The beginning of more of the same during the year of covid-19

  Welcome to fall semester 2020 ...  the year we all want to forget but most likely never will.

   I don't doubt a few of you are terrified to walk into a classroom again for in-person instruction due to the fear of getting sick, while most of you are probably dreading online classes because ...

• you'll get an instructor who doesn't understand how to use Zoom or BB Collaborate Ultra
• you are a social person and miss your friends terribly

So, to teach virtually or to teach in the classroom? That is the question. 

   My photojournalism class at the University of Toledo began Aug. 17. I sent out an email asking students to speak up if they didn't want to be taught in-person. I only heard from three students, and they didn't mind coming to class. So there you are ... I met them all face-to-face, with masks on. 

   My safety plan for the first day was to break up the class in half. Half of the class arrived the first half of the class, and the rest came the second half. However, I've been assured by the chair of the communication department that the room is safely set up for all 18 students. I trust that's true, but for the sake of my fear factor, I played it safe on the first day. It also gave me a chance to ask the entire class that question, and then determined our future fate together. All but one opted to have class in person.

   As a Toledo Blade photojournalist, I'm out and about in the community every day. I've covered several covid test sites, and even was in the fridge at the morgue to document the testing of a deceased man due to possible covid. 

   We photojournalists are a hardy bunch and not prone to succumbing to our fear. That said, I wear my mask everywhere, and disinfect my hands and gear often. I'll be especially vigilant in the classroom, because my number one priority is safety. I'm well aware things can change any day, but I'm prepared to teach virtually if I have to.   

   It's a different story at Wayne State University, where I've been advised to teach that photojournalism class online. After all, Detroit is an early hotspot, so I'm happily obliging. 

   I've equipped my home office with a whiteboard mounted on the wall so I can lecture as if I was in the classroom. The university also has given us access to Splashtop, allowing students to remotely access the software that's on the MAC computers in the classroom: Photo Mechanic, Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro. 

   My Visual Storytelling class at Owens Community College is also in person. However, I'm co-teaching that class with Blade colleague Phillip Kaplan. He will be the instructor in the classroom, and I'll be behind the scenes - setting up the coursework on Blackboard, updating the syllabus, grading the assignments, etc.  

   It's Phillip's first class as an instructor, so I welcome him to our wonderful world of education. There is nothing more fulfilling than passing on our knowledge to the next generation!

   This is a year of uncertainties, for sure. But like I tell my daughters (one who attends UT, and the other is leaving for Ohio State on Wednesday), facing and overcoming adversity makes us stronger in the long run, and life is a marathon. 

Welcome to the world of scholastic photojournalism! Your first lesson...

Welcome to a new semester! This is a Storify lesson I put together for our first day of class.

Intro 2 PJ students finally get to shoot their first assignment

   Scholastic photojournalists – it’s finally time for you to practice what I’ve been preaching for the past two months.

   You, as Intro to PJ students, have prepped for this moment by doing the following assignments:

1.     First, you learned about social media, and then set up your social media accounts with Blogger and Twitter.

2.     Then you learned what news is. You studied an issue of the Toledo Blade, and had to indentify the many parts that make up a newspaper - like the flag, jumpline and pullout quote. You also viewed Poynter Institute’s What is News NewsU tutorial.

3.     Next up: Ethics, law, copyright and the First Amendment lessons, which included learning the NPPA Code of Ethics and taking the SPLC First Amendment quiz.

4.     To break up the book learning, you got to shoot an assignment with your cell phone cameras.

5.     You also learned how to write concise, accurate photo captions. In this block of instruction you were introduced to the AP Stylebook. By the way, I think it’s very cool that the AP has a paid service to their style quizzes, which you tackled together as a team.

6.     And lastly, we went over your camera controls once again. Sure, most of you have already taken B&W 1, Digital 1 and Color Photography, but unless you shoot every single day, figuring out equivalent exposures can get a little rusty.

   This week you finally get to shoot your first real photojournalism assignment – features. So, get out there and knock on your beat’s door and give them the coverage it deserves! Don't forget to let them know they can then read all about it on your blogs!

http://parthspjblog.blogspot.com

http://damiontree.blogspot.com

http://tjtripod.blogspot.com

http://nicolegreen4.blogspot.com

http://yustakyusaocc.blogspot.com

                                                                  ___________________
Below is a screen grab by Intro 2 PJ student Parth Pitroda. It's his homework assignment on cell phone photography.
    I find it interesting that Parth believes cell phone cameras are substandard to DSLR photography. Sure, the cheaper phone cameras certainly are crappy, but he has an iPhone! So, can you really tell that these two photos are from a cell phone? I can't.

Parth's blog post on cell phone photography. (PHO245 photos by Parth Pitroda)

Intro to PJ students now staff photographers for The Outlook

 The Intro to Photojournalism class is small, as it usually is, but it will make a big difference in the Owens community this semester.

   For the first time since I’ve been teaching this course, it’s been arranged that every student will be official staff photographers with the Owens Outlook online newspaper (it helps that I’m the new adviser).

   During the first week of class each student chose a campus beat to cover for the semester. They introduced themselves to the deans/chairs by hand delivering a letter that explained the beat system.

   Taking that big leap from concept to reality wasn’t an easy task for most of them. Here are some of the reasons why they aren't yet comfortable with their new roles as scholastic photojournalists:

·      Invasion of privacy. One student admitted he felt “nosy.”

·      Most don't like news. They don’t read, listen or watch it, and now they are the news.

·      At this point in their young lives most everything they’ve done at Owens has been for homework. Now their work will be published, making it very public and very real.

   To be fair to all involved, they will be trained before snapping a single photo. Lessons will include writing AP style captions, interviewing subjects, and how to be ethical and legally fit. This is the journalism part of photojournalism.

   As staff photographers for the Outlook they won't be limited to their beats, either. In fact, TJ Barney has already shot his first assignment for the online college newspaper. Before he shot Fall Fest last week I gave him a crash course on caption writing. He admitted to writing down names of his subjects with "shaking hands," but he said it got easier.

  So, if you see a bunch of students running around with cameras, press passes and shaky hands, just ignore them so they can do their jobs.