Links to assigments are now working
Posted by: cynmc on: February 3, 2010
As I was checking the links to this week’s lead exercises, I realized that some of them weren’t working. Oops! It took me a while today to find the typo that was the source of the problem, but I believe I’ve got all the links fixed now.
If you run across anything that isn’t working correctly, please email me. Thanks.
Welcome to Journalism 61, s. 80
Posted by: cynmc on: December 19, 2009
If you’ve found your way to this blog, it’s probably because you’ve signed up (or are thinking about signing up) for Journalism 61, section 80. Or perhaps you followed the link from my SJSU faculty page, or from one of my other class blogs.
In any case, welcome to the class blog for Journalism 61, section 80.
As you may have gathered, Journalism 61, s. 80, is a fully online class. There are no scheduled class meetings, and most of your assignments will be submitted online. Other than the textbook, all class materials are on this blog — that includes the syllabus, class schedule, resources and links to assignments. Please feel free to poke around — just understand that I’m in the process of updating some of the links.
At the start of the semester, I will email all students enrolled in this class and ask them to set up their own blog to use for this class (the “Getting Started” link at the top of this page explains how to do that). In this class, you will submit most of your assignments on your blog. I will read your assignments on your blog, and I will use your blog’s “comment” feature to critique your assignments and coach you on how to improve your writing.
To succeed in an online class like this, it helps to be organized, self-motivated, and able to work independently. Specifically, the key to doing well in this class is to complete all of the assignments on time, and to rewrite any assignments where your grade is below a “B.” (Yes, I encourage rewrites because I think it helps you improve your writing.)
If you run into problems with any of the assignments, I’m always happy to meet with you on campus during my office hours (M/W), or to talk with you via email, phone, or chat.
Blog on hiatus
Posted by: cynmccune on: August 25, 2009
I’m not teaching Journalism 61 this semester, so this blog is currently on hiatus. However, I am scheduled to teach this online class again in the spring.
In the meantime, feel free to use this blog’s resources. Please note, however, that links to most assignments and some resources no longer work because of recent changes to the JMC web server where they used to reside. I will be updating these links over winter break.
The Ultimate Grammar Quiz
Posted by: cynmc on: April 9, 2009
- In: Class info
- 2 Comments
I had fun taking “The Ultimate Grammar Quiz” on Facebook this afternoon. If you’re on Facebook, you can take it too … and earn extra credit for this class. And it’ll only take about five minutes of your time.
I’ll give you five points for taking the quiz, and 10 points if you earn the title of “Grammar Master.” (With a title like that, how can you resist!)
Just send me a link to (or a screenshot of) your quiz results. Demonstrate your grammar prowess!
Just for fun
Posted by: cynmc on: March 12, 2009
If you need a break — and a laugh — check out Why Print Cannot Die on urlesque.com.
JMC scholarships
Posted by: cynmc on: March 11, 2009
The JMC website has just been updated with information about the $20,000 in scholarships available to JMC students. You can download the application instructions and the list of scholarships as a Word doc. The application deadline is Wednesday, April 1, 2009.
I encourage you to look over this list of scholarships ― you might be surprised to see how many you are eligible for. And there’s no limit to how many you can apply for! Wouldn’t you like a piece of that cash?
Schedule changes
Posted by: cynmc on: February 23, 2009
- In: Class info
- 3 Comments
If you’ve looked closely at the class schedule this week, you may have noticed that I’ve made a few changes. I’ve moved up a couple assignments, originally scheduled for later in the semester, to mid-March, and I’ve pushed back the start of the Broadcast Segment.
The upshot: This will give you an extra week to complete your “Real Life Reporting” assignment, the final project for the News Writing Segment of this class. It also gives you a bit of a breather between the due dates for your two major writing projects for this segment, the Profile and Real Life Reporting assignments.
We’ll start the Broadcast Segment after spring break. At three weeks, I know it looks short … but you’ll apply those skills again for your final magazine/multimedia project.
Scholarship opportunity
Posted by: cynmc on: February 12, 2009
Up to $10,000 in scholarships is being offered to students interested in a career in journalism and who live in or attend school in the Bay Area. The scholarships are being offered by the SF/Bay Area chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association.
The 2009 scholarship application is available at www.aajasf.org (go to the “Scholarships” tab). The application deadline is March 31.
Revisions
Posted by: cynmc on: February 11, 2009
I’ve asked some of you to revise some assignments. But even if I don’t request it, you can revise any assignment where you received a less-than-stellar grade. Revising makes most sense for assignments where you get a B- or less.
With a good revision, you can earn back up to half the points you lost the first time around. Just put “revised” in the title of the blog post — that’s my signal to go back and regrade it. If I don’t get back to it within a week, pop me an email reminder.
Your ‘Real News’ assignment
Posted by: cynmc on: February 10, 2009
For your “Real News Reporting” assignment — the culminating project of the news writing segment of this class — you’ll need to find and write your own news story or news feature. This assignment is due March 14, so you’ve got a month or so to figure it out, but it’s not too early to start planning.
To help you get started … here are links to information on some on-campus events that could work for this assignment:
- King Library Art Walk, 2-3 p.m., Feb. 20
- National Book Award Winner Mark Doty visits SJSU, 7 p.m., Feb. 24, and 1:30 p.m., Wed., Feb. 25
- Nancy Pearl, originator of the “One City One Book ” movement, speaks on The Pleasures and Perils of a Life in Reading at the King Library, 6 p.m., Wed., Feb. 25
- Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers, a conversation with author Mary Roach, 12-1:15 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 26, in the Spartan Memorial Chapel
- Journalist/Author Reese Erlich speaks on prospects for US-Iran relations in the Obama administration, 3 p.m., March 5
- Expanding Your Horizons, a math, science and engineering workshop for 6th-9th grade girls, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., March 14 at SJSU (Yes, that would be a very fast turnaround … but good story potential! Talk to me if you’re interested — I might give you an extra day.)
You can also cover an off-campus, local (to you) meeting or event for this assignment. Just make sure it works as a hard news story or news feature.
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