Faculty present about iPads at convergence conference

Five Journalism faculty members presented about the myCSUNtablet initiative at the Beyond Convergence: Mobile, Social, and Virtual Media conference in Las Vegas in late October.

Professors David Blumenkrantz, Linda Bowen, Melissa Lalum, Melissa Wall and Timothy Whyte participated in a panel discussion, explaining how iPads are integrated in teaching and learning at CSUN. Educators from around the country participated in the 12^th annual conference, which was put on by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and University of South Carolina. The gathering provides a scholarly forum for the presentation of theory, research, and practice related to media convergence.

The well-attended CSUN presentation focused on a variety of areas, ranging from building an eText and using iPads in student media and reporting classes to faculty development and field reporting with the tablets off campus.

Wall presented the ways her students use iPads for the Pop-up Newsroom.

 “With the iPad, students are able to use a mobile hotspot to live stream report and post video and text to social media sites,” she said.

“(At the conference) we also learned about new tools being used in university journalism programs around the country,” Wall added. “Technology tools are constantly changing and one of the ways to keep up is to go to conferences like this, so that we can learn the best techniques for teaching our own students.”

Blumenkrantz presented the eBook he wrote and edited for his Visual Communication (J250) class, “Persuasion: A Basic Guide to Visual Communication.” The eBook is available for a free download via his class' Moodle site.

 “Media production and dissemination is driven more than ever by technology,” Blumenkrantz said. “Therefore, it is essential that educators keep up with the latest trends and technological advances.”

The myCSUNtablet initiative seeks to reduce the cost and increase the quality of learning materials for students. This fall, 13 journalism classes are participating in the program. The initiative aims to better prepare students for future technology changes and to prepare the campus for the growing number of incoming freshmen and transfers who are already well-versed in technology and who desire increased access, convenience, and flexibility in learning content. For more information on the myCSUNtablet Initiative visit /mycsuntablet.