I am thinking about developing an online course for Mass Communications using Stanley Baron's book at the foundation. I have taught Introduction to Mass Communications for several years and my goal is to create an online version. The course is a survey course introducing students to the different media and their histories. I like to use online sources and tools such as YouTube for current, up-to-date media use in all mediums.
My course would be interactive and use collaborative tools including discussion boards, wikis, podcasts, vlogs, etc. I think as a professor, vlogs in an online course are very helpful.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Research Search via the Internet
Search for Research… What’s real that is the question. As a newspaper reporter and educator, it’s important to find sources that are beyond question. With this said, it’s fun to find sources that are undoubtedly false or not viable. These sources can also be a valid and valuable learning tool for students.
In my experience, using both reliable or documented sources juxtaposed with false sources help students learn how to recognize unreliable information while comparing it with better reliable sources.
I look for reliable sources by digging into the material presented and looking for documentation at a Web site. I also look for other sources to verify materials found at a variety of sites. This would be a web-based literature review of sorts. When I am doing news research I look to traditional resources such as government sites, news sites and other trusted sources such as known experts in the field of whatever I am researching.
I like to use search words and tags in an experimental fashion. I like to try different words and see what comes up. I have found that librarians are the best sources for help when I get stuck on a topic and can not find relevant hits in my research. As a photographer, I have used tags related to my photos. For example, I shot a lighthouse in
As a graduate student, I like to use the databases from the University. These are generally very reliable and offer millions of pieces of information that are academic sources. I think all students should understand how to use information for personal use and academic use.
As for RSS feeds, I am overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of feeds available at the moment. I think RSS feeds should be carefully selected and not just chosen at random. I would suggest to students that they examine some sites recommended by their instructors or even their friends and check them out prior to subscribing to a feed. Information is wonderful, but unless it is selected, it won’t be used. I am going to use RSS feeds to do research on a paper topic with some classmates related to the environment and media framing. I haven’t selected them yet, but I will use diigo.com and delicious.com to help share this information with classmates.
I think using a variety of sources such as blogs, vlogs, podcasts and online magazines as well as traditional sources is a good idea for any active learner. It seems the trend is toward all electronic or digital media for many papers. I know I have used many online digital resources that can also be found in hard (paper) form.
Again, I’ll reiterate that students should experience both good resources and poor resources, so they can tell the difference. In this manner, I would say practice or hands-on learning is key.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Blogging and Teaching Journalism and Media 9/14/09
Blogging in an educational setting is an exciting way to teach and learn in a collaborative environment. I have used blogging as part of a Public Affairs Reporting class. As a journalist, blogging is one of the new requirements a reporter/editor has to learn to communicate with readers/participants in the news arena.
This is an exciting time for educators in the mass media field because it is our job to teach up and coming journalists how to write well and also maintain the integrity of information in a world where anyone with a computer and the Internet can produce information for publication to the World.
Beyond teaching media writing with just words, Web 2.0 can help journalists use all forms of media including photos, video, music, and other useful links to help solidify the knowledge base.
One of the challenges instructors will face in the coming months and years is the fact that most students are media savvy and have high technical skills. However, they may not have developed higher level critical thinking skills required to produce content that is based on accurate information. Blogging lends itself to opinion writing with or without accuracy checks, so it is imperative that students learn how to think critically and do research with solid sources when producing blogs for media outlets. It is important to teach students how to be reporters with a passion for accuracy and truth telling in an ethical sense as well as creative collaborators.
I think blogging and all emerging media tools have great potential for the educational process as a whole. It truly does offer an opportunity to every person with ideas and Internet access the ability to participate in a Democratic society upon which the ideals of the First Amendment are built.
I would like to learn more about digital writing and how to help students write with clarity, accuracy and some formality. I understand that blogging lends itself to informality, but it is still important to learn to write in complete sentences with words spelled correctly, so other can understand the blogger's meaning with ease.
This is an exciting time for educators in the mass media field because it is our job to teach up and coming journalists how to write well and also maintain the integrity of information in a world where anyone with a computer and the Internet can produce information for publication to the World.
Beyond teaching media writing with just words, Web 2.0 can help journalists use all forms of media including photos, video, music, and other useful links to help solidify the knowledge base.
One of the challenges instructors will face in the coming months and years is the fact that most students are media savvy and have high technical skills. However, they may not have developed higher level critical thinking skills required to produce content that is based on accurate information. Blogging lends itself to opinion writing with or without accuracy checks, so it is imperative that students learn how to think critically and do research with solid sources when producing blogs for media outlets. It is important to teach students how to be reporters with a passion for accuracy and truth telling in an ethical sense as well as creative collaborators.
I think blogging and all emerging media tools have great potential for the educational process as a whole. It truly does offer an opportunity to every person with ideas and Internet access the ability to participate in a Democratic society upon which the ideals of the First Amendment are built.
I would like to learn more about digital writing and how to help students write with clarity, accuracy and some formality. I understand that blogging lends itself to informality, but it is still important to learn to write in complete sentences with words spelled correctly, so other can understand the blogger's meaning with ease.
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