In a perfect world, I wouldn't need to write this post. Students would have consistent usages for names like Will and William from the start. All names would be checked and verified before being indexed. And there would be no name-tagging errors.
As it is, running the first version of the index could be one of the most depressing days of the year in a scholastic journalism room. Staffs get to see lots of errors they could have avoided and now can do nothing about. Cleaning up the index is often done though to put misspelled names where they belong and to combine formal names with those that the student actually goes by. The process takes hours -- sometimes days.
My staff found a way to make the process go much more quickly this year by using Google Docs.
Summer is almost upon us and it’s an exciting time – for many reasons. For me, it’s a time when I get a chance to learn a few new things I haven’t had the time for during the school year. The last few summers, I’ve spent much of the time learning about new things associated with the Web, and I’m sure this summer will be no different.
Many advisers are doing the same thing. While there have been a flood of schools move online recently, there are still many that need to head down that path. Even for those of us who have staffs online, we still have a lot to learn.
My one bit of advice for you all this summer is to take some time to learn about the Web (or more about it) to help your staffs with their move online – just don’t build or takeover their site in the process.
Jesse McLean and Jeremy Whiting have shared a presentation they used at the MIPA Fall 2009 Conference. The presentation covered online tools ranging from Flickr and Google Groups to Facebook groups and Voicethread.
Leland Mallett of Mansfield Legacy High School in Mansfield, Texas, has shared his presentation from the 2010 JEA/NSPA Spring Convention in Portland.
Mallett's presentation discusses many aspects of a 2010 scholastic newsroom with everything from staff structure and branding to grading and staff organization.
With the end of the school year upon us, many of us are in countdown mode. Whatever online system you follow is working smoothly, final print issues are well underway—or put to bed—and it's tempting to coast toward summer vacation. But since this was THE YEAR so many schools established or developed an online presence, it seems silly to lose momentum when we could be making some headway during the summer months. Here's a simple checklist of things to consider before packing up shop this spring:
