The Excellence Gateway has another interesting and useful case study published in their website.

The use of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace within the learning and skills sector divides educational professionals. Some feel that providers should embrace these Web 2.0 tools to increase engagement, others feel the casual and often frivolous content within these channels has no place in the classroom. The Music Department at City College Brighton and Hove has created its own Brighton Records Facebook, MySpace and Twitter sites to allow its students to brand and market their own work, as well as promote their skills to prospective employers. By emulating the professional deployment of Web 2.0 technologies prevalent in the music industry today, students have learnt how to make serious use of social networking sites, resulting in improved recruitment, retention, engagement and attainment.

Well worth reading.

The essence of these activities are transferable to other curriculum areas. Most industries recognise the need and importance of engaging with social media, though some do it better than others.