The Path Already Taken: Technological and Pedagogical Practices in Convergence Education

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Read the title. I’m Jeremy Sarachan from St. John Fisher in Rochester, New YorkMy study investigated details about what it takes to offer a convergence curriculum, in terms of topics to cover and resources needed

Each school approaches adaptation of a convergence curriculum differently. The target audience are members of those departments trying to expand their offerings and embracing convergence more fully

Proper strategic planning leads to proper planning and involvement/explanation of administration.Static: nothing. Realigned: total rethinking of all classes. Supplementary: adding to existing curriculumAnd that’s what this study does, rather than looking at a converged curriculum as a new field of study or a huge undertaking, the data provides some insight into how to incorporate it into what’s already being done in departments.

Web design most popular. Convergent journalism and digital storytelling, two aspects of the same idea, one with more of a professional bent. New Media Theory is social science oriented, while cyberculture represents the “humanities” approachVirtual worlds the least common. I believe it will ultimately prove to be more important than what our curriculum currently suggests. Think about farm town and webkinz

Web Design is standards. Others around convergent journalismSound cultures—interesting.HCI even.Massively multiplayer online role-playing game

Not many. Only web above 50%. Blogs surprising low. Interesting that it’s confined to one class, and not interspersed in different classes.

Web taught already, and sometimes taught in other departments. Animation/multimedia as wellLess load in comm, with cross-listing, but less control

More hands on required. More than 2/3 combine. Slightly more full-time for theory. Adjuncts (with practical experience) can handle hands-on if can’t afford full-time faculty (yet).

Go with expensive industry standard. Many teach the more technical HTML directly without a program (or may do both)

Can use anything: even Powerpoint. And Acrobat, where you can make some fairly advanced applications Keynote is like Powerpoint. Of course, Flash is professional and ideal.

Less about web design. Emphasis on image/video creation.

Flash wins. Maya more for animation programs and Director is aimed at CD-ROMs and more extensive interactive kiosks

Blogs are very popular. Podcasts next, and nice that social networking (for PR, advertising?) next. Virtual worlds low.

1 or 2 labs. Standard size

Need to go Macintosh

Why not for freshmen and all years. Others use these courses, even not Comm. Professionals. Can be used for funding?

Like other areas of COMM, practical and hands-on are combined.More than web design: digital storytelling and convergent journalism. Rarely at the top of the list. Do these basic skills require more emphasis?

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The Path Already Taken: Technological and Pedagogical Practices in Convergence Education - Presentation Transcript

The Path Already Taken
Technological and Pedagogical Practices in Convergence Education
Jeremy Sarachan
Assistant Professor in Communication/Journalism
St. John Fisher College
AEJMC/August 2009
Convergence in the curriculum
What should we teach?
What tools do we need?
Target audience: departments wishing to expand implementation of convergence topics.
Adapting Convergence
Proper strategic planning (Konsky).
Static, supplementary, or realigned curriculum (Lowrey, Daniels, and Becker).
Focus on the integration of technology with the current curriculum, without creating new topics of study (Kraeplin and Criado).
Method
Surveyed 401 department chairs (or appropriate faculty) affiliated with AEJMC.
110 Responses received (8% margin of error.)
Insight into choices made at different schools may prove useful to individual departments.
Courses currently offered
Variety of courses
- Web Design (and variants)
- Multimedia Newsgathering
- Producing Web Stories and Content
- Digital Reporting
- Digital Sound Cultures
- Communicating in the Virtual World
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Multimedia Design
- Critical Approaches in Digital Media Studies
- Ethnography of MMORPHS
Topics offered in multiple classes
Topics offered outside communication department
Who enrolls? Who teaches?
- 52% require a hands-on course.
- 43% require a theory course.
- 69% of new media classes combine hands-on and theory.
- 79% of theory courses taught by full-time faculty.
- 64% of hands-on courses taught by full-time faculty.
Software used across curriculum
Software for digital storytelling
Software for convergent journalism
Software for animation/multimedia
Web 2.0 tools taught
Number of labs for digital media
Platform (operating system)
Who takes new media courses?
Primarily junior and seniors, with much fewer first-year.
Primarily communication majors.
Also: Digital Media, Media Studies, Film Studies, New Media, Information Technology, Computer Science, English, American Studies (each less than <20%).
Final thoughts
Emphasis on Digital Storytelling/Convergent Journalism.
Could these courses be offered to first-year students?
Opportunities for interdepartmental collaboration?
Are we teaching concepts surrounding virtual worlds adequately?
Contact information
Thank you.
Any questions?
Jeremy Sarachan
Assistant Professor
St. John Fisher College
jsarachan@sjfc.edu
Jeremy Sarachan on Facebook or LinkedIn
http://www.slideshare.net/jeremysarachan