Image source: cottonbro
I was not sure what to expect when I signed up to take a multimedia journalism class completely online during a pandemic. I had no new equipment to work with beyond what technology I already owned, so I was very skeptical that I could learn something new and valuable to my work while sitting at home on my computer.
In some ways, I’ll admit I was right. Working two jobs and doing school full time as well meant I rarely had time to really get into the lessons of this class at the depth that I wanted to. I already knew how to do some of things we went over in this class – at a basic level, at least – and I think that kind of hurt my enthusiasm to learn new things as well.
With no time and no new equipment, I started this course doubtful and without much enthusiasm. That attitude followed me throughout, just due to exhaustion, but there were little lightbulb moments throughout that made me forget I was taking a class that was sucking up time from my busy schedule and made me feel instead like I was excited to learn something.
I love photography – I’ve never been good at it. I’d always meant to get around to learning the rule of thirds, but never really did until I had to for this class. I find myself now shooting genuinely better photos, not just for my school projects, but for personal use as well. Knowing how to align your shot and frame it just right really makes a difference in the quality of the image, and I really do owe this course for helping me unlearn some of the unprofessional photo taking methods I’d clung to before.
I also learned a little bit about audio in this class when we studied podcasting. I already knew how to edit sound on a basic level from past classes, but this class forced me out of my comfort zone a little and inspired me to experiment outside my projects. I ended up watching Audacity tutorials even after I’d recorded and edited my podcast for class to learn how to edit, trim and mix sound together purely because I’d become so interested in it. A friend and I considered starting a podcast ourselves – though we ended up being too busy to really get into working out an idea for it.
I got to do a lot of things in this class, some that I was comfortable with and some that I wasn’t. I wish I’d had the chance to learn more about video and had a chance to actually shoot some footage, but the week that we studied it I was too busy to even bother attempting the lab. Beyond that, I will say that the things this class forced me to try even though I didn’t fully understand were the things I enjoyed the most. I already know how to write articles with data – I didn’t know how to record and edit a podcast properly. I enjoyed the podcasting a little more.
In the end, I’d say that despite my limited time and generally unenthusiastic approach to all my classes this semester due to work and the pandemic, I learned some useful skills. My one regret is that I couldn’t take this class during a time when we weren’t all stuck at home – I would have loved to get some hands on experience with a nicer camera for my labs. Besides that though, I would say it was a very valuable experience overall, and I think a necessity for anyone that thinks they’re a journalist.
Modern journalists need to know how to do everything these days, and I think this course was a good first step in every direction as far as learning those skills.
Sidney Richardson: Blog 