Knight-Mozilla learning lab

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2011 Learning Lab Alumni

Keep in touch! Post updates and announcements here.

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  • Nicola Hughes   Oct. 28, 2011, 1:46 p.m.

    Just FYI to eveyone in the UK and all those who want a great reason to head to London (besides the clubs, theatres, shops, the queen... ). Head to the Mozilla Festival 4-6 Nov

  • Nicola Hughes   Oct. 3, 2011, 5:35 p.m.

    I've posted a quick relfection from my time in Berlin on my blog. If you're interested in seeing the Big Picture in action (well, the Big Discussion part at least) then send me a line and I'll be happy to show you smiley

  • Nicholas Doiron   Aug. 26, 2011, 7:18 p.m.

    Hi all: I won't be continuing on, but I look forward to the day when I'm browsing the web and recognize one of these vibrant new projects on my favorite news site.

    In January I will join Code for America and help them open local government databases. Open data is gibberish without oversight and mash-ups, so I hope you'll all consider following @codeforamerica on Twitter and GitHub.  Once I know what city I am working with, I'll tell their local newspaper that they should look through all of your ideas.  Thanks so much for those who shared and open-sourced their ideas!

  • Phillip Smith   Sept. 9, 2011, 6:44 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Nicholas Doiron   Aug. 26, 2011, 7:18 p.m.

    Hey there Nicholas,

    I'm just back from vacation and wanted to say congratulations & good luck.

    Code for America is project that we took a lot of inspiration from.

    Phillip.

  • Nicola Hughes   Aug. 24, 2011, 2:30 p.m.

    Not meaning to hog the wall but here is an interview with Scott Klein, Editor of News Applications at Propublica. I really like their stuff and their nerd blog gives details of how they make them.

    Are we gonna hangout on Google or chat on IRC at alloted times or something? Laura, I saw your hangout but it disappeared before I could get to it sad. Was that you cancelling or Google+ being a pain?

  • Nicola Hughes   Aug. 24, 2011, 2:36 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Nicola Hughes   Aug. 24, 2011, 2:30 p.m.

    Also a good speaker for next year's lab!

  • Jacob Caggiano   Aug. 23, 2011, 2:02 p.m.

    Hope I don't sound like a shameless promoter, but it's only to help with your withdrawal symptoms. You're all invited to join us at this year's Open Video Conference

    For the hacker in you, there'll be lots of happy hacking with awesome developers on breakthough stuff like Popcorn.JS (HTML5 video + metadata to match specific frames = enormous potential)

    And for the journalist in you, there'll working groups on visual privacy and a development session with Witness and the Guardian Project on ObscuraCam, an Android prototype that automatically blurs faces of those being videotaped in sensitive human rights situations.

    PLUS! All Learning Lab friends and alum can get in FREE!

    ****Just message me for the promo code****

    Hope to see you all there! (New York Law School, Sept. 10-12th)
    ~Jacob

  • Shaminder Dulai   Aug. 23, 2011, 12:14 p.m.

    So have we established a good way to keep in touch and keep the chats/discussions/idea storms going? I'm have withdrawl over here and need my fix.

  • Laura Hilliger   Aug. 23, 2011, 12:24 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Shaminder Dulai   Aug. 23, 2011, 12:14 p.m.

    some of us had a little twitter conversation earlier. I suggested IRC but no one showed up....I understand your withdrawal :)

  • Chris Keller   Aug. 23, 2011, 12:26 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Shaminder Dulai   Aug. 23, 2011, 12:14 p.m.

    Anyone have a "low-hanging fruit" project they want to collab on? Count me in....

  • Nicola Hughes   Aug. 24, 2011, 11:05 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Chris Keller   Aug. 23, 2011, 12:26 p.m.

    I have two projects simmering in the back of my mind (well three but that one I want to learn to do myself). Need to flesh them out over Bank Holiday weekend. I find it hard to do low hanging fruit! Will need developer muscle. Contact me sometime next week and hopefully I'll have more than a bunch of neurons to show for myself

  • Nicola Hughes   Aug. 22, 2011, 10:29 a.m.

    Just thought I'd let you guys know of a documentary that will be in the UK 23 Sept but probably out in the States sooner called: Page One. It's about The New York Times and the challenges it faces with new media and the shift in business model from print to the web. Here's the trailer. I can't wait to catch it

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwTMFXgf95c

  • Alex Samur   Aug. 19, 2011, 5:16 p.m.

    I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for energy & enthusiasm these last weeks...all of us on the #moznewslab team had a blast and were blown away by all the amazing projects you pitched! Congrats to you & all the best honing these ideas and developing new ways to improve journalism.

  • Nicola Hughes   Aug. 19, 2011, 9:12 a.m.

    For ways of keeping in touch and to keep learning I thought I'd draw your attention to the free online AI class from Stanford. You can sign up here. They're also doing a DataBase and Machine Learning class.

    Here in Liverpool the DoES (stands for 'Do Epic Shit') guys I know are starting a study group for it. I know some of you guys got to meet up in Toronto, so maybe you can start a study group also.

    Just an idea for those who are close enough to meet up. Maybe some of us can hijack BBB and P2PU for forming study groups.

  • Nicola Hughes   Aug. 18, 2011, 11:06 a.m.

    I've written a blog post regarding the post below and two other reading 'materials'. It's Sink/Source Journalism - A News Model for the Digital Age. It's a bit long but it does reference an even longer journal article that is worth reading instead called "‘NETWORK JOURNALISM’: CONVERGING COMPETENCES OF OLD AND NEW MEDIA PROFESSIONALS". It was published in 2001, but that makes it all the more fascinating a read. Thought I should post it to the group seeing as we are at a university. Can P2PU have a journal made up solely of prototypes and proposals rather than old fashioned written articles? 

  • Nicola Hughes   Aug. 16, 2011, 10:25 a.m.

    Thought this was a very good read and right up the MoJo alley: Newspapers need a jolt of Silicon Valley DNA by Alan Mutter (follow @newsosaur)

  • Phillip Smith   Aug. 16, 2011, 10:33 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Nicola Hughes   Aug. 16, 2011, 10:25 a.m.

    Super! Re-tweeted.  :)

  • Nicola Hughes   Aug. 16, 2011, 10:39 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Phillip Smith   Aug. 16, 2011, 10:33 a.m.

    Alan would make for a good speaker next MozNewsLab! smiley

  • Miguel Angel García Ramírez   Aug. 14, 2011, 10:44 p.m.

    Hi,

    I found some information about the construction of the guardian.co.uk website

    Hope this is helpful to you

  • Tathagata Dasgupta   Aug. 14, 2011, 10:30 a.m.

    Hi guys,

    Check out this course for Worldwide Foreign Correspondent course.

    I do not have enough journalistic background for qualifying for a scholarship - so it would be really expensive for me. But what do you think of it?

  • Saleem Khan   Aug. 17, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Tathagata Dasgupta   Aug. 14, 2011, 10:30 a.m.

    Tathagata, the trainers appear to be experienced and the lecture topics look like the right ones but I wouldn't regard this course as anything more than a basic primer. In fact, based on the course description and detailed outline, I'm concerned that it's actually dangerous and irresponsible of the organizers to call it a foreign correspondent's course.

    My main concern is the safety part of the course, which appears to be only a 2.5-hour lecture. In my view, foreign correspondents must receive specialized training to deal with the situations they are reasonably likely to encounter on assignment, and this course doesn't appear to provide it.

  • Saleem Khan   Aug. 17, 2011, 8:30 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Tathagata Dasgupta   Aug. 14, 2011, 10:30 a.m.

    Tathagata, the trainers appear to be experienced and the lecture topics look like the right ones but I wouldn't regard this course as anything more than a basic primer. In fact, based on the course description and detailed outline, I'm concerned that it's actually dangerous and irresponsible of the organizers to call it a foreign correspondent's course.

    My main concern is the safety part of the course, which appears to be only a 2.5-hour lecture. In my view, foreign correspondents must receive specialized training to deal with the situations they are reasonably likely to encounter on assignment, and this course doesn't appear to provide it.

  • Tathagata Dasgupta   Aug. 17, 2011, 8:48 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Saleem Khan   Aug. 17, 2011, 8:30 a.m.

    Hmm .. very interesting! Seems like there is nothing like on the job training ... but on the point of specialized training ... I was reading "The new Precision Journalism" by Philip Meyer - and let me quote to get the feel right ...

    "The extreme case is a foreign correspondent I once knew who laughed when I asked if he was learning the language of the country to whichhe was assigned. In his view it was not necessary, might even be a hindrance. His readers did not know the language, and his job was merely to observe what they would observe if they were there and report on what he saw. If he learned a foreign language he might start to think like a foreigner and lose touch with those readers.

    The trouble with being a passive and innocent jounalist is that like any passive and innocent person, one can too easily taken advantage of."

    I can totally relate what you are saying with this now ... but can you give us what kind of "specialized training" do you guys get?

  • Tathagata Dasgupta   Aug. 9, 2011, 7:18 p.m.

    Guys, in the survey there is a question on building our own site for staying in touch ... make sure your select that option!