Challenge others to learn digital tools
The author calls upon leaders to make big changes in journalism education. But social, cultural or institutional change doesn’t happen only when leaders reinvent institutions, if people change their own behaviors, it can change a system from the “bottom up.”
Consider the use of digital tools in journalism education. One approach to increase the use of those tools might be to try to change accreditation standards to favor use of current technology. Another way might be to change your own classroom’s habits, and pass along the challenge to another class, until hundreds and thousands of classes are changing.
Activity: Try it. Take two or three basic tools (such as the ones below). Assign your students to try them and report back to the class. Then report your findings to another class and challenge them to find two tools, try them and pass along the challenge. Will the next class take you up on the challenge? Have a class discussion of other non-institutional ways to create change in what journalism students learn.
Starter tools:
- Paper.li allows people to create their own newspaper by finding sources on a particular topic. This website allows readers to download their content into an application that aggregates information. Students can use Paper.li to create their own news report and explain their choices. What community are they trying to communicate to and with? How do they know those stories will be consumed and acted upon?
- FlipBoard is an application for tablets and smart phones that lets the user flip through, with the swipe of a finger, a self-refreshing collection of articles and social media posts curated to user’s tastes. With Flipboard you can make online magazines tailored to a specific community need.
- WordPress has become the news industry standard in blogging because of its simplicity. It offers free tutorials and basic web templates that adjust to fit smart phones. Bloggers can also install plug-ins to track content engagement on their site. WordPress blog examples: Reuters, Wall Street Journal, CNN, NYT. You can also check out this this page of notable WordPress Users.
- News Sense on NewsU.org is a course, not a tool, but it can help make sure your story meets the journalism standards of fairness, accuracy, context and truthfulness, the necessary foundations of good reporting.