This fall, beginning October 1, I’ll be teaching a course on Citizen Journalism at the Maine College of Art in Portland, ME. From the course description:

When ordinary people are thrust into extraordinary situations, they can become citizen journalists. In this hands-on course, students will use social media websites like Twitter and Qik, consumer-grade production tools, and journalistic practices to provide immediate coverage of breaking events. The course will cover the basics of video and audio production, the use of social media tools, and the application of journalism principles for the gathering of news and information. As citizen journalists,? students will learn their responsibilities as news gatherers and apply those lessons to real world situations. Over the course of the class, each student will create accounts on social networking sites, report on topical subjects, and submit stories for peer review. We will analyze the ultimate effect that using such technology inevitably has on what topics are covered and how they are reported.

I’m really excited be teaching a college level course after doing workshops and presentations for years on social media. I think citizen journalism has so much potential for influence on the newsgathering industry that I had to propose this class. This will be fun.

Classes will be held for 8 weeks on Thursday mornings, 9:30am – 12pm beginning October 1. If you’re in the Portland, Maine area and are interested in taking the class, or you know someone who might be, check out the MECA Continuing Studies Course Page.