Teaching Journalism During a Revolution

The past few weeks in Cairo, Egypt have been filled with lots of uncertainly because of the #Jan25 Protests. Unfortunately, there's a Robert Gibbs (White House press secretary) quote that is fitting: "It's a fluid situation".

I teach journalism at The American University in Cairo (AUC) and we're scheduled to begin the Spring semester on Sunday. Under normal circumstances, I'd be ready: syllabus, course outline, website, guest speakers, Blackboard, etc. I'd have all of my ducks in a row. As it stands, I've talked to many students who've said "I'm taking your class this semester". For some reason I'm startled when they say that. Normally my response would be "What's your name?" because I would have reviewed my roster and I'd be familiar with who's enrolled in my courses. Not now.

I've spent most of the past few days traveling to Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo to support the protesters. I've spent little time adjusting my syllabus for the two weeks of classes that we've missed. I've spent even less time trying to figure out how to incorporate Egypt's revolution into my courses. There's no way that I can teach them as they are or how I've taught them in the past. To do that would be a disservice and it kind hard to ignore that fact that we're in a city that's the center of an uprising.

An Egyptian protester leads a chant at Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. (Feb., 2011)

This should be interesting though, teaching during a revolution that is.

I don't have a TV, so I haven't watched television regularly over the past few weeks; just a few minutes here and there during the critical times of the protests. However, that won't prevent me from incorporating a bit of media literacy into my courses especially my Multimedia Writing courses which are more based on the fundamentals of good writing and reporting. I know that what the TV presents can be strong, but has it been accurate? And how would you know?

I wish I'd been able to reach the students before now because Tahrir is a classroom whether you're there physically or watching from home. This is the best teachable moment for journalism students. Problem is I know some of our students have been there almost daily, but I'm afraid that just as many have not been - for whatever reason. What do I say to those students who've been in Cairo, but have yet to go to Tahrir to see for themselves? I'll tell them to go to Tahrir as soon as they can; it's a revolution that you need to see for yourself. The mood changes daily and the story ideas are plentiful.

So although I'm not going to be ready for the start of the Spring 2011 semester, I think there's a field trip in the future.

Reverb10 :: Travel

I've decided to be a part of Reverb10. It's a 31-day blogging challenge where you reply to the daily writing prompts that are designed to get you to reflect on this past year as well as provide some insight for the upcoming year. I'm going to give myself 5-7 minutes for each post.

Day 22 :: December 22, 2010 :: Travel

• How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year? (Author: Tara Hunt)

Oh, the topic of travel again. Love this. The more I talk and write about this, the more I get to think about what's possible.

I am getting ahead of the question though, right? In 2010, I managed to tackle a few travel destinations. Most recently Italy. It was all that you think it was; still have plans to do a few blog posts on that 9 days of joy, joy, joy.

Olives from a restaurant in Cinque Terre. (Nov., 2010)

As I look ahead to 2011, here's what's on tap:

Nile Cruise: Abu Simbel, Aswan and Luxor (January)

Las Vegas (April)

Portland, Oregon (April)

Europe (June)

Istanbul, Turkey (July)

This could get interesting as I try to plot and plan this out.

Reverb10 :: Beyond Avoidance

I've decided to be a part of Reverb10. It's a 31-day blogging challenge where you reply to the daily writing prompts that are designed to get you to reflect on this past year as well as provide some insight for the upcoming year. I'm going to give myself 5-7 minutes for each post.

Day 20 :: December 20, 2010 :: Beyond Avoidance

• What should you have done this year, but didn't because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?) (Author: Jake Nickel)

I should have produced at least one audio feature or one multimedia project on a professional level. I've been 'too busy' and procrastinating and I haven't made that a priority; though it's what I love to do. I could say that by teaching I'm constantly involved with various student projects and I'm definitely current on a lot of technology.

My recent procrastination: traveling. Sunrise on Mount Sinai (Aug., 2009)

For leisure, I've created several small projects from my travels. Projects using Jing, Animoto, AudioBoo, SoundCloud, Prezi and more. Those are some cool tools.

As for will I do it? You bet! Got a project where I already have the sound and just need to take the time to do the editing. And I have an idea for a project involving some of my former students (just need to see if they're interested).

Fresh Faces

I am preparing for a new crop of fresh faces. That's right Fall college courses are scheduled to begin next week.

My schedule includes teaching News Writing and Reporting and Media Law. On top of Convergent Media. I like the course selection. Let's hope that no one student is planning to take all three at the same time; I won't permit that. Maybe two of the three, but not all three at once. The good thing about the courses, or not so good, is that the courses do not have exams! There is, however, a great deal of writing.

I need to tweak my syllabi ...