Reflections on the 2008 Convergence Conference

I did not get a chance to blog while at the 2008 Convergence and Society: The Participatory Web" Conference October 8-11, so I'll jot down a few thoughts now. This conference has been sponsored by the University of South Carolina for several years now, and I (Tony DeMars) along with organizer Augie Grant (on the faculty as SC), as well as Jeff Wilkinson (now of United International College in China -- see http://partnerpage.google.com/profjeff.com) and Janet Kolodzy of Emerson College in Boston are the only four people who have attended all of them. Thanks to Augie for recognizing us for that again this year!

Why attend the 'Convergence Conference'? Anyone who teaches journalism, Radio-Television, or new media classes that deal with technologies should be there. I have been able to track changes in the industry and in university teaching through my involvement with this conference. Plus, unlike the huge academic conferences, the 'manageable' number of attendees means we get to attend all the sessions (not have to choose from one of several at a time), and we get to know others doing similar research, not just hear their 15-minute presentation. Augie does a great job too of putting together a program that is enlightening from beginning to end.

So, in my 'after the fact reflections' here, I'll skip summarizing sessions from this year, but instead make a point that next year's conference will be held November 5-7, 2009 at the University of Nevada-Reno. Paper submission deadline is June 15, 2009. E-mail augie@sc.edu with questions, or visit http://Newsplex.sc.edu

SWECJMC 2008 #2

The second session I attended this morning had research that is very timely in today's college teaching world.

The first research..."How Journalism and Mass Communication Professors Perceive and Cope with Changes in Student Characteristics" by Bruce Plopper and Cassondra Sagan Webb.
There seems to be a trend where students are 'harder to teach'--instead of spending the appropriate time (or even having an expectation) of studying and learning, many expect things to be catered to what they want. Students think learning is a social activity with a technology component. They think they can multitask, but research shows multitasking doesn't work. What to do about it? This presentation did not offer solutions, but proposed that educators test techniques they use for teaching.

Kristy Roschke then talked about "Convergence Journalism in High School: How Educators are Keeping Up with Trends in the Media Industry." As a high school journalism teacher and graduate student, she talked about changes going on in expectations of news employees (see my post below about the 'super reporter').

Carol Schwalbe then discussed "Leveraging the Digital Media Habits of the Millennials: Innovative Strategies for Teaching Journalism Courses." Student-centered or experiential learning are said by some to be good approaches. What are the digital media habits of these students? How can we leverage those into more effective techniques in the classroom?
Educators should not get rid of teaching fundamentals of the profession, but with digital media, can take advantage of non-linear, provide pre-recorded digital feedback, and allow students to critique each other's work on a site like Blackboard (WebCT, eCollege).

Also in sessions today: "Publish or Perish: Getting Published in the Southwestern Mass Communication Journal--and Others" and a special session on "Border Journalism: Issues" -- especially topical for our Las Cruces location and its proximity to Mexico. This web site is important to that discussion: http://www.pasodelsur.com/

SWECJMC 2008

We're in Las Cruces, NM Friday and Saturday, October 24-25, 2008. On the first day, I heard about research like 'A Content Analysis of Leading Newspapers During the 2008 Democratic Primary' from Thomas Christie and Ivana Segvic-Boudreaux of Texas at Arlington, 'How Newspapers Covered a 1915 Lynching Story in Waco' from Lisa McCollough of the University of North Texas, and a case study on 'Education and Public Life at the Virginian-Pilot' by Leslie-Jean Thornton of Arizona State.

I presented "Socialization and Acculturation Through Interaction with New Media Narratives" in a session that also included the top paper at the conference: "The News That's Fit to Click: An Analysis of Online News Values and Preferences Present in the Most-Viewed Stories on AZCentral.com" by Serena Carpenter and Sky Schaudt of Arizona State.

We ended the day Friday with an awards dinner that also included a mariachi performance from a group made up of students at New Mexico State University. During that dinner, the group conducted an official vote to change the organization's name from Southwest Education Council for Journalism and Mass Communication (SWECJMC) to Southwest Mass Communication Council. The motion failed, so the discussion focused on potential future proposals for a name change, like Southwest Mass Communication Association.

Saturday morning, while a poster sessions goes on next door, we're hearing about 'Black Images in Cinema' from Oklahoma Ph.D. student Cristal Johnson, 'Feminist Magazines in the 1970s,' from Sammye Johnson, and 'Online Identities of Overseas Chinese' from Aimai Yang, also of Oklahoma.

By the way, after I started doing this blog, I discovered how quickly the spammers were able to start posting irrelevant, self-promoting stuff--so that's why I changed the settings to moderate comments. If you study Journalism and Mass Communication, I'd love to use this blog to share and discuss ideas and research projects. So, offer a relevant comment and I'll let it through.