Category Archives: education

Online-course in verification launched

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The course, I have developed with Myhailyna Skoryk, targets journalists from New Independent States, where Russian language is commonly used. Thus, we recorded the verification course in Russian. It will be interested for all who spend more then 6 hours per day in Internet and social media. Registration is here.

With the course, we want to reshape critical thinking of users and journalists while dealing with information online – we teach how to verify photo, video and profiles in social media, in particular in Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We suggest hints of verification in by means of geolocation (Yomapic, Google Street View, Google Earth, etc).

The course has 8 lectures, divided in 2-3 episodes. Each lecture is followed by script, 5 questions to be answered and additions video/articles watch&read.

The final test includes 15 questions, those, successfully pass the test, will receive a certificate of complition. So far, 141 participant registered and one – completed the course. Join the course at VUM online platform.

verification-zastavka

verification, education, online course, journalists, Ukraine, NIS

Careful examination of the power of social media in Ukraine during #euromaidan

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A team of authors within Carnegie Corporation research project has recently published a report “Protest in the Age of Social Media.” The authors (Joshua A. Tucker, Megan Metzger, Duncan Penfold-Brown, Richard Bonneau, John Jost, Jonathan Nagler) analyze how Ukrainian opposition leaders and, more noticeably, civic activists used social media to reach audiences and bring the Yanukovych regime down. The authors are looking for implications of social media impact:

If social media is indeed changing the ways in which protests emerge and evolve, then what is learned about the Ukrainian situation will provide important lessons for understanding and anticipating political developments all over the world.

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The authors suggest to view the impact of social media in Ukraine in three main dimensions, focusing on the use of #euromaidan / #євромайдан hashtags and Facebook updates:

First, social media can help to build a protest movement, and it can do so with remarkable speed. Second, once a movement exists, social media can play an important role in recruiting new members and encouraging participation. Third, once protests are in full swing, social media can spread information about them.

The interest of researchers for the impact of social media use in Ukraine in 2013-2014 remains high and leads to new publications from worldwide aiming to undestand the nature of social media interaction as a vibrant medium of public discussions and self-organization. Just to remind, in Boston, in May 2014, I have published my thesis about the role of social media in news gethering in Ukraine.

Defended: Master’s thesis about the role of social media during the protests in Ukraine

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On May 30, 2014, at Emerson College, Boston, I have defended my thesis titled Agenda setting in newsgathering during anti-government protests 2013-2014 in Ukraine. The impact of social media on news organizations. Chair – Prof. Melinda Robins, Ph.D., Graduate Program Director of Journalism Department at Emerson College.

I plan to publish it on this blog soon, now, please find the abstract:

Following the Orange revolution in 2004, popular protests of Ukrainian citizens in 2013-2014 for the second time in the last ten years altered the political regime in the country. In the battle against the corrupt government, protesters have demonstrated a sophisticated use of the Internet and social media tools in news dissemination and mobilization of activism. This study investigates another dimension of the protests – the media effects of social media on news organizations within the framework of agenda setting theory. How user-generated content influenced media coverage of the protests by professional news sites and which issues have been perceived as important for public awareness. Based on a case study of one of the leading news sites and a popular Facebook page initiative, I research the agenda setting on the mainstream media. 

defended

With Dr.Emmanuel Paraschos, Ph.D. and Prof. Melinda Robins, Ph.D., Graduate Program Director

Sketching is Fun. What can you learn from online course

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A wall in New York City- photo by Vitalii Moroz

A wall in New York City- photo by Vitalii Moroz

Just have finished Introduction to Infographics and Data Visualization online-course by Knight Center. It was a month of deadlines, learning, thinking and interacting with other students. More than 3300 students from all over the world have registered. Fewer have finished the course due to different reason, the main, I believe, is time-management.

It was a very valuable experience to see what the contemporary education is, how group interaction does look and how collective intelligence does work through the course. Besides, there is a good lesson from the instructor Alberto Cairo (@albertocairo) of bringing mindful approach to thinking in terms of good design.

What did you like the most about the course?
Opportunity to get new skills and knowledge and to practice infographics while sketching the ideas. Also I have learned the following lessons:
1) timing is important;
2) collective intelligence is great;
3) improve and improve;
4) think before do;
5) learn from others;
6) sketching is fun;
7) the internal portal is confusing;
8) future is now;
9) rear a good taste of design;
10) do not afraid to make mistakes.

What other courses would you suggest?
Big Data Analysis and Cyber Security. First will make sense of tons of information, second will help to protect citizens from the government

What is your general feedback on the course?
I did like flexibility with timing – it works great! It is very important to give some more time to submit assignment since our life if getting more and more complicated due to the increased flow of information.