As the Executive-in-Residence at the Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University, Ms. Amber Benson teaches Digital Media Landscapes*, Digital Strategy III, Campaigns, Business Communication, New Business Development, Healthcare Advertising, and a Graduate course on Metrics of Success.
In Ms. Benson’s course Digital Media Landscapes, students create a Digital Discovery Journal. In her words, Ms Benson describes this tool:
“Students create a Digital Discovery Journal featuring 10 unique assignments that correspond to key concepts covered by class lectures and readings from Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind and other articles. For example, for the unit on Attention, the students must conduct a 6 hour digital detox, journaling their activities and emotions. For the concept of Design they find a household object, sketch a better solution, and submit it to the manufacturer. For Participation & Collaboration, they edit Wikipedia articles. My students always say the same thing ‘At first, I thought these were just random assignments, but by the end I see how these ideas permeate everything we do in a digitally-focused, always-on society.’”
“I focus on the human skills needed in an increasingly technology-driven society. I try to help them see that new technology has always preceded new media–and that technology isn’t limited to electronics. Instead of focusing on the latest shiny object or platform coming from Silicon Valley, we concentrate on foundational underpinnings such as the ascent of media, diffusion of innovations, and network effects.”
Ms. Benson brings more than twenty years experience as a client, agency executive, and strategic marketing consultant to the classroom. She is the faculty advisor to the Southern Methodist University’s National Student Advertising Competition Team. Ms. Benson holds an M.A. in Design Management from Savannah College of Art & Design.
Image in the public domain via NordWood Themes on Unsplash.