Technology: Blogs, wikis and videos

How are you using technology in your classroom?

I use blogs in virtually all my classes. Generally, I post a question based on a reading assignment once or twice a week, and students post comments in response. They are encouraged to engage each other in dialogue and debate when posting.

The blogs have a number of important benefits. First, they allow me to evaluate how well and in what way students are interpreting the reading. Second, the blogs start the discussions about the assigned topic before class begins. Third, the blogs give students an additional opportunity to write (and as many are journalism majors, this is always a good thing). Fourth, the blogs also give students the opportunity to work within an increasingly prominent journalistic format.

I also use a wiki in Press in America, which is essentially an encyclopedia compiled by students. Students research elements of historical significance in American journalism and post their findings as encyclopedic entries. Each entry includes hyperlinks, illustrations and an annotated bibliography. Although only students enrolled in the course can write and edit on the wiki, it is open to all Internet users, who are invited to use it as a scholarly reference.

In my Media Ethics course, students produce videos about an ethical issue or case as part of the final. The final isn’t considered complete until their videos are uploaded to YouTube or a similar site. One video (see below) about a photojournalism case has had more than 10,000 views since it was uploaded a year or so ago. Students don’t only study media ethics in the course, they also shape the public debate over it. At the same time, they gain crucial practice in making multimedia presentations, acquire a significant piece of work for their portfolios, and get a better sense of what it will be like to be a media professional in the digital age.