Being A Wired Journalism Teacher

I promised the teachers I spoke to last week that I would add my power point presentation about Being a Wired Journalism Teacher here.  Tomorrow I will add my list of favorite podcasts.

Change Is The Only Constant

Here’s a cool slide show I found via Reportr.net about the death of old media and how new media is different.

Blogged Down

This weekend, I spoke to a group of advisors at the Taylor Yearbook Summer Camp at Texas A&M about technology and I promised to post my list of favorite blogs and iTunes podcasts – so here they are:

My Blog List:

10,000 Words – a blog about using Technology & Journalism

Advancing The Story – a blog about using multimedia for storytelling

Andy Dickinson – a british blogger who focuses on moving forwards and not looking back

Black Star Rising – a well done photography blog written by several pro photographers

Buzz Machine – a new blog that I’m reading, hard to describe – but interesting

Daily Writing Tips – do I really need to explain it?

Digital Photography School - another blog that is fairly obvious

Howard Owens – a video blog from a newspaper perspective

Innovation in College Media - focuses mainly on the changing nature of college publications

Ryan Sholin – The Invisible Inkling – A reporter who wants to change things

The Journalism Iconoclast – a blog about the state of journalism

Journalistopia – a blog about online journalism and young journalists

The KRG – a blog for student journalists (college)

Mastering Multimedia – a blog for multimedia workers in newspaper

Mediashift - the blog for the PBS show MediaShift

Meranda Writes – a blog from a young journalist trying to make her way in the 21st Century newsroom

Mr. Rewrite – a grammar blog from a friend of journalism prof. Steve Elliott of ASU’s j-school

Newspaper Death Watch - another blog with no description needed

News Videographer – written by several pro news video journalists

Notes From A Teacher – written by a Canadian journalism prof.  (very good)

Online Journalism Blog – need I say more?

Paul Conley – a B2B reporter’s blog about the journalism industry

Photoshop Disasters – using PS in an unsafe way (not always safe for school)

Press Think – a student blog about the changes in corporate journalism

Reflections of a Newsosaur – a veteran of the media talks about its future or lack of one!

Reporter.net – a British journalism prof’s blog

Sean Blanda – another student journalist’s blog

That’s The Press Baby – a working journalist that thinks printing on dead trees is not yet dead

Teaching Online Journalism – prof. Mindy McAdam’s blog

Technolo-J - a blog about tech and journalism

Viewfinder Blues – a TV photog’s blog about how those behind the viewfinder get it done

Yelvington.com- a blog about media

Summer Camp: Texas A&M Day 4

Last year, I wrote a blog post about whether winning awards was important or not. I still mostly side with the not. But, that being said – it was cool that all five of my kids at journalism camp won an award.

Needless to say they were happy driving home. They did a great job and were easily my best group ever. The didn’t miss class or get up late – not once. They even stayed late sometimes to work on their projects.

Summer Camp: Texas A&M Day 3

Day 3 went really well. The kids were working hard on their projects and I got several compliments on my “Being a Wired Journalism Teacher” presentation.

The camp was much better organized this year and all the classes were basically in two buildings. The food service was closer to the dorms and it all just went much smoother. Finally, at the dinner last night, I got to hang out with one of my former ASNE ASU fellows and another ASNE fellow from K-State who both teach in the Cyprus-Fairbanks district in Houston. It was a great time with good food and great memories.

We go home tomorrow after the awards ceremony.

Summer Camp: Texas A&M Day 2

Didn’t get it done yesterday. Sorry! I did have a successful day. My “How To Be a Wired Adviser,” talk was fairly successful. The kids got some stuff done on their projects and they learned a few things in class. All those things were really good.

I took one of my broadcast kids out to the Bonfire Memorial and my marketing kids had me researching the origins of Reveille for them, so they are all Aggie’d up. Gig ‘Em.

They are making good progress on their projects, so I hope they finish today and we can chill for the rest of camp. Tomorrow we go home.

I have been forbidden from saying “Carbs” for the rest of camp by my staff. But at least two of them said they didn’t recognize me on the first day because I was too thin.

Summer Camp: Texas A&M Day 1

The first day of camp is always the hardest. It started with my photo editor not showing up, but she had given me a little preview that she would not show earlier. So, then we got started a little late. There was a lot of traffic today because the camp is on a weekend in the summer and not during the week like it used to be, but we made it.

The camp is much more compact this year and it seems to be well organized. They kicked off the opening with the Texas Aggie yell leaders – inside this year and not at Kyle Field. While Kyle Field has a lot of ambiance, it is not air conditioned. Inside was better. I think the kids might “get” the yell leaders better if they showed a short video clip of the student body doing the yells at Kyle Field during a game. You just don’t understand the power of that tradition until you see it.

This group of editors is going to be a challenge. They like the marketing class they are in, but they are just not leaders. I really need to find a way to recruit for leadership. That is the hardest part for them to get.

The broadcast kids are off to a decent start and their group seems motivated. They are going to work with Final Cut Express – that Rox the Sox! I am excited about that.

I must have walked at least four miles today. I’m very tired and hope tomorrow goes smoothly.

THIS IS JOURNALISM!!!

I couldn’t resist a “300″ knockoff headline for this post. Since it is my 300th post. This blog started on April 14, 2007 and in only 15 1/2 months, I already have 300 posts and just shy of 25,000 hits. Wow! That is a lot more than I imagined I would have by now. But of course journalism is very interesting right now too! Both in good ways (technology, tools, talent) and in bad ways (ad revenue, layoffs, talent drain). It really is the best of times and the worst of times.

Today I spent my morning up at school helping the Robotics Team, Team Kaos 1429, get ready for their big kickoff. This year, the robotics kids want to have a “media team” to do their web site, multimedia and print media – plus PR for the team too. So, since the two main sponsors are engineers and don’t know much about the media – guess who was asked to help? I don’t mind, because they are good kids, with a great program. We need more programs like it at our school. And most of the kids on the media team are kids who have taken my classes already!

They needed a video and still camera to start getting pictures/video and so we went to my classroom – guess what? No charged batteries. Also the A/C hookups were in every sort of bad shape. So I grabbed some wire cutters, zip ties and power strips. The camera power situation is now much neater and safer.

And another quote from “300″ that seems appropriate for the state of journalism today. “Freedom isn’t free at all, that it comes with the highest of costs,” Queen Gorgo said.

We must remember that freedom of speech, press and expression are not free. We must defend the rights of everyone to express their opinions in the marketplace of ideas. We owe that to all those who have spilled blood defending that cause, to ourselves and to the future of the experiment in self government called America.

I look forward to writing the next 300 posts – and hopefully a lot more.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Tools…

This weekend I have to give a 50 minute presentation to a group of journalism teachers about being a wired journalist.  I wanted to have a resource I could send them in one location.  This is that page.

Web Tools

Browsers – Firefox, Safari

Audio Editors: Audacity,

Video Editors: Windows MovieMaker,

Online Photo Editors:  21 Editors via 10,000 Words,

Music/Video Players – iTunes, Quicktime Pro ($29.99), Perian (mac), Wimpy FLV player,

Online Tools – Plugin Checker, Flash Player, Java,

Web Page Design: NVU/Kompozer, Seamonkey,

Flash Video Capture: TubeTV (mac),

Screencasting:  Screencast-o-matic, Camtwist (mac),

Blogging

Blogs:  WordPress, Blogger,

Image Hosting: Flickr, Photobucket,

File Hosting: MediaFire,

Video Hosting:  YouTube, TeacherTube

Social Networking

Microblogging: Twitter,

Totally Social: Myspace, Facebook,

Professional Social Networks:  Wired Journalists, Classroom 2.0,

Shopping

Books:  Amazon.com, TeachJ Store, JEA bookstore,

Photo/Video: B&H Photo Video,

Just Journalism

Publication Writing/Editing/Organization:  Newsroom Director ($139/year), ASNE Online Newspaper ($50 one time fee),

Printing:  Newspapers (J&S Printing), Magazine (MagCloud), T-Shirts (CafePress), Photos (Printroom) $99/year,

Curriculum

Web Design:  Access IT (Univ. of Wash.),

Journalism Tools

Broadcasting:  HowJSay,

Journalism:  NewsU, Newsroom 101,

Visual Journalism:  Shortcourses,

Fonts Personified!

This video is funny if you are into type, and who isn’t?  LOL in Impact Bold.