U-Oregon Journalism Students Take Aim at the iPad
Monday, April 26, 2010
By: Patrick Walsh

New class challenges students to design content for iPads, iPods and other mobile devices

For Immediate Release
April 26, 2010

Contact: Andrea Kowalski, (541) 346-2897, andreak@uoregon.edu
Lewis Taylor, (541) 434-7038, ltaylor@ulum.com

EUGENE, Ore. -- University of Oregon journalism students and instructors aren't waiting for other developers to define new content for the iPad. They are actively creating it in a first-of its-kind class now underway called Mobile Media Production. Offered through the UO School of Journalism and Communication, the collaborative workshop tasks students with the creation of real-world applications, mobile websites and other content for several different partner organizations, including Portland's Dark Horse Comics, Wend Magazine and Timber Press.

"The real story is that this class came together so quickly," says Deborah Morrison, Chambers Distinguished Professor of Advertising. "Universities don't always work nimbly, but we realize journalism and advertising can't be mired right now. We have to be quick to respond."

The idea for the course, which was recently featured in a story on the Huffington Post, originated with Ed Madison, a current graduate student and media professional who, in February, proposed the idea of a mobile media storytelling workshop. The proposal meshed with the school's mission of being both innovative and grounded in the tenets of good journalism, and six staff members including Madison and Morrison, signed on for the project. The groundwork was established, 16 students signed up and, in late March shortly before the debut of the iPad, the class met for the first time.

Initially, the class dealt with the iPad "user experience," looking at the capacity of the device as a storytelling medium and consulting with experts in technology, journalism and advertising from New York and Tokyo. Students broke into teams and began working on projects for different partner organizations. One of the challenges, Morrison says, has been changing the mindset of both students and faculty who were well-versed in the journalistic requirements of truth-telling and story-telling and less familiar with the technological imperative of problem solving. She credits the school's technology staff with helping to smooth the way.

"At this point, we have a big slab of 'what ifs'" Morrison said, stressing the fact that the parameters of the course are still being defined as the 10-week workshop unfolds.

Another challenge has been determining which mobile outlets work best for which organizations. While an iPad application may be the ideal channel for one company, a mobile Web site may be a better means of telling another organization's story.

Morrison doesn't doubt there are other universities that are developing content for Apple's new tablet device, but she says the UO is well ahead of the curve in offering a hand-on laboratory for exploring new means of digital storytelling. Student demand and faculty interest have both been extremely high -- school officials say instructors have been as eager to discover the new technology as the students -- and it's likely the class will become a permanent fixture at the SOJC.

"There's been all this talk that 'Journalism is dead,' but journalism and advertising are thriving in this new technological landscape, even as some of our traditional assumptions bite the dust," Morrison said.

About the School of Journalism and Communication
The University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) fosters the development of outstanding journalists by emphasizing ethics, social responsibility and public interest. The program combines professional practice with a broad-based liberal arts education and has given rise to nine Pulitzer Prize winners. The SOJC's undergraduate and graduate programs prepare students to be leaders in journalism and communication by exposing them to hundreds of industry professionals a year, internship and networking opportunities, and involvement in award-winning publications and organizations.

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