This fall, students in Adam R. Pope's Technical Writing and UX for Online Audiences (ENGL 5523) have been able to interview social media content creators across the musical instrument industry as part of their coursework learning the theory and practice behind running professional social media accounts.

Students in the course drafted questions for creators behind three different social media and YouTube channels, including Jason Mays and Tia Bailey of Working Class Music, Ryan Burke of 60 Cycle Hum and Emily Harris of Get Offset.

Each channel focuses on covering musical instrument gear, culture and artists on YouTube, social media platforms and podcasts.

Emily Harris and Ryan Burke

As Pope explained, "It's great when grad students get to actually engage with folks doing the work they're learning to do themselves. There is a lot of lived and earned expertise that comes from being a content creator and building a community in these spaces, and giving students a chance to hear from these creators in their own words is something that I've found invaluable in helping them understand how these fields of practice work."

Students in ENGL 5523 drafted their questions as part of the first half of the course that focuses on understanding how to study and build experiences and operate in social media spaces. They'll next turn to information architecture and crafting the menus and online systems we navigate on sites and in apps.

ENGL 5523 is one of four courses available for the Graduate Certificate in Technical Writing and User Experience Design, a 12-hour online-only course of study offered through the Department of English.