Este post también está disponible en: Spanish

It is a fact that the internet represents a great challenge to traditional journalists. We know we have to learn how to communicate stories in a different way and to embrace journalism in the digital age, but in many cases we are not sure how to begin doing so.

This has left us all feeling confused; editors and journalists alike.

Fortunately, there are many organizations and indeed some of our colleagues doing their best to forge interesting new channels of dialogue and experimentation.

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, at the University of Texas, is one of the most ambitious of these, and as such, a good starting point. It is intended to be a training space for professionals, with online resources and academic material available. You can view the online distance-learning courses that they offer here, in their webpage.

It was also the Knight Center who published a fantastic book that I would recommend as an essential introduction for those journalists who are completely new to the internet. I’m referring to Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive, a digital literacy guide written as a practical guide book by Mark Briggs.

There you will find thorough explanations of the Internet in general, the basics of technology and new devices such as iPods, USB sticks, cell phones and other wireless toys. It also explains how to blog and do podcasts.

You can download the English or Spanish version from their site for free.

The J-Lab at the University of Maryland, also known as the Institute for Interactive Journalism, is another place worth exploring. As its name implies, it is a virtual laboratory where you can experiment with new technologies aimed at transforming the way we impart and receive information.

This desire to reinvent the way we produce journalism is our unifying factor at retoNet. We can use these sites as a base from which to begin searching and experiencing at our own pace. Ultimately, everyone will find their own digital voice and discover their favorite tools along the way.

We invite you to enrich this space with your comments. If you know of other useful sites that could help others develop their digital content production skills, you can use the form below to share them.

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