Instructional Software in the High School Journalism Classroom

Instructional Software in the High School Journalism Classroom

The relative advantage of using instructional software in the high school journalism classroom becomes evident upon further examination of the curriculum and expectations required of students enrolled in a journalism class responsible for the production of a student newspaper.

The modern journalist – and by extension the modern journalism student – works and learns in an environment where technology is not merely a trifle or accessory, but a necessary element required in order to complete course objectives and create the required product – a print newspaper and companion website.

As technology evolves, and new ways of telling stories become apparent, journalists and journalism educators must embrace the opportunities afforded by such advances. The following is a list of different instructional strategies and technologies designed to help students learn Associate Press style and develop the curiosity, habits, and attention to detail of the modern journalist.

Drill and Practice
Drill and Practice software offers users an opportunity to “receive feedback on [the] correctness” of work example items (Roblyer, Doering, 2010).
Rather than utilizing worksheets which require teacher evaluation and delay feedback and response to students, “D&P” software provides immediate response, allowing students to know how they are progressing, and make adjustments as necessary.

Tool: Gerald Grow’s Newsroom 101.com, Practice Quizzes on AP Style

From the site: These practice quizzes are intended to introduce you to the Associated Press Stylebook, chapter by chapter. If you are serious about AP style, you will need to buy the stylebook and use it often. Practice each set of exercises, then practice the review exercises that select from the items you have just practiced.

Relative Advantage – This site allows students to progress at their own pace as they work to master AP style, a bedrock of newspaper journalism. Students can challenge one another, taking the quizzes individually, or they can partner up and work collaboratively to assess their knowledge.

Tutorials
Tutorial software offers complete instruction on a topic, and is designed to be a self-contained instructional unit, rather than a supplement to instruction (Roblyer, Doering, 2010).

With the advent of YouTube, professionals and enthusiasts in all fields are able to offer video tutorials on a host of subjects. One such tutorial is a series on photography by photographer Brian Peterson. His YouTube site is: http://youtu.be/G1c4E3ndUU4. From the site, you can view 25 different videos on a range of photography techniques.

Other sites, such as the informative and comical You Suck At Photoshop, http://www.youtube.com/show?p=6OvxlAUP04A, provide detailed video tutorials on how to use photo manipulation software to do even more with your photographs once you’ve captured them.

Relative Advantage – Tutorials like these allow students to choose the specific aspects of instruction they would like to learn, and then provide them with detailed steps allowing for instruction when the classroom teacher is not available.

Simulations
Simulations are designed to teach students how a system works. In the case of photography one such simulation website is The SLR Camera Simulator, http://camerasim.com/camera-simulator/. This is a fantastic resource for photography students looking to learn how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together to determine what an exposure will look like.

Students are able to make setting adjustments and see in real-time what the effect would be if they were holding and using a real camera. The relative advantage of such a simulation is that students do not need an actual camera to practice the technique. And, if students are learning in a computer-equipped classroom, the instructor can use the simulator to create a specific exposure, and they ask students to use the simulator themselves to replicate the instructor’s image.

Educational Games
Educational games add “game like rules and/or competition to learning activities” (Roblyer, Doering, 2010).

Instructional games give students an opportunity to put the skills and knowledge they’ve acquired to use, demonstrating their understanding of content and applying it in an engaging way that provides them with immediate feedback, both in terms of their own abilities and how they compare with classmates.

Relative Advantage – Educational games can be used in place of worksheets and drill exercises. They can teach students cooperative group working skills, and can be especially effective in engaging all learners (Roblyer, Doering, 2010).

Such a game is Rock Photographer: The Photography Game, http://www.joeyl.com/2012/03/rock-photographer-the-photography-game/. The game allows you to pose as a photojournalist tasked with capturing great footage of different bands. This game is actually an app for the iPhone. By touching the screen, you can take a photograph. You score different points depending on the quality of the shots you snap.

This game encourages competition, is certainly fun, and gives players an authentic feeling of what it’s like to be a rock and roll photographer.

Problem-Solving Software
Problems-solving software allows students to practice solving problems in activities they find interesting and motivating (Roblyer, Doering, 2010). With such software, students are able to discover new concepts and applications for existing knowledge, building on what they previously thought possible.
An excellent problem solving software program for photographers is Adobe Photoshop, http://www.photoshop.com/. Similar programs include Gimp, http://www.gimp.org/, and Paint.net, http://www.getpaint.net/.
By providing students with both introductory instructions and time to explore and play around with software programs, students will be able to develop competency with the software. If students are given opportunities to share what they’ve learned and asked questions of their peers, they will be able – along with the instructor – to help each other discover the best ways to use the software.

Relative Advantage – With a plethora of productivity tools at their disposal, students are able to create more developed and advanced works than ever before, utilizing technology to do more and to become more efficient. With respect to digital photography, once an initial investment is made in hardware in software, there is no need to purchase consumable goods like film, developer chemical, and photo paper.
In this instance, technology allows makes previous proceeds faster, more affordable, and more environmentally friendly.

References
Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, A.H. (2010). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon/Pearson.