The Public Manager 2.0: Preparing the Social Media Generation for a Networked Workplace

Abstract

This article provides the design of a new student-centered information management course to teach the effective use of social media technologies in the public sector as part of public affairs programs. The goal of this “Government 2.0” course is to provide students with analytical and technological skills to navigate the challenges future public managers are facing in a networked workplace. Social media technologies, such as wikis, blogs, microblogging services, or social networking sites, have evolved into innovative channels to collect and share information about government updates and breaking news as well as ongoing operations. Future public managers trained in public affairs programs expect to have access to and work with social media technologies at their future workplace. This course sets out to build competencies and skills to create an increased awareness and knowledge about the effective use of social media technologies for informal learning among government practitioners. Six course elements are identified that support student-centered learning and distributed responsibilities in a combination of online and offline learning experiences. Each course element is discussed, including its learning objectives, related student activities, outcomes, and evaluation elements The article concludes with recommendations for faculty who plan to teach with social media technologies in public affairs programs.