This is the seventh — and penultimate — in a series of blog posts to help you decipher each program track at ONA15. You can sort our schedule by your own favorite track by clicking on any of the gray boxes on the main session page. You can also check out my previous posts on our tracks for Mobile Tools + DesignAudience Engagement + Impact,  Developer Tools + Tech, Audio, Photo  + VideoRevenue + Ethics and Professional Development.


There are so many great sessions at ONA15, it can be difficult to decide which to attend! We’re particularly excited to preview our Teaching + Training track to help guide you in choosing your discussions .

And don’t forget, for every track we’ll be hosting Table Talks, an open forum for discussing solutions to a variety of challenges in your area of interest or expertise.

Disruption … it’s what digital innovators do.  We’ll discuss how to build a successful digital culture inside academia — and out — with USC’s Robert Hernandez, Texas State University’s Cindy Royal and Nebraska’s Matt Waite in Building Digital Culture in J-Schools.

Interested in learning how your school might partner with local newsrooms to prototype a project? Get some inspiration in Collaborate + Innovate: Lessons from the Challenge Fund.

As many newsrooms are exploring creating immersive storytelling, we’ll discuss What Journalists Can Learn from Game Designers with a terrific team from American University. Director of Media Entrepreneurship, Amy Eisman, will moderate a conversation with Andrew Lih and Lindsay Grace — in a room sure to be brimming with their energy —  about creating, testing and iterating an interactive loop that encourages deeper engagement.

In perhaps one of the most critical additions to ONA15, we’ll discuss Dodging the Memory Hole in our Digital News Heritage. Reynold Journalism Institute’s Edward McCain and the Los Angeles Times’ Ben Welsh will share ideas and strategies for keeping your digital archives alive, accessible and up-to-date with current formats.

Finally, don’t miss the Educators Meetup on Saturday. It’s your chance to discuss all things j-school with your colleagues.


We hope you’ll have a chance to explore these sessions and many others, and use our amazing networking opportunities to meet colleagues who share your passions and interests.

And see you in LA!