An Andragogical Approach to Developing Dialogic Learning through Wikis

This article examines the effectiveness of using wikis for collaborative projects in college journalism classrooms, with the principles of andragogy as a framework. The use of wikis in two journalism courses at a large university in the American Midwest illustrates how wikis can encourage learners to become more self-directed by engaging in online collaborative writing about how best to produce reports about diverse populations. Two case studies are related to journalistic best practices in the coverage of two sensitive topics: Islam and immigration. The content of these wikis was compiled into best-practices documents that informed the students’ subsequent coursework. The documents were also published online for use in classrooms and newsrooms, offering a “real world” audience for the work. This article provides educators with an outline for engaging students in similar projects to improve their application skills as well as critical thinking

Initiating and Sustaining Female Networks in Computer Science and IT

Over the last decade, several networks and communities for women in IT have been initiated. It has been known that specific needs for support exist where members of a minority have difficulties in finding like-minded people in their everyday environment. This paper investigates different forms of female networks in Computer Science and IT. In particular, it analyses forms of network initiation, which often involve face-to-face meetings at regular events like conferences or, increasingly, at summer universities for female students. We conducted three studies to identify the attendees' expectations and needs for support using questionnaires, interviews, and a wiki analysis. This paper aims at identifying effective strategies for initiating female networks

Investigating the Hypothetical: Building Journalism Skills via Online Challenges

Journalism academics are constantly looking for ways to improve their teaching practices. Foremost is the need to ensure students are equipped with the skills to help them shift seamlessly from classroom to newsroom. These skills are relatively easy to identify – for instance, produce and research story ideas, interrogate complex research material, and then present it in a way that can be understood by an identified audience. This paper focuses on an experimental online hypothetical news scenario in helping students develop these required skills to identify and research complex stories - often described as ‘investigative pieces’ - irrespective of the medium through which they are presented