Editor’s note: My Learning Management system is Course Sites. My course name is Malick, S EDLD 5318

Introduction

My innovation plan began in part to document the University Press’ (UP) culture ability to sustain itself through a continuation of practices and relationships over several decades. The challenge is that these relationships are not sustainable because of basic human mortality. The idea is that the innovation plan blueprints the UP culture into a definable model for learning and teaching.

Many of the concepts are evident in the practices of the faculty, students and staff of the UP, however it has often been characterized “just the way we do things” by previous and current advisors. But, this way of doing things, is in fact, is an example of a significant learning environment.

For example, the concept of cultivation focuses on what students and staff already know and includes the practice of what the group does in day-to-day, year-to-year operations. Stories are assigned and reported. Layouts are made. The newspaper is published and distributed. It’s how these practices have been transmitted to successive groups of students that is evidentiary of cultivation. The innovation plan not only documents this process, but guides innovative change that takes place.

This change of cultivation is innovative and disruptive because it is constant and subject to the changes in technology used and with the influx and outflow of students throughout a given semester.

Learning Goals, Desired Results, and Audience

The learning goals are for Learners in 3130 Practicum course for advanced news writing and gathering to produce content for the University Press create an e-Portfolio to collectively display their work, create a professional digital identity and to provide a continuing platform for self-evaluation and learning/skill progression.

The primary desired result is the creation of the e-Portfolio to assess and monitor learner work for quality, reflection and completion. A secondary desired result is the creation of a professional identity in preparation for career development and employment.

The primary audience of the course are the learners, the University Press advisors and necessary faculty or staff of the Department of Communications at Lamar University so the e-Portfolio may serve as a forum for assessment, evaluation and discussion. Since all the work in the student e-Portfolios must be published in the University Press, general public access is not required, but students may allow public viewing if they choose, especially for prospective employers.

5318 Assignment Week 1, 3 Column Table

Course Goal:

Outline for online course

• The online course will be structured to a 16-week regular semester class.
• Students in the 3130 Practicum are advanced journalism students that are required to produce a minimum of six publishable stories for the University Press.
• Students will progress through the course independently with weekly guided instruction from Instructor.

– There will be 5 online live conferences that will be recorded to deliver content on how to build an e-Portfolio using WordPress, discussion of news values, reporting, story development, reflection on published work and problem-solving.

– Select reading requirements will be posted for bi-weekly online discussion threads and may coincide with online conferences.

I’m still developing how frequently I will require assessments and what values I will apply to those assessments.

Considerations:

• Published stories are largest and primary assessment item and are required by the end of the semester. Each story is a 15-point value. There are not specific due dates for when a student must publish a story. Due dates are determined by publication schedule, new value, space and Editor-in-Chief’s prerogative. It is up to students to sign up for assignments or story idea approval from Editor-in-Chief or advisors. Practicum students are typically utilized as general assignment reporters and are assigned to a rotating schedule of content beats.
• The five live conferences are each a 5-point value.
• Students must post a minimum of five individual discussion threads. Each thread is a 5-point value.
• The creation and publishing of the e-Portfolio with the minimum six stories is a 60-point value. Each published story after the minimum six stories is valued at 10 points.
• The minimum point value to pass 3130 Practicum is 200 points.

Materials to post in LMS

Items to post in LMS, but not limited to:

1. Syllabus, contact info, assessment info
2. Calendar, conference times, assignment due dates.
3. Lamar University and University Press academic policies.
4. Rubric for grading news and feature stories.
5. Selected readings for discussion and reflection.
6. Discussion questions.
7. Selected links for readings, tips, videos, photos
8. Creation of a discussion forum

Planning Questions 1-5