February’s digital faculty member of the month: Jill Van Wyke, associate professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Each month, a faculty member, nominated by their dean, is recognized for their efforts to integrate an innovative technology into their classroom. Read an interview between ITS and Jill below.

What type of technology (hardware/software) do you use?

Slack, a messaging app that streamlines workflow by centralizing communication and document sharing.

In what context do you use this technology?

We use Slack as our sole communication channel in the capstone. It replaces email, texting, and private messaging. Before we switched to Slack, our communication was splintered and fractious. Slack puts it all in one place. It syncs nicely with Google Drive, and it also archives all communication.

What course(s) do you use this technology?

Our journalism senior capstone joins students from three majors (news, digital media production, and magazine media) to publish the nationally recognized online publication Urban Plains. The class is run as a professional publishing staff. Students are responsible for the entire publication: writing, producing, photography and videography, editing, art, marketing, promotion, web design and analytics, social media, and so on. 

How does this type of technology align with your teaching pedagogy?

Our capstone attempts to simulate a real-world professional media company. It runs at a breakneck pace, with a sense of urgency and immediacy. Students often need us at odd hours, and we often need instant answers from them. With Slack, everybody is easily accessible at all times, wherever we are. The basic version of Slack, which allows 5G of storage, is free. Depending on the size of the class, we exchange 15,000 to 25,000 messages in a semester.

Where did you get the inspiration to make a change?

Our students and alumni reported a few years ago that they were using Slack in their internships and jobs. We decided it would be another way to prepare our students professionally.

How long did it take you to implement this technology?

No time at all. At least not any longer than it takes to set up an app. Students take to it quickly. The learning curve isn’t steep.

Are you interested in trying out new technology in your classroom? Want help from ITS staff? Schedule a technology adoption consultation.   

—Erin Ulrich, CPHS, and Carla Herling, ITS