When I signed up for J198, I was expecting to learn about multimedia aspects of journalism, simply because that’s what I had read in the course description. After receiving an e-mail over the summer about creating my own blog, twitter and YouTube accounts, I realized I was going to be learning A LOT of multimedia tools. I was skeptical about learning these new things. I had never really thought of myself as someone who “tweets” or “blogs,” and I didn’t quite see how they had anything to do with journalism. I had already taken a videography class, and therefore I was a little familiar with editing videos – something I definitely enjoy.
Through the course of this class, I developed so many different skills that I now realize are the most important aspects of journalism. This course made me realize that utilizing tools like google maps, blogs, twitter and interactive videos is so important in this industry. For this semester, I have to say this class was by far my most interesting! I wasn’t expecting to be traveling into Bethlehem and interacting with all the different people that I did. Although I was skeptical at times, it turned out to be an overall great experience. Talking to random people in the community helped me to become more confident and outgoing with my interviewing skills. I also learned things about Bethlehem that I never knew before, and probably would never have bothered to learn otherwise. I spent hours in North Bethlehem talking to a man at the Sun Inn, which is supposedly haunted. I spoke with a waitress at Sal’s pizza and learned that the restaurant was one of the most friendly and family oriented places around Bethlehem. I interviewed dozens of business owners and learned about how grueling and intense it is to prepare for the Christmas season in Bethlehem. I am incredibly grateful that this class pushed me out of my comfort zone. I feel like every student at Lehigh should be forced to do the same! As a hands-on learner, I need to do things and experience things to truly learn about them. This class undoubtedly supplied me with experience and hands-on learning with multimedia tools.
One of the aspects of the class I was most surprised with was how interested in my blog and twitter I became. I never thought I would do these things, however I am so happy that I have them now. At the beginning of the semester, I found it difficult to write a blog 3 times a week, and tweet several times a day. By the middle of the semester, though, I actually got really into it. Since we were allowed to make our blogs about things we were actually interested in, it was easy to be passionate about it. My blog was a movie review and I actually found myself leaving a movie theater after seeing Saw 3D, saying “I can’t wait to write in my blog about how bad that movie was.” After I said that, I was so surprised with myself. But as it turns out, I actually like sharing my opinion and having people listen and respond. Seeing the stats, and seeing that people actually read what I wrote was empowering! When people responded to me on twitter and re-tweeted my thoughts, it made me feel the same way. It felt good to connect with the community and share my thoughts things with people that I didn’t even know.
I am not only going to use my twitter, blog, and knowledge of videos and websites to my advantage in the professional world – where it is totally necessary to know about all of these things – but also in my personal life. This class never felt like something that was boring or tedious, it was fun, but I also learned so much. Taking this class was definitely a great decision, and I'm actually sad that it's over!
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