NIPA Conference: Blogging session.
written by Julie R. Neidlinger 1 comments link this postFor those who attended the Blogging session at the NIPA conference, I have a post with links to additional resources and the handout from the session. You can find all of that, plus respond in the comments section, here.
As always, if you have any further comments, questions or things to share, you may also email me directly. I enjoyed the sessiona and the discussion.
Labels: teach
Copyright (c) Julie R. Neidlinger 9/29/2008 12:05:00 PM
Citizen Journalism at UND.
written by Julie R. Neidlinger 3 comments link this postMy first reaction, when I was contacted to speak at the Northern Interscholastic Press Association (NIPA) conference at UND in September, was that I wasn't qualified.
Why are they asking me? I wondered, and even emailed back to make sure there wasn't a mistake in the request. I rather function on an assumption that I'm not qualified for anything, which is a ridiculous thing. I have qualifications and experience in lots of areas. In this particular area, I've worked as a reporter for three years and as a blogger since 2002. I've done a little writing here and there, some freelance articles that have been published and other such things.
As it is, I am quite excited about it. Bizarrely, despite being almost paralyzed with shyness...I don't mind getting up in front of people to talk about a subject I know about, such as art or blogging. Which is perfect, because...
...the topic I will be speaking on is blogging, with the idea of looking at it as citizen journalism. The title of the session is "Blogging as Citizen Journalism: Finding your voice, your stories, and your audience."
Essentially, I will talk about blogging in basic concepts (albeit in a limited and introductory way due to the amount of time allowed for the session), covering how the internet has changed the way we both receive and relate news as far as the idea of the citizen-as-journalist is concerned. We'll talk about what it takes to have a successful, serious blog for someone looking to polish and put their writing out there as well as the challenges that such a blog brings. Discussion on content (amount and "freshness"), connecting with an audience, copy-and-paste blogging traps, writing with a true voice, and reliability for a growing readership will be part of the session. At the end, I'm thinking of having a short blogging exercise for the students which, if they would like, can be incorporated into an actual blog. I will also have lots of opportunity for comments/questions during the session; it'll be mainly a back-and-forth discussion.
Being a blogger, I will also be incorporating the material I cover (and likely, the material I am unable to cover because of time limits) on my own blog, as well as any documents, Q&A that come up, etc. I want to show the students, in this way, how what we talk about gets put into the kind of action that we just discussed.
So, stay tuned in September and expect to read about this event as well as see some of these things added to the various blogs here at Lone Prairie. It will be a great learning experience for me, too, talking to these students and hearing their thoughts on the subject.
Copyright (c) Julie R. Neidlinger 8/07/2008 07:48:00 PM
In need of a teacher.
written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post
If you're looking for someone to teach a class for an after-school program, a special group meeting, community education, or artist-in-residence type classes, I can help.
Teaching is something I've done quite a bit of, whether it is teaching art to all ages or talking about writing and design. I am comfortable teaching students of all ages, though some of the classes listed below have limitations as to the kind of student that would be interested. I have taught adults and kindergarteners, one-session classes and classes that stretched over a month. I have taught after school, in the school, and in the evenings.
Most classes below are flexible in both the depth and scope as well as time. I will work with you make the class fit your group or schedule. Teaching fees available upon request on a case-by-case basis.
Possible art classes:
- Denatured books
- Collage art
- Acrylic techniques
- Powdered graphite drawings (an additive and subtractive method)
- Book-making
- Natural paper-making (using actual plants found locally)
- Making a living as an artist (tips, suggestions, discussion, real-life scenarios, copyrights, warnings, ideas, hypotheticals, etc.)
- Introduction to art history, various periods
- Show connection between movies, popular culture and art history
- Introduction to architecture through art history
- Writing out of the box: an evening or set of classes filled with fun writing prompts and activities that help people write differently than they have before.
- Guerilla writing: an evening or set of classes with challenging writing exercises and timed projects that do not allow students to fall back in their comfort zone but instead, force them to not worry about creating "good" writing and just write.
- Visual writing: using visual prompts and unique exercises to promote creative writing
- Writing for the world: How to write for the internet, whether on a blog or website
- Introduction to what blogging is
- The history of blogging and "famous" moments in blog history (Fisk, Frisch, etc.)
- Introduction to various blogging formats
- Learn what to do and what not to do when writing for a world audience on your blog
- The different kinds of blogs (political, personal, etc.)
- How to set up a blog for little to no cost
- The unwritten rules of the blogosphere (linking, permalinks, comments, hat tips, quoting, etc.)
- The terms of the blogosphere (fisking, jumping the shark, sock puppet, etc.)
- What not to do
- Discussion on theories or problems in blogging (comment policies, responsibility for what is published on your blog, spam, plagiarism, blogging from or about the workplace, etc.)
- Introduction to the basics (domain names, hosts, servers, nameservers, fair pricing, etc.)
- Design software and methods
- Web sites that offer useful services for free or low cost (automatic design or templates, photo storage, forums, guestbooks, etc.)
- What your web site should have (for artists, for writers, for businesses, for personal sites, etc.)
- What to watch out for and keep in mind
- How to keep your web site from growing stagnant
- How to attract search engines
- Discussion on the value of good design and easy navigation
- What to know about ecommerce and the options available (PayPal, merchant accounts, shopping carts, other services)
- Newsletter design, both print and electronic.
- Web site basics
- Web site promotions (keep customers coming to your website)
- Logo design do's and don'ts
- Unusual marketing ideas
- Advertisement creation, do's and don'ts
- Creating a buzz to draw customers
- Tips on tying all design and professional look together (cohesiveness between web site, newsletter, brochures, product tags, forms, business cards, ads, etc.) to create "your look"
- What you need and what you don't (based on what kind of business)
- Finding affordable ways to print business cards, brochures, etc.
In the meantime? There's plenty of online instruction right here, for free. With downloads. Check it out.
Copyright (c) Julie R. Neidlinger 3/29/2008 07:05:00 PM
