Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

35° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Blackboard allows Medill to air ideas

Medill students who have visited Blackboard recently may have noticed a new feature: the Medill Undergraduate Discussion Board. But it appeared without any explanation, and many students said they were confused.

“I didn’t really know what it was for,” said Medill sophomore Zach Spear.

Spear, who posted a question about Teaching Media choices, said he thinks most students do not even know about the board.

“Maybe if we knew what it was about, more people would use it,” Spear said. “I didn’t know, I just wanted to be the first one to post.”

The board, students have since learned, is part of the new Medill 2020 plan for the school’s future that was revealed Monday by Medill Dean John Lavine. Lavine said the board was proposed by an undergraduate student advisory board as a forum for students to talk about their concerns and experiences in Medill.

“This is a time when the future of Medill is being considered and formulated,” Lavine said. “I would hope that students would use the discussion boards to join that conversation, in addition to whatever else they want to talk about.”

So far, the board has been used for a variety of purposes. There have been posts asking about making money on TM, complaining about certain Medill classes, and even wishing another student happy birthday.

One student wrote a post asking if any Medill administrators were checking the board and reading students’ complaints and suggestions. Lavine said he checks it fairly often, generally every couple of days. He said he created it at the request of the students, so now he hopes they will feel free to use it as a place to communicate.

“I did not have (any) expectations except to make it available,” Lavine said. “Now that we have put up a picture of where the school is going, I hope that people will read (the board) and begin to use it as a forum to express their opinions.”

The “picture” of the school’s future is Medill 2020, an initiative started by Lavine to help create a new future for Medill that stays true to the changing nature of the field of journalism. The objectives of Medill 2020 can be found on the Medill Web site in a question-and-answer format. Lavine hopes this will enable more people to understand the reasoning behind the reworking of Medill.

“You need relevant, deep, demanding journalism,” Lavine said. “If we have a better understanding of our audience, then we can better provide them with hot, interesting journalism that matters. You need to graduate from Medill to be able to do that. That’s what we’re talking about with Medill 2020.”

Although the discussion board was created in conjunction with Medill 2020 in order to give students a place to talk about the changes, Lavine said he hopes that students will feel free to speak with him in other venues.

“I can’t force you to go to Blackboard,” Lavine said. “(But) I have a keen hope that people will join the discussion, whether on the board or in town meetings. This is your school, too.”

Reach Aliza Appelbaum at [email protected].

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Blackboard allows Medill to air ideas