2013 Advisers Institute
Prepare for the exciting reincarnation of JEA’s Advisers Institute, bringing journalism teachers from across the country together for a week of adviser-specific training and networking.
DATES
The 2013 JEA Advisers Institute runs Monday, July 8 – Thursday, July 11. Monday’s events include check-in from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., with exhibits running from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and an opening reception at 7:30 p.m. Instruction lasts until 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, with optional entertainment Wednesday evening. Instruction ends at noon on Thursday.
LOCATION
The Flamingo in Las Vegas is the official hotel of the Advisers Institute.
Room rates: $59/night or $79 for high-end Flamingo “GO” Rooms (rates are available if you book by June 7, 2013).
To reserve rooms call 888-902-9929 or visit the hotel’s website.
REGISTRATION
Rates for registration are:
- JEA member: $140 if received by May 31, $155 if received June 1 or later
- Nonmember: $155 if received by May 31, $175 if received June 1 or later
Registration fees cannot be refunded, but JEA will allow registrations to be transferred to other individuals. Click here to register online.
TRANSPORTATION
For attendees flying in, McCarran Airport serves all major airlines. A taxi is generally the best way to get to the hotel, and fare with tip generally costs about $20. ExecuCar service from SuperShuttle is also available from McCarran Airport, and attendees can save 10 percent using the JEA group discount code KVUNV.
CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS
Kansas State University has approved the Advisers Institute for 12.5 contact hours of continuing education (1.25 CEUs). Participants who wish to receive a certificate of CE from K-State should indicate their interest at the time of registration and include an additional $25 (subject to change) with their registration fee. Participants will be required to sign in daily as verification of attendance. Certificates will be available at the end of the institute. A record of your K-State CE hours will remain on record at Kansas State University. You may call 785-532-5569 for a record of your K-State CE activity.
Awarding credit for continuing education activities varies from profession to profession and state to state. Attending this institute will allow you to receive Kansas State University continuing education hours. It remains your responsibility to verify with your governing agency if these CE hours will be accepted.
VENDORS
Businesses looking to showcase their products or services at the Advisers Institute should contact JEA headquarters at jea@spub.ksu.edu.
SCHEDULE
This is not a complete list, but as we formalize sessions for the 2013 conference, they are added here. For reference you can also look back at a copy of the 2012 Advisers Institute schedule.
Broadcast equipment: What do I need?
What should I buy? What is the bare minimum? How much money should I ask for? From the bare essentials to more a comprehensive long-term equipment plan, we will discuss the options you and your students need to simply and effectively have the right equipment to add video stories to your publications. — Don Goble, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, St. Louis, Mo.
Work smarter, not harder
Bring your anxieties, philosophies and copies of your gradebook or grading practices to examine what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and how to minimize stress and maximize your energy. — Sandra Coyer, MJE, Puyallup (Wash.) High School
It finally happened, parts 1 & 2
After 11 years, our system went kaboom. Or rather, fizzled. So we tried something new, putting club beat reports, local restaurant reviews, and pep assembly photos on Twitter and FB — saving our ambitious, thematic, long-form journalism for the print publication. Everyone in class managed and produced social media, and everyone in class wrote 5,000 word first drafts. Supposedly. I liked the idea: up-to-the-minute sports updates and full-caption albums mixed with Big Dream Drafts. The Big Dream Drafts would combine immersion journalism, social experiments, school-wide surveys, descriptive writing, and more. Come to either or both sessions and find out how an ordinary staff fared. Part 1: Social Media Managing. Part 2: Long-form Journalism. Break in between, of course. — Derek Smith, Renton (Wash.) High School
JEA certification test study session and JEA certification testing
National certification from the Journalism Education Association is an effective way for you to demonstrate your knowledge in journalism and media advising. We want you to be able to speak to multiple aspects of this career, including journalistic writing and editing, graphics and design, legal and ethical considerations and more. Testing for both certified journalism educator (CJE) and master journalism educator (MJE) status will take place at the Advisers Institute, with an optional study session immediately preceding. Deadline to apply for certification in order to sit for the Advisers Institute exam is June 7. — Learn more about certification from JEA
Managing the digital workflow online
Just as you begin to feel comfortable and organized with the print media, the digital revolution comes in throws everything out of whack. This session will help you pick up the pieces of your broken workflow and turn into something that is bigger, better and hopefully more efficient. — Aaron Manfull, MJE, Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles, Mo.
Brand it!
A logo … a mission … an organization … your media brand. Use it to create your program’s identity. Use it to promote your program to its student audience and to the community. Use it to pool and expand your resources. Use it to recruit new journalists to your program. Branding your program makes so much sense. Check out how CNHS Media became reality and continues to define the four media, 250+ students and three media advisers who converge to meet the needs of students. — Kim Green, MJE, Columbus (Ind.) North High School
Teaching feature writing
You’ll be surprised at the number of forms feature writing takes, and if you know how to teach students to use them, your editors will have so much material that being published won’t be a given, but a competition. Learn to develop feature writing lessons that will challenge your writers to exceed their own expectations as well as yours. — Lizabeth Walsh, MJE, Reno (Nev.) High School
Teaching short writing
Blaise Pascal once wrote, “I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.” Need help developing young writers who create strong, concise pieces? Review a variety of short writing forms as well as learn how to present a series of lessons you can use to improve their ability to think in terms of “How to write short.” — Lizabeth Walsh, MJE, Reno (Nev.) High School
Teaching revision
Good writers write; great writers revise. Get a step-by-step process for revising writing of all types that will help your students move from good to great. — Lizabeth Walsh, Reno (Nev.) High School
Taking the online leap
Has your staff brought up the idea of taking your print paper online but it makes you nervous? Are you excited to jump into the world of online news but your administration is hesitant? Concerned you don’t know anything about online publishing? Moving your high school paper online can be the best decision your staff makes, but it often comes with uncertainties and doubts. Come and learn what you need to know to get your site and staff running effectively while you convince your administration to work with you. We will also discuss easy ways to take your new site to the next level. You will be able to address your concerns so you can return in the fall ready to take that leap. — Danielle Ryan, CJE, Carlsbad (Calif.) High School
Blended is best
Five years ago, we moved from a traditional sectioned yearbook to one with blended coverage. And we’re never going back. Come see how this approach improves coverage, keeps the deadline train moving and leads to a book that lives up to the mantra of content drives design. — Joe Humphrey, MJE, Hillsborough High School, Tampa, Fla.
Developing thoughtful designers
A few years ago, I realized that while my students were capable of producing pretty design, they were lacking in what I called smart design. That’s when I reworked our team planning meetings to give them the strategies to be smarter designers. We’ll go through the process together so that you can see that it really works, then I’ll share a few of my favorite design lessons and ask you all to share yours. — Michelle Balmeo, CJE, Monta Vista High School, Cupertino, Calif.
The nature of color
Learn the fundamentals of color and color-harmony and its application to outstanding photography and yearbook design. Each attendee will receive a color kit and Powerpoint presentation. — Fred Perrin, Friesens.
Simple and easy ways to incorporate video into ALL of your school publications
You know you should be incorporating video into your journalism programs, but you’re terrified of doing so. This is a common and valid fear. In this session, we will work on disposing of those fears and discuss real, tangible ways to simply and easily incorporate video stories into all of your school publications through the production of short news packages or mobile video journalism. — Don Goble, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, St. Louis, Mo.
What works, what doesn’t and what might
This session is designed to help yearbook advisers make the job easier and the publication better. Topics include staff structure and management, technology tools and coverage strategies for taking each aspect to the next level. — Sarah Nichols, MJE, Whitney High School, Rocklin, Calif.
Online storytelling
Opportunities abound for telling stories online. While there are many lateral movements from the print to online realm, the web medium offers countless ways to tell readers stories multi-dimensionally and in the way they were meant to be told. This session will explore many of those options and even show you how to use a few. — Aaron Manfull, MJE, Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles, Mo.
The myth of the magical teacher
“Myths tower above the world of teaching like giant, fire-breathing dragons,” William Ayers writes in the introduction to To Teach: The Journey. You know the story of the most prominent myth already: New teacher gives entire life to teaching, makes great and lasting changes, and quits. How does this story affect our profession — and us? How is the story changing now? This session will explore the myth of the magical teacher in books, television, and films, 1960-present. — Derek Smith, Renton (Wash.) High School
Advanced broadcast journalism techniques — videography and sound design
You have added video to your publications and now you’re ready to advance your students’ skills. In this session, you will learn some of the techniques — camera angles, lighting, framing, etc. — that the professionals use when shooting video and proper audio techniques — microphones, natural sound, etc. — for recording sound. — Don Goble, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, St. Louis, Mo.
How standards-based grading can make you a better adviser
Is your district implementing standards-based assessment? Are you wondering how to make it work for a media production class? One adviser takes you down her road to becoming not only a better teacher but a better adviser. — Sandra Coyer, MJE, Puyallup (Wash.) High School
Yes, and …
The skills and principles in improvisational comedy can help us create better student-leaders in our classrooms and also can help us be better advisers, too. — Mark Newton, MJE, Mountain Vista High School, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Journalism and the Common Core
You and I know that journalism classes cannot be topped in their ability to teach real-world skills, but administrators do not always see the big picture. This class will address the current educational trends of 21st Century Learning and Common Core Curriculum in a way that will help you develop your curriculum to reflect those trends as well as show your administrators the extraordinary skills your students are learning. — Sara Sausker, Jostens
IgniteTalk
Ignite talks give participants five minutes to speak about their inspirational ideas and personal or professional passions, accompanied by only 20 slides with minimal or no text. Don Goble from Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis, Mo., will share with you his IgniteTalk, about how supporting the journalism passion for one of his young students, turned into a full-ride scholarship. And you don’t want to miss the twist at the end of this story. — Don Goble, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, St. Louis, Mo.
True colors
On your staffs, most of your kids can articulate what they do. Some can state how they do it. But the key to your kids reaching their potential and their publication truly serving its audience, everyone — from your staff to your administration to your faculty to your student audience — needs to know why they do what they do. This session will provide tools to help advisers create a culture of credibility and commitment that students will carry with them beyond their years on a student media staff.— Kim Green, MJE, Columbus (Ind.) North High School
Do it all: the comprehensive journalism program
Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo., has combined its news magazine, yearbook and broadcast media into a blended program, VISTAj. This session will explore the why and how of the comprehensive journalism program. — Mark Newton, MJE, Mountain Vista High School, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Drop the fear
In order to allow our students to be the best they can be and ourselves to be the best we can be, we need to drop the fear. — Aaron Manfull, MJE, Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles, Mo.
Photo packaging in the 21st century
As if you don’t have enough to worry about, here’s one more item to add to your list. However, in today’s design world, it’s now most important. This session will introduce you to several tangible design tools and techniques you can teach your students to bring photo-packaging skills at your school into the 21st century. That in turn will give your publication the contemporary look your audience deserves. — Pete LeBlanc, Antelope (Calif.) High School
Social media: the point of the click
It’s true, most high school journalism programs have a few years’ worth of social media experience. The challenge is measuring the success. This session will address questions about the point of social media, open a discussion on a few variables beyond our control and share best practices for studying analytics, knowing what’s best to post — and how, when — as well as offer some management strategies and measurement tools for advisers. — Sarah Nichols, MJE, Whitney High School, Rocklin, Calif.
Ethical decision making
As a younger adviser, I concerned myself a lot with what I thought were the essentials: learning software, teaching writing tips and tricks, planning team building activities. While those are all important aspects of advising, they don’t hit the heart of the matter: doing the right thing at the right time all (well, most) of the time. Decision-making is at the core of journalism, and we rarely teach it until we’re in the heat of controversy. We now use the Potter Box as a tool to make ethical decisions, and I explicitly teach it to my students practicing with real ethical dilemmas from our past. I’ll go over what it is and how we use it, giving you a chance to practice with real examples. — Michelle Balmeo, CJE, Monta Vista High School, Cupertino, Calif.
Top secret: Friesens WOW UV Cover f/x
We can’t tell you. You’ll have to see it to believe it. — Fred Perrin, Friesens.