A gathering of online journalism educators, which started with eight people in 2001, grew to about 70 people this morning as Nora Paul, director of the Institute for New Media Studies, led a discussion of “Goodfellas: The New Media Dons” at the Online News Association conference in Hollywood.
The hour-and-a-half session was so well attended that participants barely got though introductions before time was up. But a large amount of good information was shared and it was apparent that those teaching university students about online journalism desire a centralized way to share ideas and teaching strategies. Among the concerns shared:
- In this evolving field, how do you create educational flexibility, not just for the students, but for the instructors?
- How do you teach a “balanced” course when students come into your classroom with such varying degrees of technological knowledge?
- How do we better integrate adjunct faculty — who are a necessary asset when it comes to teaching online journalism — into our programs?
- How do you keep technology updated and supported?
- How do you ensure that students are learning solid journalistic skills and not getting caught up on the technology?
- Are educators preparing students for a world that doesn’t exist yet?
- How can online journalism educators effectively share ideas and teaching methods?
