USCET conducted China’s first data journalism workshop tailored for teachers this week! This was the first of its kind in China, and the interest and need for such trainings was overwhelming. USCET had received over 90 applications from 61 universities and 5 media organizations. The 5-day intensive workshop prepared journalism professors from across the country to teach this rapidly emerging discipline in China. Participants from 32 universities from across China, as far as Tibet, Xingjiang and Inner Mongolia, descended upon the School of Journalism and Media at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Instructors include David Herzog of Investigative Reports and Editors at the University of Missouri Journalism School; Huang Zhimin, whose award-winning data journalism lab spearheaded the industry in China; and other instructors specializing in open data, data visualization and mapping.
The professors took away from the workshop the knowledge of the field, best practices of teaching data journalism, variety of data journalism curriculum, and most importantly, a network of fellow teachers. The networking aspect was especially helpful for those who are from more isolated areas in China where exposure to new technology and like-minded professionals are limited. The participants worked hard throughout the 5-days. They had homework every night to review the skills that they have learnt in class, to develop their data journalism lesson plans, and to work on a group data journalism product that they presented on the last day of the workshop.
The trainers encouraged the journalism professors to foster in their students critical thinking skills, skills to dig for and evaluate the data sources, to do integrity checks on the numbers, and other investigative journalism skills that are essential to a well-rounded professional. One important take-away from the course is that even though there is more technology, the core has not changed. At the end of the day, it is teaching the students about good news writing. Instead of teaching a checklist of technologies, the professors will teach students how to learn, a life skills that will serve them well.
USCET在本周举办首个为高校教师准备的中国数据新闻工作坊！此类工作坊在国内并无先例，因此对该工作坊的兴趣和需求都很大。USCET收到了来自61所大学以及5所媒体机构的超过90封申请。工作坊持续5天，对来自全国各个大学的新闻学教师进行高强度培训，帮助他们准备这门在国内快速崛起的学科。参与者来自全国32所大学，远到西藏、新疆和内蒙古，纷纷来到北京清华大学新闻与媒体学院。讲师包括密苏里大学新闻学院的调查记者及编辑的大卫·赫尔佐格（David Herzog），他的优秀的数据新闻实验室成为了中国业界的先锋；其他还有擅长开放数据、数据可视化、以及映射的讲师们。
参与工作坊的教师将从中获得业界知识、教授数据新闻的最佳方法、各种数据新闻课程、以及最重要的，与同行教师的关系网。对于那些来自于偏远地区，缺乏接触新科技和同行的机会的教师来说，如此的关系网可以起到很大的帮助。参与者在5天的时间内刻苦学习。他们每晚都有作业，复习当天在课上学到的技能、准备数据新闻教育计划、以及组成小组准备在最后一天发表的数据新闻作品。
工作坊讲师鼓励教师培养学生的批判思维能力、挖掘和评估数据来源的能力、不忘对数据进行完整性检查、以及其他对全面发展的专业人员至关重要的调查报导技能。课程的一大教训为即使有越来越多的科技的辅助，核心是不变的。归根究底，是要教会学生如何写好新闻。比起让学生学习一份科技清单，教师需要教会学生如何学习，这将会是使他们一生受益的技能。