I attended the MatadorU orientation this past Monday. It lasted about 50 min. and other than the host, Kat, it included seven other individuals from the US and international locations. However, I came into the Skype session a few minutes late and missed most of the introductions. The most important point that came from the orientation was that in addition to completing the chapter assignments, I need to take advantage of the expertise of the various faculty on board, and build relationships with my fellow students. This especially holds true for the filmmaking course, as it's fairly new. The open forums on various topics and faculty feedback within 24-48 hours makes it possible.
The hardest part of the course was the pre-course assignment to set up a blog. I'm very green to Word Press, and I've heard so many horror stories. I had similar trouble with my set-up until I learned that certain features were not available. I had a basic version, and needed to stick with the simple design templates. I was cool with that, but had to dig into the forum topics to figure this out.
The readings have been interesting, thus far. The terminology section was helpful in the beginning, and then a history lesson ensued. This held true for both the writing and filmmaking courses. Knowledge is power, and some of the interesting facts learned about the revolution of travel journalism as a writer and filmmaker became relatively clear. There are also a list at the end of each chapter of recommended readings offline (ie..books) and online.
I finished my first writing assignment with relative ease, but have not posted the assignment. It's advised to sit at least 24 hours and then go back to refine before posting. I anticipate posting by tomorrow. The video assignment will be completed by Sunday. You can follow my assignment postings on my MatadorU blogsite.
I'm enjoying myself so far. I hope to improve my writing and visual storytelling, and from what I've learned so far, I know these courses will set me apart from other travel bloggers. I definitely recommend MatadorU for anyone SERIOUSLY considering travel journalism of any kind- photography, writing, and/or filmmaking.
The hardest part of the course was the pre-course assignment to set up a blog. I'm very green to Word Press, and I've heard so many horror stories. I had similar trouble with my set-up until I learned that certain features were not available. I had a basic version, and needed to stick with the simple design templates. I was cool with that, but had to dig into the forum topics to figure this out.
The readings have been interesting, thus far. The terminology section was helpful in the beginning, and then a history lesson ensued. This held true for both the writing and filmmaking courses. Knowledge is power, and some of the interesting facts learned about the revolution of travel journalism as a writer and filmmaker became relatively clear. There are also a list at the end of each chapter of recommended readings offline (ie..books) and online.
I finished my first writing assignment with relative ease, but have not posted the assignment. It's advised to sit at least 24 hours and then go back to refine before posting. I anticipate posting by tomorrow. The video assignment will be completed by Sunday. You can follow my assignment postings on my MatadorU blogsite.
I'm enjoying myself so far. I hope to improve my writing and visual storytelling, and from what I've learned so far, I know these courses will set me apart from other travel bloggers. I definitely recommend MatadorU for anyone SERIOUSLY considering travel journalism of any kind- photography, writing, and/or filmmaking.
