Home > how to study abroad > Study Abroad 101
Center for Global Education
Johnson Center, Room 235
George Mason University
4400 University Drive
MSN 2B8
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
Phone
Fax
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We are located on the second
floor
in Room 235 in the
Johnson Center above
the food court.
Use a catchy title.
Make the title unique, consider using questions and lists.
Use interesting visuals.
Include an image or video in your blog.
Include links.
Links add depth and credibility to your articles.
Use bullets, italics, and bold font.
This makes for an easier read.
Using bold font allows the reader to quickly scan your post.
Let your personality come through.
This is what makes your blog unique.
Make blogs short!
Otherwise your reader might take one look at your post and bolt.
If you choose to make your blog post long, consider breaking your blog into parts or use bold font to highlight the main points of the blog. This point is about readability.
Reference your articles.
If you use other people's work, include a reference or link.
Be interesting and have fun.
Your enthusiasm for a topic will likely come through in your writing and make for a more enjoyable read.
Encourage comments.
Engage your reader and develop a relationship with them. This can be as simple as ending your post with a question. The key here is to make it easy for the reader to leave a comment.
Post tags.
This will help your readers find you.
Respond to comments as soon as possible.
Treat your reader like a friend. If your friend calls you and leaves a message, do you wait days to respond?
Make your blog post easy to share.
This may include adding widgets such as Tweet, Reddit, Delicious, Stumble Upon, etc.
Post frequently.
This helps keep your blog fresh and entices search engines to index you more often.
Promote your blog.
This involves posting your posts to bookmarking sites, such as Stumble Upon and Delicious. Use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc.!
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We won't give you a minimum or a maximum, but since we have so many of you, it would be great if you checked in once a day.
We don't want to spam our followers every five minutes, so if you see too much activity be judicious but if you don't see activity please be present and responsive.
You agree to not change or alter the account’s password, email account or user name.
You agree to let us use your tweets, profile picture and bio on other social media sites or Mason web sites and publications now and in the future.
You agree to Tweet in English, although an occasional Tweet in hosting country's language is fine with translation provided.
You agree that if you express an opinion of a political or religious nature that you make sure to state it is your opinion and not the opinion of the Center for Global Education.
Course related activities
Hobbies and interests of your own
Personal and general observations
Experiences
Current events
Sights and sounds
Though we are not censoring you, we need to maintain a safe and welcoming environment on the CGE twitter handle. Therefore, we will delete any and all posts that attack an individual, are profane or obscene, contain pornography, are racist or discriminatory against any individual or group, that advertise or market outside companies or vendors, or contain criminal activities or suggestion of illegal activity.
Remember that although drinking may be legal in the country you are visiting, drinking under the age of 21 is still illegal at Mason so please refrain from tweeting about it.
If you abuse this privilege, we reserve the right to stop your Tweeting at any time.
Since @GMU_StudyAbroad has been CGE's official account for some time, you may notice that people will include the handle in their posts without directly talking with you. Should you find for any reason that someone is engaging you in a 'conversation' on Twitter that seems hostile or asking questions you can't answer, please feel free to email us about it.
Be deliberate when making camera moves. When panning and zooming, use slow, smooth, and deliberate motions. Take a shot of something and leave it there for 10-20 seconds, stop the recording, and take another shot. This will make your videos much more watchable.
Use a tripod if you have one. Another way is to brace yourself against something like a wall, or perhaps stoop down on your knee while filming.
Don't limit your shots to one angle or size only.
Following this video formula will help your audience see a location, a specific setting within that location, and your story or testimonial in that place.
If you can, look for a landmark, a sign, or natural monument that will show the viewer where you are. If you’re in Paris, the Eiffel Tower would provide a nice back drop.
Next, approach your subject from all angles. Before you hit the red RECORD button, check to make sure you can fit everything in the frame that you want to.
A lot of image quality problems can be solved by light. Use natural or available lighting whenever possible.
Make sure there is not bright light like the sunlight directly behind what you video. If your subject is standing in a bad lighting situation, have them move into better light if possible and the video will look much better.
Interviews can provide good insight through the actual words of those studying abroad. When interviewing a friend, avoid a loud environment like a busy train station because the audio will be hard to control.
Ask specific questions that will solicit specific answers.
Here are some good ones to keep in mind
What do you feel like you’re learning abroad that you can’t learn here?
What has been your favorite site visit so far? Why did the program go there?
Try any new food you’ve never had before? Where or what was the occasion?
Any shattered stereotypes? Any surprises about the people/place/history?
Tell the interviewee NOT to look at the camera.
He/she should just carry on a normal conversation and keep eye contact with you. This may seem awkward but it works really well and it is how almost all professional interviews are done.
When you frame your subject, remember to leave plenty of space in the shot to allow the interviewee to move naturally and nod or gesture.
This way their face or movements won't slip out of the shot.
Tell your story through the images you shoot.
The types of clips CGE is looking for are
Your LIVING situation abroad
What’s the view like from your dorm or hotel window? What’s a day in the life of the program like? For example, walk us from your room to a site!LEARNING abroad
Be our tour guide and show us a favorite spot or two!