Collaboration Results in Success
In 2008 Dr. William Thorn and the Rev. Vinayak Jadav conspired to create a journalism program at St. Xavier's College that was different than any other provided by colleges and universities. Backpack Journalism was already being practiced by many professionals, but the concept was new to the academic world.
St. Xavier's students are instructed in the use of digital video equipment, photography, audio recorders and web page design. Each student receives instruction on how to tell a story for the eye and for the ear. They are grouped into teams of four or five where they choose a topic, research, conduct interviews and create both written and visual reports of the different stories that fall under their overall topic.
To create the proper teamwork environment the teams are required to decide on a name and then equally divide the work amongst themselves.
The first program completed in 2009 concluded with 36 journalist receiving certificates of completion. Of those original graduates, at least 19 have entered the journalism field or other collaborative fields such as webpage design, public relations and graphic design.
In 2012 a team of six, lead by Dr. Stephen Byers of the Marquette University Diederich College of Communication, once again traveled to Ahmedabad, India to train faculty and students in the craft of digital storytelling within two weeks.
Twenty-six students from St. Xavier's College applied to participate. This website is a celebration of the 2012 graduating class of faculty and students.
St. Xavier's students are instructed in the use of digital video equipment, photography, audio recorders and web page design. Each student receives instruction on how to tell a story for the eye and for the ear. They are grouped into teams of four or five where they choose a topic, research, conduct interviews and create both written and visual reports of the different stories that fall under their overall topic.
To create the proper teamwork environment the teams are required to decide on a name and then equally divide the work amongst themselves.
The first program completed in 2009 concluded with 36 journalist receiving certificates of completion. Of those original graduates, at least 19 have entered the journalism field or other collaborative fields such as webpage design, public relations and graphic design.
In 2012 a team of six, lead by Dr. Stephen Byers of the Marquette University Diederich College of Communication, once again traveled to Ahmedabad, India to train faculty and students in the craft of digital storytelling within two weeks.
Twenty-six students from St. Xavier's College applied to participate. This website is a celebration of the 2012 graduating class of faculty and students.
