Realizing McLuhan’s dream in the 21st century classroom

Abstract

This paper attempts to pay tribute to Marshall McLuhan while describing an action research project that tries to answer the question: how can we educate the new generation of journalists by exploring innovative learning experiences based on social contexts mediated by technology? The project has followed three cycles: one based on Moodle, a popular learning management system; another based on Dolphin, a platform for the creation of social networks; and a final one based on a collective blog whose posts are indexed and discussed on Facebook. The description of the flow of the project through the three cycles is developed resorting to McLuhan’s tetrad of media effects. The analysis of the collected data reveals increased motivation and participation of the students in the learning experience, closer connection to the reality of the profession, and improvement of the students’ personal skills in the area of journalism.