Everything I Learned About Digital Media

Are journalism educators asking the right questions about digital and social media?

How do we know when we engage readers? How do we encourage interaction? Do teachers crave feedback and fear silence? If you knew you could be heard, what would you contribute?

As one of the early members of the JEA Digital Media committee, I recognize our progress. At the 2008 JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Conference in St. Louis, we met in a remote tiny room at the end of a long hallway isolated from the journalism community.  This year, Aaron Manful, our committee chair, is the Dow Jones Journalism Teacher of the Year.

We also have published hundreds of posts. Several writers have become contributing authors. At the last convention, we sat at the big person table, but our site is missing something. We are not social.

How can we become social? What are we doing wrong? What could we improve?

Or is it so bad that we should start over?