Incorporating Facebook and Twitter in a Service-Learning Project in a Business Communication Course

Implementing real-world business writing situations and service learning into business communication courses are not new concepts. Business communication students work through a service-learning project with nonprofit organizations to create communication documents to improve the nonprofit's communication with the public. Writing for social networking sites is also included in the project. Students are asked to create a Facebook slogan for the nonprofit as well as various other Facebook announcements. Students also write tweets to encourage people to donate and to promote various activities. These activities help students write more concisely and think critically about the key elements of writing and of the nonprofit's mission.