In a few weeks, some of the top high school journalists in the country will convene in Minneapolis for the National Scholastic Press Association summer workshop — “Storytelling: The Complete Package.” With a focus on new media and multimedia storytelling, this year’s workshop will teach students crucial skills in the changing journalism landscape.
Curious about what that means? Here are some skills students picked up last year, in their own words.
Students had the opportunity to cover Aquatennial, a summer celebration of Minneapolis. They flooded Twitter with information, using eye-catching photos, relevant hashtags and straightforward captions.
Congratulations to newly crowned 2016 Queen of the Lakes, Maricia Pacheco! #Aquatennial #nspa #nspasummer pic.twitter.com/jyWNXBUiIr
— Southwest Yearbook (@bvswyearbook) July 25, 2015
Photoshop skills might not be used in traditional news coverage, but it’s an excellent way to add a striking visual element.
Great night to be in Minneapolis. #nspasummer #Aquatennial #nspa pic.twitter.com/2N5HMSLz08
— Leah Joseph (@leahbeah73) July 26, 2015
Beyond artistic editing, students learned how to transform a profile.
Look at these before and after shots! We're learning a ton about photoshop at #nspasummer @NSPA pic.twitter.com/eyNutTOOrK
— WAHISCAN (@wahiscan) July 25, 2015
Student editors were given the responsibility of coordinating a team — but they had advisors to lean on, too.
Editorial leaders and advisers meet about their respective roles. Great advice! #nspasummer pic.twitter.com/EIlX9sJeZF
— Lori Keekley (@LKeekley) July 24, 2015
And, of course, leadership doesn’t have to be all work.
"We're learning leadership" says #ham at #nspasummer. Or volleyball. I'm not sure. pic.twitter.com/Kfh41zAvG5
— Sarah Cavanah (@SarahCavanah) July 24, 2015
With just the weekend to create comprehensive event coverage, students got straight to work …
#nspasummer staff are putting together the first of our @Aquatennial coverage. pic.twitter.com/6UguEEeJik
— NSPA (@NSPA) July 25, 2015
… and made sure to get plenty of rest to stay energized.
@StillwaterPE hard at work at #nspasummer @NSPA pic.twitter.com/qMM0i3wg48
— Lauren Feller (@FellerLauren) July 25, 2015
Teacher: "Is Facebook dead to you?" High school students: "Yeesssssss." #NSPASummer
— Chelsea Reynolds (@ChelseaJulian) July 24, 2015
Without Facebook as the go-to network, students brainstormed other ways to tell stories through social media.
This #nspasummer workshop take a shot at posting new content to these different platforms for your publications! pic.twitter.com/Grq4NBXUt3
— NSPA (@NSPA) July 24, 2015
To see how they put all this knowledge to work, check out the students’ final project — we think it’s pretty impressive. And if you can’t wait to learn even more this summer, sign up for the convention here.
The workshop will be held July 28-31 in Minneapolis. Students will be grouped into teams of reporters, editors, photographers and designers, and will create a complete story package that will be published by a Twin Cities media outlet.