Ph. D. Student
Department of Communication
Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA - 30303
email: mandaveli@gsu.edu
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Sumitra Srinivasan Ph. D. Student Department of Communication Georgia State University Atlanta, GA - 30303 email: mandaveli@gsu.edu |
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Teaching
Learning Environment Portfolio Philosophy of Education Teaching, according to me, is an opportunity to facilitate learning -- not only for the student, but also for the teacher. I strongly believe that a good learner makes a good instructor, and that a good instructor continues to learn, from the discipline, from students, from peers, from mentors. As a student, I have enjoyed discussing class lessons with friends. I have found that teaching somebody helps me learn the subject better. Now, as an instructor at the University level, when I stand before my class, I look forward to learning as much as I do, to teaching. I like my classrooms to be interactive discussion-based sessions; but, I would not relegate the importance of lecturing. I still believe that the old-fashioned way of delivering lectures is important because students perform better when they are taught, before they begin to think from different perspectives. The role of the teacher, in this case, is to offer the context and then motivate students to venture beyond classroom concepts. In my classroom, there will be a strong foundation of lecturing, followed by in-class exercises and assignments for students to apply concepts. Therefore, class discussions that follow would engender fertile discursive spaces for interaction. Technology is an integral part of my classroom. I have progressively included technology-based teaching methodologies every semester. Some have failed and some have evolved to help create an effective classroom. Technology has permeated our lives to a great extent and I believe in unleashing its power to develop an organic space for learning. However, I will be wary of using technology carelessly or just for its name since it could be disruptive to the learning process. I incorporate a variety of teaching methodologies and tools into my curriculum. Some successful tools include bulletin boards, online scavenger hunts, chatrooms, multimedia presentations, group discussions, and real-world simulations. In Broadcast/Mutlimedia Production classes, I encourage my students to undertake real-time community projects, so that they get the experience of learning in a classroom while simultaneously producing content for real context. Some projects that are in current use include a multimedia campaign for a medical college, brochure for the University PRSSA, newsletters for campus media etc. My journalism students like to be able to “yell at one another” as they debate current and controversial topics in virtual chatrooms. This assignment has succeeded at two levels: firstly, by exposing students to current affairs; secondly, by creating tolerance for varying and opposing peer perspectives, and hence objectivity in approaching news stories. At the close of every semester, I organize a tour of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution news organization so that students can understand the setup of real newsrooms. I have also had the privilege of introducing renowned journalists like Phil Kent, Jim Galloway and Harry McDougald, as guest lecturers in my classes. In my research course, I try to venture beyond conventional academic research. Students analyze popular documentaries like “Outfoxed” and “Roger and Me” as they came up with research questions and procedures the film producers may have used. Introducing sustainability into the curriculum is a personal voyage. Minimizing paperwork by co-curricular activities like online bulletin boards, chat forums and online publishing tools is something that my students and I have worked together to achieve, so far. In the future, I would also like to introduce an optional extra-curricular activity in collaboration with University-organized environmental projects like cleaning creeks and local parks, participating in local organic farming ventures etc. It would be an enjoyable field trip for those who choose to take part. As aspiring journalists seeking the power of the word and as a responsible society, I hope this would be well-received. I believe in using such opportunities in order to “pay it forward” towards the evolution of society and humanity. ... Education, after all, is an organic and holistic process.
back to portfolio Personal, Professional Development One valuable lesson I have learned as a Ph. D. student is to get things done piecemeal and in a consistent fashion. One of my professors, Dr. David Cheshier, told my Ph. D. cohort in a doctoral pro-seminar how to manage all the work that one faces, while in academia. The essence of what he told us is this: When some administrative paper-work/journal article comes to your desk, deal with it right away -- otherwise it never gets done. I have tried to implement that ever since I heard it. I feel that a doctoral. program itself is designed to help one implement such discipline in all walks of life. I am already doing it to a large extent and will strive to increase my efficiency, both in my academic research work as well as in my teaching responsibilities. In some meetings with Department Chair Dr. Carol Winkler, I have been offered some valuable insights to help me tackle my research and teaching responsibilities, while writing my dissertation. These professors have motivated me by their personal experiences. I wish to offer similar help and inspiration to my students. To guide my students well, I will keep learning ... I am currently in the process of developing two courses. One is called Telecommunication Policy for Online Journalism , and the other is Political-Economy and Globalization of Open-Source Technologies. My goal is to implement these courses during the coming academic year. Another of my long-sustaining goals is to increase the effectiveness of using technology in the classroom. The certification course I have taken, NETS 2000, is helping me incorporate technology in an effective and appropriate fashion in my classroom. Some experiments with technology that I have conducted in my classroom this Fall 2004 semester have received great enthusiasm from students. One of them was to produce newsletters by student editorial committees. The students, not only, were able to simulate a newsroom and learn from it, but thoroughly enjoyed getting to know one another while working in teams --something that they don't get a lot of chance to, in a downtown commuter's University. Yet another important goal to me is to bring sustainability into the curriculum. So far, awareness has been created in the classroom by implementing co-curricular projects using online bulletin boards and chat forums, thus saving paper. What I would like to implement is an optional extra-curricular project to participate in University "Touch-the-Earth" programs to clean local creeks, pull ivy or help clear debris in local parks, participate in local organic farming priojects. The key is to spread the word !!! back to portfolio Learning Environment  This is how my classroom looks like (and these are some of my lovely students). There are 30 computer stations and a teacher's terminal, which can be connected to media like projectors, and player devices. The computer monitors are placed under a glass table top with shields, so students are ensured privacy while working in class. Students can also interact freely with the teacher and other students because of the seating arrangement.  back to portfolio Unit Plans and Lessons Unit Plan
Lessons
back to portfolio Teaching Interests Journalism, New Media Communication; Globalization, Culture and Technology; Telecommunication Law and Policy; History of Technology. back to portfolio Courses and Syllabi Basic Journalism <html> <pdf> <doc> News Writing <html> <pdf> <doc> Online Journalism (proposed) <html> <pdf> <doc> Feature Writing (proposed) <html> <pdf> <doc> Social and Cultural Impacts of New Media Technologies (proposed) <html> <pdf> <doc> back to portfolio Sample Teaching Materials For Snoopy Journalists: An Online Scavenger Hunt on Legal Issues (Online webpage tutorial) Science Journalism: Presentation ( Created using Microsoft Powerpoint) Frat Friday: Online Chat Forum (Created using discussion board features in webCT) Crime Beat: Processes (Created using the software Inspiration) Business Beat: Mathematics for journalists using spreadhseet software back to portfolio Assignments Kindergarten Quiz: Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, AP Style Quiz News Time: webCT-based Online Bulletin Board for Current Affairs Confusing Verbs/Words: Lie/Lay Attribution Traditional Leads: Quiz Police Beat Business Beat Feature Story Panther Prints: Publication of Newsletters using Microsoft Publisher back to portfolio Co-curricular Activities for Students A Tour of The Atlanta Journal Constitution, located in downtown Atlanta close to GSU's campus. (The Atlanta Journal Constitution is a leading newspaper in the city of Atlanta.) The Signal: Newspaper Layout Workshop (The Signal is Georgia State University's student newspaper. Please visit www.gsusignal.com) back to portfolio |
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| Recent Update: February,
2005 Contact: mandaveli at gmail dot com Sumitra's page Version 3.1 (online since January 16, 2001) Best Viewed in Netscape, Mozilla and such ... |