Wikimedia: integration of text and image in the journalism teaching process

Abstract

In this paper we present a pedagogical project conceived to propitiate connectivity and incentive creativity, within language studies conducted on the undergraduate level. We work with the supposition that both processes are related and represent the necessary condition for freedom of speech. As educators, we understand the importance of creativity for knowledge acquisition, fixation and development in the learning processes. We comprehend as well that connectivity between students is an enriching exchange and that connectivity between students and media, as an access to what comes to light through human practices, is fundamental for the building of knowledge. According to this pedagogical viewpoint and corresponding to our goals – the receptivity to diverse expression forms, the combination of theory and practice, the production and the analysis of discourses circulating in the media – the digital technologies were taken as the appropriate response, given that they provide tools for the convergence and integration of different media, combining image, sound and writing, in the form of hypermedia. We created media wiki pages for each class, in order to provide a working space for interlocution and for text production following the steps of the new tools. In addition, a reflection on online journalism processes and challenges was developed, considering the confluence of images and texts.