3 Ways journalism classes are making education more interactive
Friday, February 05, 2010
Journalism is changing because of modern technology so it is fitting that journalism education is changing too. Journalism classes from grade school and high school-level to college and university courses are cleverly using the web and online tools to make their classes more interactive. Here are three ways they are doing it.
Before the internet the way educators shared course materials was with a syllabus, handouts, or homework assignments. Blogs allow both students and the instructors to share information related to class and post updates about class assignments. Many journalism classes like in the examples below use blogs to post additional reading from online sites.
426 Multimedia Journalism (OSU School of Communication)
Steve Fox's Multimedia Journalism Class
UMass Journalism Launchpad
Online Journalism I (Rowan University)
Studio 20 (NYU)
WordPress seems to be a popular choice for creating multi-author blogs though many classes also use Blogger and Tumblr. Some classes even require students to create their own individual blogs and regularly post new content or writing.
Journalism classes where the instructor or students want to share information immediately often turn to Twitter to post updates. Participants can use hashtags, a short phrase or word preceded by the # sign, to include and identify tweets relevant to the class. Signing students up for Twitter also allows them to become familiar with the tool, which is now an essential skill for every journalist.
#umassjour (University of Massachusetts Amherst)
#comm2322 (Southeastern University)
#jenclass (KOMU)
#mapjd (London College of Communication)
#jlmc342 (Iowa State University)
#413t (Arizona State University)
It is a standing tradition for classes to have guest speakers who share their knowledge and experience with the students. However, this is sometimes more difficult for schools in areas that industry professionals don't often visit. Skype and other video conferencing tools allow classrooms to connect with professionals around the world and participate in live discussions.
For more on how to use Technology in the classroom, check out this post by Jen Lee Reeves.
Blogs
Before the internet the way educators shared course materials was with a syllabus, handouts, or homework assignments. Blogs allow both students and the instructors to share information related to class and post updates about class assignments. Many journalism classes like in the examples below use blogs to post additional reading from online sites.
426 Multimedia Journalism (OSU School of Communication)
Steve Fox's Multimedia Journalism Class
UMass Journalism Launchpad
Online Journalism I (Rowan University)
Studio 20 (NYU)
WordPress seems to be a popular choice for creating multi-author blogs though many classes also use Blogger and Tumblr. Some classes even require students to create their own individual blogs and regularly post new content or writing.
Twitter hashtags
Journalism classes where the instructor or students want to share information immediately often turn to Twitter to post updates. Participants can use hashtags, a short phrase or word preceded by the # sign, to include and identify tweets relevant to the class. Signing students up for Twitter also allows them to become familiar with the tool, which is now an essential skill for every journalist.
#umassjour (University of Massachusetts Amherst)
#comm2322 (Southeastern University)
#jenclass (KOMU)
#mapjd (London College of Communication)
#jlmc342 (Iowa State University)
#413t (Arizona State University)
Skype
It is a standing tradition for classes to have guest speakers who share their knowledge and experience with the students. However, this is sometimes more difficult for schools in areas that industry professionals don't often visit. Skype and other video conferencing tools allow classrooms to connect with professionals around the world and participate in live discussions.
For more on how to use Technology in the classroom, check out this post by Jen Lee Reeves.
4 Comments
David Johnson Says:
mark! you left us out after we talked (or tweeted, rather) my american university building interactive web sites class tumblr is http://interactiveweb.tumblr.com. we were going to use google wave, but chose tumblr instead to be more transparent to the rest of the web.
of course, the american observer site (http://americanobserver.net) and online news production production class has been producing online at AU since the mid 90s. from flat files to wordpress to the current site, which uses a very tricked out prose point drupal 6 installation. we've shared our work and lessons learned in the drupal community since we ported over a few years ago.
we started training students in our bootcamps to buy their own domains and set up their own hosting for all of our journalism masters degrees. many classes have been using free blog resources for years now, my web design and development classes and independent study students have also built a number of platform sites for other classes and projects around the university.
we also hold virtual classes and i hold office hours on my ustream channel. we've been doing hashtags for years.
of course, the american observer site (http://americanobserver.net) and online news production production class has been producing online at AU since the mid 90s. from flat files to wordpress to the current site, which uses a very tricked out prose point drupal 6 installation. we've shared our work and lessons learned in the drupal community since we ported over a few years ago.
we started training students in our bootcamps to buy their own domains and set up their own hosting for all of our journalism masters degrees. many classes have been using free blog resources for years now, my web design and development classes and independent study students have also built a number of platform sites for other classes and projects around the university.
we also hold virtual classes and i hold office hours on my ustream channel. we've been doing hashtags for years.
Says:
In addition to the "skills" of using Twitter and other 'cool' technologies and services, I hope they are teaching our future journalists critical thinking too:)
Kaitlin Says:
Yep, all of this sounds vaguely familiar because all of these things are being taught to me at the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication. In fact, the undergrad program is currently undergoing intense changes in its classes and overall structure. We're having to not only learn traditional journalism skills, but learn everything else that this website spouts!
February 5, 2010 2:52 PM