Title: JournalismTV.ca: Augmented Learning in Visual Education
Presenters: Alfred Hermida, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Journalism
Jodie Martinson, Masters of Journalism Student
Grant Burns, Masters of Journalism Student
Description: This project involved the creation of a website, JournalismTV.ca, designed to maintain and increase student involvement with in-depth theoretical issues and ethical practices in journalism through the creation of a series of interactive teaching online modules. These modules offer video clips or pertinent journalism material on key research questions in media studies, filmed or acquired by students throughout the academic year, to enhance the existing curriculum of core journalism courses. The modules include topics such as interviewing practices, the representation of diversity, issues in international reporting and environmental journalism. This project extends classroom learning into the intellectual and online spaces that students already occupy, using a visual format, to provide a forum outside of the classroom for critical thinking and discussion of journalistic topics. The online format encourages quieter students to interact online with fellow students in discussion, promoting reflection on topics ahead of scheduled classes. In addition, the project is developing an archive of digital material that can be used by all faculty and students in the graduate journalism program, and potentially by other departments at UBC as learning tools.