Young people in Viginia, USA have the opportunity to learn how to become digitally savvy students thanks to a project called Globaloria, run by the World Wide Workshop, a non-profit that develops social media and technology applications for use in education.

The project, funded in part by The Knight Foundation, aims to instruct kids in how to read and write with new media. But this is not standard literacy lesson; 'reading' new media might mean understanding how to play and navigate game structures, 'writing' new media might mean learning how to code. The scheme aims to teach young people about how media works, so they can better understand the media they consume and potentially start learning the skills that would stand them in good stead to enter the media industry in future.

The project is now in 50 schools around the state and it is now in the process of becoming a state-funded initiative as it expands and is offered to more students in more schools. Amy Starlight Lawrence, program associate at Knight Foundation said: "Globaloria showed that by enabling students to learn by creating content in the form of games, they furthered their learning goals and digital knowledge".

So maybe computer games in class aren't such a bad idea after all.

AOL's hyperlocal project Patch announced that it would be the largest employer of journalists in the nation. Now, according to Editor and Publisher, Patch will team up with several universities to offer internships with credit for journalism students. Warren Webster, Patch Media's president, commented "Patch is committed to building strong relationships with colleges and universities that are preparing the journalists who will define the new media landscape." There is a fine line between opportunity and exploitation for interns in journalism, and it remains to be seen how carefully Patch will trend in this area.

Journalism schools are in a frenzy trying to adjust to the changes in the newspaper industry. Schools everywhere are modifying their curriculums, ranging from offering new certificates to renovating degree programs entirely. Students need to know new areas of studies to keep up with changing technologies, and for the first time journalists need to keep up with computers, search engines, and mobile apps to survive. Yet these are all "hardware" skills. The "software" skills come from the insight to see how the digital revolution is changing the relationship journalists have with the public. Jay Rosen, professor of journalism at NYU, gave a welcoming speech to students entering Science Po's journalism degree program (An expanded form of his speech can be found on his website). Rosen emphasized that new journalists (along with more seasoned professionals) need to change the way they think about their connection with the public, as the two are morphing into a much more active part of the journalism domain.

Digital trends in the media are affecting every aspect of the journalism field, including education. The University of Colorado at Boulder is pondering closing its journalism department in favor of a new degree program that would combine journalism and computer science skills. According to Editor & Publisher, the new academic unit could compound on existing strengths in journalism, yet adding computer science course will "prepare students for an ever-changing communications and media marketplace."

To create this new journalism degree, the university's regents board requires the school follows the "Program Discontinuance" procedures. This is unfortunate for the students who currently attend CU, as they express apprehension over the merit of the old version of the journalism degree. Dean Hurtt, a student interviewed by CUindependent states "I mean, journalism is kind of a dying form. But it just sucks that I'm in that outdated form I guess. If I could I'd like to start working on that new degree right now, but I don't think that's going to be a choice."