Awards

2024 Creative Teaching Award

I was honored to be nominated by my colleagues and win one of UGA's 2024 Creative Teaching Awards. I was surprised with the award in class in the spring 2024 semester. Here's the description from the Office of Instruction website:

Lori Johnston, a lecturer in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, has transformed JOUR 3090: Reporting I: Critical Skills for Reporting and Storytelling into a consistent and rigorous course that prepares students for careers in journalism. Each semester, she teaches 180 students how to report, write, and edit and builds their journalism skills through active learning opportunities such as mock press conferences and beat pitch competitions judged by professional editors and reporters. In spring 2023 she created a Beat Bingo game/exercise that encourages students to meet people on their reporting beats, seek out resources in and outside the college, and connect with faculty and former 3090 students. Johnston has also built valuable common resources for her students, including a web portfolio template in cooperation with the Center for Teaching and Learning that students will use throughout their academic career as well as a free, fully online textbook. Johnston has even created her own YouTube channel, “Skills for Storytelling and Reporting.”

$25,000 Learning 

Technologies Grant

I received in May 2024 a $25,000 Learning Technologies Grant for the 2024-2025 fiscal year for my "Beat BINGO: Interactive Game Application" proposal. Working with the UGA Center for Teaching & Learning in 2022, we introduced the game as an assessment Reporting I to encourage students to learn their beat, a specialized area of coverage. Students cover one of these beats — city-county government, business/consumer news, diversity & equity, local music and sustainability — for the majority of the assessments, including event coverage, Q&A stories and a story pitch competition. 

Gamifying assignments, with a personalized path for students, increases engagement with learning outcomes through material retention, and enhances peer collaboration and networking. Fun and competition are leveraged as motivation for students to achieve course objectives. 

This is the most recent iteration of the BINGO card.

Beat BINGO is a web application intended to be a mobile-friendly game for about 360 students a year in a core introductory course focused on active learning in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, with the ability to support other courses and academic programs. BINGO is a low-stakes way to introduce this concept to students new to the journalism and public relations fields, and it scaffolds major assessments. The dynamic application would be adaptable to a range of academic disciplines, subject matter and curriculum beyond the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

Journalism Department Teacher of the Year

I was named Teacher of the Year for the 2020-2021 academic year. Nominators noted my passion, compassion and the rigor of my courses.  I have been nominated every academic year since 2019, which was the year I joined the department full time.

Home Grown Magazine

My Home and Garden Writing class produced the 16-page publication in The Oglethorpe Echo in December 2022. It won a Georgia Press Association award in 2023.

UGA $5,000 Affordable Course materials Grant

I received this grant from the UGA Provost's Office for the 2023-2024 fiscal year to create an online, open-access course pack that keeps Reporting I student costs at under $40 and saves students an aggregate total of roughly $45,000 each semester by reducing the need for them to purchase a textbook. 

My textbook and workbook (linked on the Teaching page), totaling 320 pages, rubrics, quizzes, tests, field assignment assessments, story templates, checklists, in-class activities, discussions and homework provide clarity and consistency, which are often mentioned in my course evaluations and feedback. The digital format allows for fresh course materials to be added each semester that address challenges and changes in the media industry. 

With contributions by faculty, instructors, recent students and alumni, the materials give students foundational skills they need to work in the media industry. They are easily accessible from the first day of the course. Each module lists:

One student called the course pack “amazing.” One of our instructors wrote: “I’m blown away by what you’ve done with the course pack. There is so much useful info for the students based on your deep reporting experience. Thank you! This is much more practical than the textbook we were using.”

UGA Teaching Enhancement Grants

I also have received two UGA teaching enhancement grants: 

BEAT MENTORS

“I’ve been able to cement my understanding of introductory reporting by sharing my experiences with younger students. This opportunity is a unique chance for journalism students to connect with faculty members, re-experience Reporting I’s curriculum and guide new journalists in a supportive environment.” — 2024 beat mentor


In the photo, peat mentor Kati Putman (left) discussed with Reporting I student Kaylin Vidal her social media coverage of the North Georgia Folk Festival in October 2023.

DIGITAL PORTFOLIOS

“The best advice I can give fellow students is to create a thoughtful and intentional portfolio — and to keep it updated frequently. I've noticed that employers really appreciate the initiative I've taken to create my portfolio and have it stand out — it shows that I care deeply about my work.” — 2024 graduate

The photo shows the portfolio of Olivia Wakim, who won our first journalism department digital portfolio competition when she graduated in spring 2023; Wakim now works for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.