Remorse: The feeling I have leaving this Course

You know when people tell you about the one teacher who had a significant impact on their college career, the one teacher who really helped them? Yea well, I never felt that way. I mean I have liked teachers, but since I have left high school I have not found a teacher that I have deeply respected and genuinely liked conversing with.

..... that is until now.

In my eyes Professor Littau is one of the best things that has happened to Lehigh's journalism department in years. Before his presence in the department, most if not all the classes were tailored towards the idea of print journalism and theories/concepts. Professor Littau has designed a class that I think should be a requirement for all journalism students in the future.

His class was innovative, interactive, and enjoyable at the same time. It wasn't just hours of lecture from the professor and silence from the students like many of the courses I have taken here at Lehigh. It was thought provoking and hands-on, which enabled us to truly learn what were being taught.

As media is now looking more and more towards the internet, I believe that is it necessary for all journalism students to learn the ins and outs of social media by gaining experience from directly working with sites such as Twitter and Blogger. I also think that is is necessary to learn how to use a camera and edit film. All these skills will inevitably be practical down the road at some point in all our lives.

Let's Take a Look at the Materials, Hand-outs, and Books!

While I believe that most of the material in this class was valuable, I do believe that some material was more valuable than others.

I'll take a different approach when evaluating the materials and start with the ones I think that we could have done without. After reading through some of my classmates posts, I have to agree with Allie Rolnik when she said that we could have done without the books. I think the books would have been a good suggestion to buy, but I don't think that they were necessary when pertaining the the actual coursework. A lot of our work was hands on (which I loved!), but because of that we really didn't need the books to guide us along the way since we were essentially guiding and teaching ourselves day by day. However, I will say that if anyone wanted learn and read more about today's media that the books would serve as a great guide.

Hand-outs, however, are another story. I think the handouts are absolutely essential to the proper functioning of this course. Without the handouts, I feel like we would have been asking Professor Littau one million questions a day and therefore probably drive him up a wall. The handouts enabled us to properly work with Windows Movie Maker, blogs, and twitter. They were extremely detailed so that very few questions needed to be asked during lab time. So keep the handouts coming Professor Littau!

Finally, when it comes to the Kodak camera we used I absolutely loved it. I know some people say that we could have had a more expensive camera or maybe one that looked more professional, but I think this camera was just fine for what we were trying to accomplish. And yes, while the sound wasn't always completely clear that was easily fixed by attaching the lapel mic to the camera in one quick and easy step.

Self-Evaluation

Me: Mom, there is a new class being offered at Lehigh and I'm not sure if I should take it or not.

Mom: What's it about?

Me: Well the title of the class is Multimedia Reporting, it seems like it is going to cover a lot of information. Here I will send you the link the professor posted on Youtube, I think it will give you a better understanding of the course.

Mom: Ok, I'll call you back after I take a look at it and let you know what I think.

........................................ 2 minutes later....................................

Mom: Alyssa, are you serious?

Me: What are you talking about?

Mom: Of course you should take this course! Why would you even question it? If you don't fill out an application I will be very upset with you. This class has something different to offer and I think you will get a lot out of it.

Me: I guess your'e right. I just wasn't sure since it is a new class but I guess I will never know unless I give it a try.

.... Thank god I decided to call my mother that day.

On the first day of class I wasn't sure what to expect. I actually don't think I had any expectations at all. And maybe that was for the best. Because whatever I could have expected to gain from this course could never compare to the copious amounts of skills that I have learned.

The thought of me editing film and audio with little to no supervision before this class...... no way.

The thought of me starting, designing, and maintaining my own blog before this class..... no way.

The thought of me producing and publishing a website before this class..... no way.

The thought of me being technologically and social media savvy before this class.... no way.

I didn't necessarily have any concrete goals before starting this class, but I can tell you one thing now. I know feel that I can reach my goals much easier because I know have concrete skills that I can offer to a potential employer. I know have something to show them when they ask for a sample of my work. But most importantly, I can now honestly look a potential employer in the eye and tell them that I am indeed fit for the job.