Story Idea: Video Project

Story Idea: More and more students are creating and joining social media study groups, specifically on Facebook. In these groups, students can post and discuss class information such as homework. Students may not get in trouble for participating in these groups, but for posting content that can be seen as cheating or trying to get an academic advantage. Whether of not a student's post on Facebook or whatever site it is depends on the professor, the syllabus and the UT academic integrity guidelines. Some professor encourage the use of social media and create Facebook pages or allow students to do the same thing, and then there are others who discourage it. This can definitely cause an inconsistency too because one class might allow it while the other doesn't causing some confusion. UT may be working on a statement for all classes determining the social media use in terms of class material discussion. We thought this would be an interesting idea because students join Facebook groups for classes and may be cheating without even really realizing it! It also can be unfair at times.

Structure of Story: 

• Start off by introducing how some students at the University of Texas are being accused of academic dishonesty because of their membership in online study groups.
• Then, we would go into how more and more students are participating in these Facebook pages and introduce what is being done on them.
• Bring up a recent case of how students were failed or got in trouble by their professor for participating in it.
• Explain why this is a problem.
• What is UT going to do about it?
• Leave the audience thinking!

Video/Text Component: This video works with the text component because it could easily be accompanied with a video. In addition, the text can include quotes from the people we interview, interesting story lines that have to deal with the video and what can or needs to be done to fix this, what some people might call, a problem. The video will be a great visual for the text, showing who is getting in trouble, how the students create or join these Facebook groups and what they look like. We will show what cheating may be considered as and what help may be considered as, because after all, there is a difference. The video and text will go great together, and it will provide a nice story for viewers/readers!

List at least three potential organizations/subjects to interview and why:

1. Jeff knows someone who recently got in trouble for cheating on a Facebook page. We'd interview him because he has been through the experience of getting in trouble and could provide us with a lot of inside information on the pages, the rules and what he did wrong.

2. Professor because we would like to get a teacher's point of view on the subject. Maybe interview multiple professors

3. A dean of a college or some person high up at the university to see what rules they may be discussing in regards to Facebook groups for classes.