic Communications Design, is focused on communicating ideas to
people quickly and effectively by catching their attention and expressing intent through
pictures. By researching social media, which exists in the fast-paced realm of
cyberspace, I can study what kind of things attract attention and also, what successful
people have done to get to where they are today. In addition, many of the guests at
Playlist Live are famous because of YouTube, and they will be helpful in learning how to
advertise clearly and quickly.

B. I plan to meet with an advisor to help me decide what reading I should do for the
experience and what films I should watch. However, I do believe reading The Accidental
Billionaires, a book describing how Facebook was formed, would be relevant to my
research.
4. Initiative, Independence and Creativity:
My project is unique in that I will be traveling to Florida to meet successful
content creators and learn from them any tips about social media. In addition, I will be
able to network with other people and ask others what things about various websites
and graphics they find appealing. My strength in this experience will be the amount of
direct interaction I will have with others in learning about social media. I think my
experience will be unique because of the variety of sources I will be using to compile all
my data.
5. Reflection:
I will be reflecting on my experience by writing papers on each work I read or
watch along with keeping daily journals while on my trip to the convention. At the end
of my experience, I will be compiling everything, along with my own thoughts and
opinions on my studies, into a Word document along with recording a summary video
that describes my journey.
6. Dissemination:
I plan to reveal the results of my work by presenting to a group of students my
findings. I will do this by showing my video detailing the work and then allowing the
students to ask any questions they have about my research or results. In addition, I will
allow them to look over all my work including my reflections and journal notes.
7. Project Advisor:
It was recommended I talk to either Neil or Jason, both are honors advisors,
about my project. I will ask them about recommended reading or films that I should
watch to research social media.
8. Budget:
Below is a chart detailing my spending.
Playlist Live ticket
Airplane ticket (round trip)
Hotel
Various films or books purchased
Total

$210
$287.20
$135
~$30
$662.20