Critical thinking exercises in online courses: How I incorporate them in lecture and production courses

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Mu Lin

Discussion forum is a major component of online education, so how can instructors imbues critical thinking in the discussions? I want to share the critical thinking exercises that I use in a lecture course and a production course, both are for-credit college courses and are taught online. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital journalism education | 9 Comments

RTE Innovation Lead Glen Mulcahy: Bad news and good news about mobile journalism

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Mu Lin

This guest post was contributed by David Smith, lecturer of journalism at West Virginia University. The Google Hangout video is embedded at the end of this post, along with many of the mobile journalism examples and resources mentioned during the hangout.

Glen Mulcahy, Innovation Lead at RTE in Ireland, gave students from the WVU Reed College of Media an inspiring yet realistic view about the future of journalism during a recent Google Hangout. Continue reading →

Posted in Mobile news reporting | 3 Comments

How to write a headline: Discussions and rewrites in my Writing for the Web course

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Mu Lin

Following the online headline writing tips, students in my open online course, Writing for the Web, discussed how to improve the headlines of sample articles. Readers of this blog may be interested in reading some selected student critiques and rewrites. Continue reading →

Posted in Writing for the web | 7 Comments

My testament to how Google rewards quality contents and white hat SEO

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Mu Lin

I recently have not been writing for the blog as often as I used to, but the blog traffic keeps going up, setting another monthly record in March, with more than 23,000 page views and over 15,000 visitors. Majority of the traffic came from Google referrals; check out the list of 100+ keywords for which this blog appears among the top 10 search results, and read about my content strategy and SEO strategy. Continue reading →

Posted in Social media marketing | 7 Comments

Teaching “old” skills in a new way: How a journalism instructor integrates Storify in news writing classes

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Mu Lin

This guest blog is contributed by Maureen Boyle, journalism program director at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. Maureen has been integrating Storify in news writing classes and has some teaching tips to share with fellow instructors. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital journalism education | 2 Comments

Sequence & variety shooting in video storytelling: A curation of tips and examples

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Mu Lin

I once created a Storify story pooling some tips and examples about video filming techniques; it was intended for a production course I taught, but has since been viewed more than 6,000 times on the web. I made some updates to the story and want to share it with my blog readers. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital tools and tips | Leave a comment

Assignment ideas for social media courses

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Mu Lin

I want to share some assignments that I developed for Introduction to Social Media Marketing, which is a 3-week open online course at MulinBlog Online J-School. If you are an instructor of social media, please offer some comments and share your course materials; if you are a student, please also share your learning experience. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital journalism education | 4 Comments

Now free: Google Earth Pro for immersive news reports and digital storytelling

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Mu Lin

Journalists and digital storytellers can take advantage of the video tour feature of Google Earth Pro, which used to cost $399 a year but is now available for free, for an immersive audience experience with locations and places. Continue reading →

Posted in Digital tools and tips | 4 Comments

Selected readings: SWOT analysis of social media marketing

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Mu Lin

In preparation for an online course Social Media Marketing, I selected four articles that answer some common questions about social media SWOT analysis. I want to share these articles with fellow instructors and I invite suggestions on good reading materials. Continue reading →

Posted in Social media marketing | 1 Comment

Five shot sequence: Tutorial and example

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Mu Lin

Five shot sequence is a popular filming technique that uses five different shots to depict an activity. In my open online course Audio Slideshow Storytelling, students need to study a tutorial and create a sequence. I want to share the five-shot tutorial we use and an exemplary student work. Continue reading →

Posted in Audio slideshow | 20 Comments