Toward a More Innovative Curriculum

1. Lessons from a Year in Silicon Valley:
Toward a More Innovative Curriculum
Cindy Royal, Ph.D
Associate Professor
Texas State University
School of Journalism
and Mass Communication
croyal@txstate.edu
cindyroyal.com
@cindyroyal
slideshare.net/cindyroyal

2. Why learn to code?
Tweak code in a Content Management System

3. Why learn to code?
Scrape data from a website

4. Why learn to code?
Work with an Application Programming Interface (API)

5. Why learn to code?
Work with an Application Programming Interface (API)

6. Why learn to code?
Create an interactive chart

7. Why learn to code?
Work on a collaborative team
on an interactive project

8. Why learn to code?
Work on a collaborative team
on an interactive project

9. Why learn to code?
Work on a collaborative team
on an interactive project

10. • HTML/CSS
• JavaScript
• Charting Exercise
• Charting Tools
• Chart.js
• HighCharts
• D3
• Spreadsheets
• Web Scraping
• PHP/MySQL
• News Apps with Web Frameworks
• Website, tutorials, video, code repository

11. Our concept of a journalist is changing

12. Our concept of a journalist is changing

13. Our concept of a journalist is changing

14. Our concept of a journalist is changing

15. How should curriculum change?

16. Technology is Communication and
Communication is Technology
• All media now digital media
• Social and mobile
• This is what we do as communication educators and scholars

17. It’s All About the Platform

18. Data, Data, Data
• Storytelling, data visualization
• Location-based features and services
• Web scraping and APIs
• Analytics

19. Innovation
• Digital changes scale, scope, economics,
participation
• Introduces new competition
• Interactive presentation of
data as a story
• Seek inspiration outside
immediate purview
• Collaborate and share
• Apply Design Thinking/Make Things

20. Innovation
• Wearables
• Virtual reality
• Drones/sensors
• Second-screen engagement
• Pay attention, encourage
colleagues to as well
• Sharing economy
• Focus on the future

21. 21st
Century Careers
• Advanced technology/social/community roles in
media companies
• Media roles in technology companies like Twitter,
Facebook or Google, but also local tech-focused
companies
• Start-ups

22. Elements of a new curriculum
• Consider core/required courses
• New course formats
• Collaborations or partnerships
• Create new courses
• data and programming
• mobile
• social media/analytics
• entrepreneurship
• Experience learning
• Digital concentration to augment existing majors
• New major with flipped curriculum; focus on digital
with ability to concentrate in journalism, advertising
or public relations

23. Re-imagine the role of professor
• Research in the area of media pedagogy
• Commitment to continuous learning
• Experience learning
• The next Nate Silvers and Ezra Kleins are in our
classes, but also the next Zuckerberg, Mayer,
Karp…
• Give them the skills and perspectives they need to
lead, innovate and disrupt, not just work.

24. • Research in the area of media pedagogy
• Commitment to continuous learning
• Experience learning
• The next Nate Silvers and Ezra Kleins are in our
classes, but also the next Zuckerberg, Mayer,
Karp…
• Give them the skills and perspectives they need to
lead, innovate and disrupt, not just work.
Re-imagine the role of professor

25. • Research in the area of media pedagogy
• Commitment to continuous learning
• Experience learning
• The next Nate Silvers and Ezra Kleins are in our
classes, but also the next Zuckerberg, Mayer,
Karp…
• Give them the skills and perspectives they need to
lead, innovate and disrupt, not just work.
Re-imagine the role of professor

26. • Research in the area of media pedagogy
• Commitment to continuous learning
• Experience learning
• The next Nate Silvers and Ezra Kleins are in our
classes, but also the next Zuckerberg, Mayer,
Karp…
• Give them the skills and perspectives they need to
lead, innovate and disrupt, not just work.
Re-imagine the role of professor