This semester I decided to embark on an experiment with my Communications Internship students. I asked them to create their own blogs, a sort of reflective journal of their experiences while gaining job experiences at various communications organisations throughout Townsville (Australia).
Interestingly, prior to this only one of out a total of ten interns had already started a blog! This was surprising to me since with the explosion of 'citizen journalism', one would have thought students would have replaced writing in notebook journals with blogging away on the Internet. Wrong! They were facebooking and twittering but they rarely created exposes on a variety of topics - which is the essence of the blogospshere.
The idea of integrating web 2.0 technologies into teaching is not a novel concept. I had entertained the idea of setting up chat room discussions for my public relations class but was too bogged down with the tedious task of teaching three subjects and coordinating PR subjects taught at JCU satellite campuses in Singapore (and Brisbane) to be bothered.
My attitude to using technology in this way changed when I went on holiday in the United States during the Australian winter break (July 09). I met with a wonderful friend from Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Sacha Joseph- Mathews with whom I had studied when I was reading for a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Communications at the University of the West Indies (Mona, Jamaica). Sacha is now a Professor of International Business at the University of the Pacific in California.
She invited my participation in a meeting she had with a senior staffer at UP responsible for educating and assisting academic staff on integrating web 2.0 techs into teaching. The meeting was an eye-opener. I learned that the technologies were less cumbersome and hard to figure out than had anticipated. I learned that one could record the introduction to a lecture on Skye using a regular web came.
Yet to try it but I will. We discussed using face book as a tool and setting up discussion boards and wikis and having students interact with each other. I had the experience of that in New Zealand when I was teaching Assistant for a subject called "Politics and the Media". Yet, at that time, I felt so daunted by the technology that I don't think I went on the discussion board more than two times! LOL!
One of the more interesting concepts that Sacha and I were exposed to in that meeting in California was the potential of the blog as a real learning tool. This caught my attention since I already operated a blog and wondered how I may integrate this into the process. Simpler than I thought!
I required of my interns to write a 'reflexive journal' (to be graded) of their experiences at their various jobs, and what better way to do this in the 21st century than on a blog!. This way, I thought the students could not only reflect on their working environment and say what they were learninga nd how it was improving their journalism skills, but insert samples of their work, and become their own citizen journalists. They also have the extraordinary opportunity to bypass editorial rules and really act as their own editors on their own newspapers, e.g the blogs.
A few of my interns have already started their blog and they look fantastic! I look forward to reading their inserts and watching them mold these blogs into their own world of creativity. It is wonderful when students get their own voice and the beauty of the web 2.o technologies is that it lends that freedom to explore. I am glad I am a part of this process.
Although I already have a blog, Talking Politics at:http://www.hume.johnson.wordpress.com/ - I have decided to start another blog which is specific to communications. My best friend and busines partner Dr Nickesia Gordon, a Communications Professor at Barry University (Florida) and I had already created a media training business, so I thought our communication interests could collide here! Our blog can be found at : www.thecommunicationexperts.blogspot.com The business is called - The Communication Workshop. Feel free to read our posts as we delve into the widest range of topics relating to communication - organisational communication, strategic communication, business comunication, oral communication, interpersonal communication; inter-cultural communication, political communication as well as public relations and journalism broadly speaking
We also hope that our blog will become a reputable resource for those interested in careers or information in the media and communications industries. So until we blog again, remember "if you cannot become your best, you cannot be happy" (Les Brown)!
