This presentation at the 6th Annual Texas Social Media Conference gives some history of the Texas Wesleyan University Mass Communications Department's use of a live crisis event for the past three years. Also included in the presentation are brief interviews from faculty and students.

1. 6th Annual Texas Social Media Conference: April 17
Zombies and Superheroes
on Campus:
Using Games to Teach Best Practices in Social Media
Fauxrambler.wordpress.com

2. Objectives of presentation
• To review three years of crisis events
• To show how this crisis event has
informed classroom instruction
• To hear from a student who has
participated in two of the events
• To give you ideas you can use in your
classrooms from the crisis event

3. Purpose depends on the course or courses
– Journalism students in MCO 2345 and MCO 3320:
• To practice real-time journalism; gathering, producing and editing
content
• To work with public relations practitioners
• To work with a team to direct and edit content creation
• To keep a community updated on a live event as it unfolds
• To ascertain the difference between fact and rumor
– Public relations students in MCO 4346:
• To work with a team to implement a crisis plan in real-time
• To work with media to disseminate appropriate and timely
information
• To practice working with a team to gather information during a crisis
• To ascertain the difference between fact and rumor
Overview and purpose of exercise

4. History of the crisis event scenarios
Year 1: 2016
• A zombie apocalypse occurs on campus
Year 2: 2017
• The aftermath of a Superhero battle
Year 3: 2018
• Two groups of students lead protests on campus

5. Grading
• Points from this exercise divided into two
overall categories—participation and analysis
• Participation: All or nothing grade—you did it
or you didn’t
• Analysis: Two podcasts—individual and group

6. Day of: Debrief from pros
Photo left: Marjorie Herrera-Lewis, former reporter, Dallas
Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2016.
Photo above: From left to right, rear, Bob Ray Sanders formerly of
the Star-Telegram, Ed Gallagher, Wesleyan alumnus; front row, left
to right, Drenda Witt, formerly of JPS Health, and Paige Wilson,
CampFire First Council. Additional comments from Eddye
Gallagher, former Director Journalism at Tarrant County College,
rounded out the pro debriefing, 2018.

7. Afterwards: Debrief from students
• Individual podcasts could be 2 minutes or less
• Group podcasts could be 15 minutes
• Lab 5 in MCO 2345 was analysis of social
media—2017; a change based on analysis
• Further discussion of 2018 event shows that
all courses need more focus on social media
usage and monitoring

8. How this has affected classes
• Guest speakers who help
• Creation of mini-crises or mini-press
conferences
• Plans for the future from Dr. Carol Johnson-
Gerendas

9. Discussion with @MatNtheHat
• Two years participation in this exercise
• Year 1: Reporter focusing on Social Media
• Year 2: Editor of Social Media posts for
FauxRambler
• And comments from Sarah Owens, who also
participated in the event as a reporter last
year and PR strategist this year

10. Our tips for you
• Get your administration on board
• Plan your student training/classes leading up
to the event to get students prepared
• Create little “practice” sessions in class prior
to event
• Enlist help from across campus
• Be flexible

11. Presentation at:
slideshare.net/klcolley
Day of the
event 2016:
Drs. Eddy
Lynton and
Cary Adkinson
Criminal justice and sociology professors who provided the Zombie Task
Force in Year 1. They’ve been integral to the exercise’s success every year.