Welcome to newsroom technology training!
This page and the one featuring SLA (Special Library Association / News Division) materials contain various tip sheets I use at national conferences/seminars like IRE/NICAR (Investigative Reporters and Editors/National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting), Poynter, SLA and in the newsroom at the St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, Florida USA.
I also use them in my newsroom technology training consulting business.
Many of these tip sheets are considered classics by fellow newsroom technology trainers who attend the annual computer-assisted reporting conferences sponsored by IRE/NICAR. All are FREE. Use them "as is" or as inspiration to create your own. And, if you like, when you write your own ... please share! I encourage you to contribute to our spirit of giving either here or through one of the fine newsroom training organizations I list at the bottom of this page.
Don't be shy. Contact me and I'll be happy to introduce you around! -- I'm Debbie Wolfe, technology training editor, St. Petersburg Times dpwolfe@yahoo.com
Oh, if you find an error or a point that's not as clear as it could be in any tip sheet listed on this page, let me know and I'll get it corrected.
It's easy to find various versions of many of the following tip sheets in treasure troves throughout the Web. But, since you've come to the personal Web site of the author of all but two of the tip sheets listed below (I regularly update the original classic written by Jennifer Small-Evert ... "Downloading data from the Web into Excel" ... with her permission), know you are moments away from seeing the most updated versions available!
FYI. Since I'm a one-person operation, this page is light on design but strong on content. That's my excuse for now and I'm stickin' to it -- enjoy!
* The technology learning pyramid -- use this to chart your own learning path or to envision an entire program for your newsroom. Create an action plan and get going!
* If you prefer self-help when it comes to technology training then this tip sheet is for you. From the forest of computer books available in bookstores in your hometown and through the Web, learn which series is best for journalists. Your news library should have several of these titles on hand for ready reference.
* CAR questions reporters/news artists/news researchers should ask themselves before turning their story or graphic into an editor. This same list should be used by editors to start a conversation about copy/graphics based in whole or in part on technology. Short version: CAR questions for all.
* CAR questions for editors, producers, research and art directors. If you edit a story/graphic based in whole or in part on technology and don't have answers to these questions, it's time to stop and think about what you're about to use and how you edit. Detailed version.
* Don't miss the handout authored by Stephen Miller of The New York Times: "MIDIS" -- Evaluating what you find on the Web.
* I challenge -- and help -- you to measure where folks in your newsroom stand now when it comes to technology skills and knowledge and where they want to be one year from now regarding their abilities by using this detailed technology questionnaire as a model! This illustrated and detail-packed, 4-page tip sheet teaches you in plain English how to make one of your own on the cheap with a minimum of knowledge about formal Social Science research methods: Detailed Newsroom Technology Training Questionnaire "how-to"* Excel checklist -- Use this classic as a personal learning path or as a lesson plan for a class you will teach.
* Evaluating the effectiveness of a course/session -- Getting meaningful results is easy if you know how.
* Application for an in-house, multi-day technology training camp: A model to create your own. Augment any out-of-town training for your staff with sessions based in your local newsroom utilizing the same people who will do the project coaching from beginning to end and the equipment/technology available in your newsroom/corporation. Reporting with technology is more than just learning the technology in a foreign classroom or lab or conference setting, it's also about building local relationships that work as a team in a deadline environment.
* Backgrounding any beat -- Use this classic to start anew or to refresh your existing coverage: This has been updated as an Acrobat Reader file with hot links.
* Web search engines comparison chart -- Use this "as is" or make one of your own! Just use more than one engine -- OK?! This classic is used in regional IRE/NICAR "Watchdog" seminars.
* Downloading data from the Web into Excel -- This is a "how-to" for intermediate folks.
* 50 story ideas -- A timeless classic compiled by an IRE member. The content is based on the "round-up" presented at each conference. I don't update this on purpose because good story ideas never go out of style.
* Math for Journalists is a FREE course available through Poynter's NewsU online university. Use it to refresh your skills and knowledge or to acquire new tools like when you want to use a double-check technique. Examples illustrate how to use numeracy in news reports while drills and games will challenge you to make routine math more routine (www.newsu.org/courses/course_detail.aspx?id=nu_math05)
Registration for NewsU is also free and only takes a few moments. Take my Math for Journalists course for a spin or dip into a topic or two, then drop me a note to let me know what you think. I periodically revise and expand the course material with the help of NewsU's Flash guru and Interactive Learning Producer Casey Frechette.
If you are a newsroom trainer or university teacher, my tip sheet on creating your own math class for journalists will guide you toward creating live training to supplement the online course.
Below are my famous math "toolbox" cards in hyperlinked, Acrobat Reader format:
| math card 1 | 2 classic percent questions |
| math card 2 | percent |
| math card 3 | order of operations |
| math card 4 | terminology |
| math card 5 | reducing fractions |
* So, you want to be a trainer? Learn how to create a technology class and/or tip sheet that will be remembered! See the "tech train recipe" how-to.
* Sample courses offered at the St. Petersburg Times for News
* ArcExplorer 2 "how-to" -- A read-only application for ArcView maps.
In addition to oodles of FREE training materials at canyonwolfephoto.com, here's where to find additional archives, online courses or low-cost CDs that will help you toward your goal of refining your craft: