Blogging for journalism students

Technology commentator Bill Thompson's contributions to the BBC World Service "Go Digital" programme are published weekly in The BillBlog.

His December 3 piece, Two-way conversations, explains the thinking behind asking his journalism students to produce blogs as part of their coursework. There are lessons here for all educators, not just those involved in journalism courses.

He draws a parallel with the paradigm shift in e-commerce:

A few years ago readers of the Cluetrain Manifesto were exhorted to see the market as a conversation where customers engaged with sellers. This was presented as a break with the one-way advertising and marketing model that used to hold sway, made possible by the internet.
The blogosphere is doing the same sort of thing for journalism, whether in print or broadcast. Its no longer enough to write or say something and consign any responses to the letters page or occasional 'have your say' programme.

I'm not convinced the shift in e-commerce is as extensive as Thompson implies (though peer-to-peer e-commerce on the eBay model maybe comes close) but I like the example set by his course.