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The University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism houses one of the nation’s premiere journalism schools. In the students’ third year, they are required to enroll in a class called “Introduction to Online Media,” or JOUR 309, which covers the basics of producing digital journalism.

This fall, students in USC’s JOUR 309 class were divided into five sections taught by different professors. Each instructor also works or has worked as an industry professional for major media outlets including BuzzFeed, Yahoo Sports, LA Times, and LA Weekly

“The fact that a university can have professors teach as well as work in their particular fields at the same time is such a fantastic and unique opportunity,” said Bobby Nahill, a junior in Laura Davis’ class. “My professor works at BuzzFeed, and she did an amazing job at connecting the classroom to the professional world with engaging discussions on trends in media, advice on post-graduation employment, and even guest speakers from BuzzFeed.”

Students in the JOUR 309 sections spent their fall semester working on a number of projects all over Los Angeles county. The stories they told covered a diverse array of people and topics stretching across several miles.

“It's one thing to learn about reporting in a classroom, but going out and getting to know the city you're in is so useful,” said Taylor Villanueva, a junior in Robert Hernandez’s JOUR 309 section. “I went out of my comfort zone going door to door asking people for interviews, and that's definitely made me less nervous about talking to people.”

However, the class offered students educational opportunities far beyond on-site reporting. JOUR 309 focuses on the importance of being digitally savvy to keep up with new and emerging technology used to tell stories.

The class’ curriculum introduces students to advanced web-based programs that they can use in their future reports. For example, students this semester experimented with how to write basic computer code, how to use Adobe Photoshop, and how to make audio slideshows.

“Probably the most rewarding part of the class for me was getting more comfortable with Photoshop,” said Eli Goodstein, another junior who has Eric Orvieto as his professor. “We learned how to make gifs, which is so cool and it’s something I’ve always wanted to know how to do.”

But the technological learning curve was not easy for most of the students. The other Annenberg journalism classes students are required to take do not introduce many complex applications, so the JOUR 309 curriculum seemed daunting to some at first.

“When my teacher told us we would be starting the class by learning how to code HTML, I was a little nervous,” said Abby Flaxer, a junior in Kim Bui’s class. “It was definitely a challenge figuring it out, but in the end I feel like knowing a little about coding will definitely help me with some of my future jobs.”

Each section also held several discussions about news, trends, and emerging technology in the media industry. This aspect of the class is designed to introduce the students to the reality of the evolving industry while also engaging them on what’s happening in the professional world they hope to enter.

Students were required to lead one of these discussions during the semester. The topics they covered ranged from the legality of ad blockers to the introduction of Facebook’s new app “Mentions.”

“One of my favorite parts of the class was talking with my peers and professor about what’s going on in the industry,” said Giovanni Moujaes, a junior who was part of Kieth Plocek’s JOUR 309 section. “It was so interesting to hear about how much is changing, and it introduced me to a lot more tools I can use looking forward.”

Through the course of the semester, Annenberg’s JOUR 309 students were challenged to think outside of typical conventions of journalism by applying basic reporting knowledge to a learned familiarity of digital culture. Of course, there were many challenges along the way, but students feel the course ultimately played an essential part of their journalism education at USC.

“Taking the online journalism class has been such a great experience because I got to learn a new set of useful skills in this heavy digital age,” said Barbara Estrada, a junior in Dan Evans’ class. “I have learned so much more than I expected coming in, and I’ve grown so close with my classmates. I feel like more than any class I’ve taken at USC so far, this one has prepared me for the working world.”