Where do I begin? There's a lot for me to say about Multimedia Reporting and really, they're all good things. I came into this class blind--I had no idea what we would be doing. I took the class because I had just had Jeremy in Media & Society and I did pretty well, so I thought it couldn't hurt and I needed one more Journalism credit.
I think the emphasis on social media was one of the most important elements that I took away from Multimedia Reporting. We're moving into an age where communication is focused on efficiency. How fast can we move information around? With the evolution of networks such as twitter and facebook, the speed at which people can interact with one another is unprecedented. In Multimedia Reporting, we learned specifically how to utilize this medium (via Twitter and blogging) to publicize our work and it especially made us all realize how quickly our efforts can be seen by others. I was shocked when some of my tweets regarding my final project were retweeted and responded to by people I don't even know, yet they gave some pretty awesome insight!
By focusing on social media and spending a lot of our time in this realm, I think it's safe to assume that the class picked up on the notion that social media isn't just meant for "social" purposes. Businesses, organizations and companies are too jumping on this trend and using social media to market their brands. In today's society, it's not if a company uses social media, it's when, and the sooner the better.
In terms of the class, I really liked how Jeremy utilized these platforms along with us. Both inside and outside of the classroom, he kept the conversation going thus making it impossible for "J198" to ever leave our minds. Without him there, I don't think the whole idea of us conducting class in this area would have ever worked!!!
Moving along, I think being able to report in more ways than just on paper will be beneficial in the future. To know how to create news videos, podcasts and slideshows is something that isn't just useful in the professional world, but it's kind of cool to know how to create this things for personal reasons--making memories!!
As an overall evaluation of myself, I think this class really taught me that it's ok to make mistakes. There were plenty of assignments in this class that were far from perfect, but they all made for excellent learning experiences.
In the end, if I could take this class again, I WOULD!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
J198 Course Material
Ok so to be completely honest, it's probably not fair for me to comment about the class readings--I kind of didn't really do them. I skimmed here and there and for what I saw, the textbooks looked really informative, but I don't hold me to that.
So...moving right along.....I loved the Kodak cameras. They were so easy to use and so easy to carry. My first investment as a real person may be to get one of them for myself. They're actually really practical and have amazing quality! I do have a complaint about Windows Movie Maker though. It's seems like it's a really really old product, and perhaps we could have been trained on MAC programs like iMovie or GarageBand (for podcasting).
I also really liked that before a lab or during class time, we received handouts giving us literally a step-by-step manual on how to do things. For people like me who have to ask a trillion and 1 questions before they begin a project, this method for teaching left no holes. The screen shots worked wonders as well!
So yeah, to sum up...don't ask me about the textbooks, no Windows Movie maker, yes to handouts!!!
So...moving right along.....I loved the Kodak cameras. They were so easy to use and so easy to carry. My first investment as a real person may be to get one of them for myself. They're actually really practical and have amazing quality! I do have a complaint about Windows Movie Maker though. It's seems like it's a really really old product, and perhaps we could have been trained on MAC programs like iMovie or GarageBand (for podcasting).
I also really liked that before a lab or during class time, we received handouts giving us literally a step-by-step manual on how to do things. For people like me who have to ask a trillion and 1 questions before they begin a project, this method for teaching left no holes. The screen shots worked wonders as well!
So yeah, to sum up...don't ask me about the textbooks, no Windows Movie maker, yes to handouts!!!
Wrapping up an amazing semester in J198
While I don't think my blog posts have been the most descriptive things ever, I have to say that my experience in J198 might possibly have been the most rewarding in my whole career as a Lehigh University student. To be completely honest, I owe my new found career track to Jeremy Littau and thank him with my whole heart for pointing me in the direction that I will be heading for the near future in my life.
To back track, I'm using this post to go over what I liked and what I didn't so much love about this course. I suppose it's better to start with bad so as to end on a positive note. Ok so as a second semester senior, this class is a TON of work. Editing processes alone took hours upon end in addition to the amount of time it took to get footage and to initially find where we wanted to go for the footage. BUT--to say that the hours of time we put in was for nothing is a blatant lie. Especially now that the class has ended, it's impossible to say that nothing was done without reason and without an educational value to it. I now know how to work the newest generation of video recorders, how to work a movie editing program and how to stand up in front of a camera and use personality to introduce and end a story. In fact, I really learned that a little enthusiasm can take you a long way--but apparently not win you a Pulitzer, right Jeremy!?!?
I guess the long hours and hard work are my only complaints which actually make me sound pretty pathetic as a college student, so I'm moving right along to the reasons why I loved this class. Like I said before, we did every exercise for a reason. Despite the work, I learned so much by doing things in a hands-on fashion, rather than just reading about it in the textbooks. What I really loved about Multimedia Reporting was the emphasis on social media. I had never used Twitter before this class and now, I can't imagine my life without the site. Everything I've done this semester, whether it was for class or not, was documented via my tweets. I love it!!!
I also loved the size of the class. Because there were very few of us, we got to be a close group and developed relationships with each other as well as with Jeremy. The small size enabled us to feel close enough to ask each other questions and to be each others teachers.
Hmmm what else did I love??? I liked the fact that the end of the semester was used solely to work on our projects. Once we had all the knowledge on how to use the programs, we were able to use class time to get our work done. This worked really well because I am on an entirely different schedule than my groupmates, and we knew that 1-3 on Wednesdays definitely worked for all of us, so we definitely were able to take advantage of class time to get things done.
And lastly, it was great that we started working on our final projects almost at the beginning of the semester. I didn't know either one of my groupmates before this class, so working with them for the whole semester really lent itself for us to get to know each other. Now, as a group, we couldn't be any prouder of what we accomplished and created as a team!
So yeah, for now, that's why I LOVED J198. If I weren't graduating and if Wally Trimble can come up with a way for students to take this class twice, I would sign up again in a heart beat.
To back track, I'm using this post to go over what I liked and what I didn't so much love about this course. I suppose it's better to start with bad so as to end on a positive note. Ok so as a second semester senior, this class is a TON of work. Editing processes alone took hours upon end in addition to the amount of time it took to get footage and to initially find where we wanted to go for the footage. BUT--to say that the hours of time we put in was for nothing is a blatant lie. Especially now that the class has ended, it's impossible to say that nothing was done without reason and without an educational value to it. I now know how to work the newest generation of video recorders, how to work a movie editing program and how to stand up in front of a camera and use personality to introduce and end a story. In fact, I really learned that a little enthusiasm can take you a long way--but apparently not win you a Pulitzer, right Jeremy!?!?
I guess the long hours and hard work are my only complaints which actually make me sound pretty pathetic as a college student, so I'm moving right along to the reasons why I loved this class. Like I said before, we did every exercise for a reason. Despite the work, I learned so much by doing things in a hands-on fashion, rather than just reading about it in the textbooks. What I really loved about Multimedia Reporting was the emphasis on social media. I had never used Twitter before this class and now, I can't imagine my life without the site. Everything I've done this semester, whether it was for class or not, was documented via my tweets. I love it!!!
I also loved the size of the class. Because there were very few of us, we got to be a close group and developed relationships with each other as well as with Jeremy. The small size enabled us to feel close enough to ask each other questions and to be each others teachers.
Hmmm what else did I love??? I liked the fact that the end of the semester was used solely to work on our projects. Once we had all the knowledge on how to use the programs, we were able to use class time to get our work done. This worked really well because I am on an entirely different schedule than my groupmates, and we knew that 1-3 on Wednesdays definitely worked for all of us, so we definitely were able to take advantage of class time to get things done.
And lastly, it was great that we started working on our final projects almost at the beginning of the semester. I didn't know either one of my groupmates before this class, so working with them for the whole semester really lent itself for us to get to know each other. Now, as a group, we couldn't be any prouder of what we accomplished and created as a team!
So yeah, for now, that's why I LOVED J198. If I weren't graduating and if Wally Trimble can come up with a way for students to take this class twice, I would sign up again in a heart beat.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Story Ideas
These are our preliminary ideas for our final J198 project. A few of the topics listed we've covered already, however it puts us in a great place in order to finish the weebly website on time. If there is anyone out there who is somehow reading my blog, perhaps you could offer some insight or suggestions??
1. How will the skate park impact the skate and snowboarding shop on 4th Street in South Bethlehem? We’ll do a profile on the store and ask them about what they anticipate from the opening.
2. A narrative story on local Bethlehem residents who used to work for Bethlehem Steel. What are their lives like in Bethlehem now? How has the city changed?
3. According to the Morning Call, Sands casino executives and the owners of the Steel Ice Center are considering a partnership to build a 3,500-seat concert and meeting venue next to the casino in south Bethlehem. We’ll look into this and see what the planning stages look like so far.
4. A slideshow photo series on what the Bethlehem Steel property looks like now with text describing what it could look like in the future.
5. What impact has the casino had on the Bethlehem community? Is it economically similar or different than that of Bethlehem Steel? What are the social implications?
6. Word on the street is that the work on the hotel is set to resume! We want to investigate the truth behind this matter, get in touch with the right people, and report on its progress.
We also need to examine the best formats in which to present each of these stories. What works best as a sidebar feature? What works as a narrative? What should be in writing format and what should be a video or an audio podcast. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I really think we're in a great place. We've got all the necessary tools to get this project done to the best of our ability, and I think we can really do a great job and gain a lot of important experience!
1. How will the skate park impact the skate and snowboarding shop on 4th Street in South Bethlehem? We’ll do a profile on the store and ask them about what they anticipate from the opening.
2. A narrative story on local Bethlehem residents who used to work for Bethlehem Steel. What are their lives like in Bethlehem now? How has the city changed?
3. According to the Morning Call, Sands casino executives and the owners of the Steel Ice Center are considering a partnership to build a 3,500-seat concert and meeting venue next to the casino in south Bethlehem. We’ll look into this and see what the planning stages look like so far.
4. A slideshow photo series on what the Bethlehem Steel property looks like now with text describing what it could look like in the future.
5. What impact has the casino had on the Bethlehem community? Is it economically similar or different than that of Bethlehem Steel? What are the social implications?
6. Word on the street is that the work on the hotel is set to resume! We want to investigate the truth behind this matter, get in touch with the right people, and report on its progress.
We also need to examine the best formats in which to present each of these stories. What works best as a sidebar feature? What works as a narrative? What should be in writing format and what should be a video or an audio podcast. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I really think we're in a great place. We've got all the necessary tools to get this project done to the best of our ability, and I think we can really do a great job and gain a lot of important experience!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
We made a Podcast!
Anya, Liz and I had a great time sitting around a table and basically talking to ourselves. It was kind of therapeutic!
Our First Flickr Slideshow
We weren't the only ones who had the idea to share a slideshow of photos of the Bethlehem Steel Property, because not only did the Wall Street Journal do the exact same thing, they posted it on the exact same day. What can I say, great minds think alike.
Obviously, our slideshow is a bit more amateur, however I definitely think the work is something to be proud of. It was quite a task for Liz and Anya to get these pictures. As Liz sped by, Anya quickly snapped away at the property and did an excellent job of varying the lighting, angles and images.
I'd say our slideshow is a pretty decent representation of the property--take a look!
Obviously, our slideshow is a bit more amateur, however I definitely think the work is something to be proud of. It was quite a task for Liz and Anya to get these pictures. As Liz sped by, Anya quickly snapped away at the property and did an excellent job of varying the lighting, angles and images.
I'd say our slideshow is a pretty decent representation of the property--take a look!
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