Comments on: Syracuse j-school stepping up http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/syracuse-j-school-stepping-up/ Notes from the classroom and observations about today's practice of journalism online Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:53:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Mindy http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/syracuse-j-school-stepping-up/#comment-12423 Mindy Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:16:24 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/?p=1482#comment-12423 @Greg - That's all I know, and even that was forwarded to me by a colleague here. Maybe some nice person from Newhouse will post a comment. @Greg - That’s all I know, and even that was forwarded to me by a colleague here. Maybe some nice person from Newhouse will post a comment.

]]> By: Mindy http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/syracuse-j-school-stepping-up/#comment-12422 Mindy Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:15:04 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/?p=1482#comment-12422 @Jared - I don't know if Syracuse's plan includes Web 2.0-type sharing and distribution, crowdsourcing, etc. But I do think that if you have professors (and students) who don't even know how to use Photoshop, or don't know how to manage the files on their own hard drive, then you're not going to get them into social networking until you train them up. It's not that Photoshop is Step 1 on the road to digital savvy, but there's a matter of literacy in, say, understanding how images are manipulated. It's not that you want these profs teaching the software, but they need to understand what it does -- and how -- so they can see the big picture. That's my view on it, anyway. @Jared - I don’t know if Syracuse’s plan includes Web 2.0-type sharing and distribution, crowdsourcing, etc. But I do think that if you have professors (and students) who don’t even know how to use Photoshop, or don’t know how to manage the files on their own hard drive, then you’re not going to get them into social networking until you train them up.

It’s not that Photoshop is Step 1 on the road to digital savvy, but there’s a matter of literacy in, say, understanding how images are manipulated.

It’s not that you want these profs teaching the software, but they need to understand what it does — and how — so they can see the big picture. That’s my view on it, anyway.

]]> By: Greg Linch http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/syracuse-j-school-stepping-up/#comment-12420 Greg Linch Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:59:27 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/?p=1482#comment-12420 Gah! Newhouse basically stole my idea for an introductory storytelling class -- that's moving up to the top of my blog topic priority list (I've been on a draft for far too long). Do you know if there are anymore details about their version of the class? I only found a few sites promoting new faculty position that would contribute. Gah! Newhouse basically stole my idea for an introductory storytelling class — that’s moving up to the top of my blog topic priority list (I’ve been on a draft for far too long).

Do you know if there are anymore details about their version of the class? I only found a few sites promoting new faculty position that would contribute.

]]> By: Jared http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/syracuse-j-school-stepping-up/#comment-12415 Jared Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:54:55 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/?p=1482#comment-12415 I'm pretty skeptical. Teaching professors a bunch of new software packages (shouldn't they know Photoshop by now?) isn't going to move the ball forward in any meaningful way. What seems to be missing is an entire rethinking of the curriculum. The most significant difference between 1998 and 2008 isn't audio slideshows. Teaching Soundslides doesn't bring students anywhere closer to developing today's primary information tool: web applications. Instead of "here's a new way to tell a traditional narrative" the school would be well-served with addressing the core of journalism -- how do people exchange information? How do you create tools to facilitate that? Content creation is great. But when anyone can easily create content, a professional journalist should move up the ladder. How do you channel that content? Search it? Form it? The new forms of information exchange (digg, Facebook, etc.) don't seem to be covered in Newhouse's plan. Perhaps the question should be: is journalism about creating these tools? Or just employing them? I’m pretty skeptical. Teaching professors a bunch of new software packages (shouldn’t they know Photoshop by now?) isn’t going to move the ball forward in any meaningful way. What seems to be missing is an entire rethinking of the curriculum. The most significant difference between 1998 and 2008 isn’t audio slideshows. Teaching Soundslides doesn’t bring students anywhere closer to developing today’s primary information tool: web applications.

Instead of “here’s a new way to tell a traditional narrative” the school would be well-served with addressing the core of journalism — how do people exchange information? How do you create tools to facilitate that? Content creation is great. But when anyone can easily create content, a professional journalist should move up the ladder. How do you channel that content? Search it? Form it? The new forms of information exchange (digg, Facebook, etc.) don’t seem to be covered in Newhouse’s plan.

Perhaps the question should be: is journalism about creating these tools? Or just employing them?

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