 |
 |
       |
|
|
|
| |
|
SNN is starting the school year with a new look and a new attitude. The August 1998 issue marks the debut of the multi-media version of SNN. The SchoolNet News Network is a national online journalism project, developed by STEM~Net and sponsored by Canada's SchoolNet. Since 1996, SNN -- and its French counterpart Rédaction de Rescol -- has been giving students a chance to share their ideas with an unlimited audience via the Internet. SNN teaches students how the media works, gets them writing in a journalistic style and lets them publish their work in an emerging media form. The Internet is the only form of publishing that allows a journalist to incorporate everything from text and graphics to sound and moviing pictures, as long as they have the right accessories. This year, SNN journalists have unlimited options. The web page was re-designed over the summer to add sound bites and video clips. Now, student journalists can write a story for SNN, take photos to go with it, interview people on audio tape or video tape events. A new edition of SNN is published each month on the Web. But the site is continually updated as new stories, photos, video and audio segments come in from reporters across the country. The media has changed dramatically over the last century, moving from newsprint to teletype to radio and television, and finally, the Internet. Today, the Internet gives people immediate access to news from their home town and around the world. And journalists are changing the way they work to keep pace with fast-moving technology. SNN offers young people a chance to get in on the ground floor of the fastest-moving development in journalism history. And you're invited to sign on...
Beth Ryan
August 20, 1998 |
| |
|
What is SNN? SNN -- along with its French counterpart, Rédaction de Rescol -- is a national online journalism program for all Kindergarten to Grade 12 students in Canada. It is published on the World Wide Web once a month and updated whenever new stories are sent in. What can we write about? You can write about whatever interests you -- current events, breaking news, sports, arts and entertainment, social issues, hobbies, education, technology or lifestyles. Your story can have a local, provincial, national, or even international angle. The story can take various forms -- a news article that quotes different people, a feature that takes an in-depth look at a person, place or thing, a review of a book, a movie or a c-d, a story on a sports event or personality, or a column that expresses your point of view. If you're looking for ideas, check out SNN's Assignment Desk. The story ideas list is constantly updated and reporters can identify what story they're working on for an upcoming issue of SNN. If you'd like to work on a story with other reporters from across Canada, send a message to the Coordinator. How long can the Stories
be? Most stories for SNN should run from 200 to 800 words. Feature stories can be a little longer. What equipment do I need to take part in SNN? That depends on what you want to do. In order to look at the SNN page and read the stories and section, you'll need access to the Internet and the World Wide Web. You may also want to use the Web to do research for your stories. It would be helpful for you to have e-mail if you want to send stories, photos and graphics to SNN - - but it's not absolutely necessary. See section: How can I send my stories to SNN? If you want to record video for SNN, you will need a camcorder. If you want to record sound and voices, you will a digital audio tape recorder or a high-quality cassette tape recorder. How do I use sounds and pictures in my story? Photos or graphics add a lot to a story -- they help bring the people and places in your story to life for your readers. See the section on Sound and Pictures for some details on how to take good photos for publication.
How can I send my Stories to SNN? If you have access to a computer and an e-mail account, you can send your stories to: snn@calvin.stemnet.nf.ca Stories should be saved in an IBM word processing format -- please indicate what word processing program you used. Please don't encode your stories (a process used to keep others from reading the contents of your message as it is sent through the Internet). You can send photos by scanning them and sending them as an email. If your school does not have access to a scanner, you can send them to SchoolNet News through the mail and we'll scan the images, and send them back to you. Graphics may be e-mailed with the stories and they can be in whatever format you wish. Or you can send them by mail in printed form or on disk. Video clips can be sent in MPEG, Video for Windows (.avi), or QuickTime (.mov) format. Audio clips should be sent in WAV or Sun Audio (.au) format. If you don't have easy access to e-mail, you can fax your story to (709)737-2179 or send it by Canada Post. Our mailing address is: SchoolNet News
Check out the SNN Schedule for deadlines and publishing dates. |
| |
|
The SchoolNet News Coordinator is Beth Ryan, a journalist with more than ten years experience in daily newspapers and broadcasting. Beth selects and edits the stories that appear in each issue of SNN and coordinates the SNN Mentorship Program and the SNN in the Classroom program. Brian Lake is SNN's webmaster. He designed the new SNN website and updates each issue with new stories. You can contact Brian with your technical questions about SNN. If you are a teacher who wants to use SNN as a teaching tool, take a look at the SNN in the Classroom section. We welcome any comments or questions about the program and we invite you to suggest new ways to use SNN in the schools. If you are a student who wants to get involved in SNN, we welcome your ideas and stories. You are also invited to get one-on-one advice from professional journalists through the SNN Mentorship Program. You can reach the SNN staff via email: snn@calvin.stemnet.nf.ca Or you can call or fax: Tel: 709-737-2611 The mailing address for SNN is: SchoolNet News Network |
| |
|
Each issue of SNN is published on the World Wide Web on the third Friday of every month. The actual date may change slightly in some months to accommodate school holidays or special issues. Any changes to the schedule will posted here. If a reporter sends in a story after an issue of SNN has been published, the coordinator will either hold it for the next issue or add it to the current issue. Newsy items or stories that will quickly go out of date will be published immediately. Photos and written material for each issue should be at the SNN office by Wednesday on the publishing week (ie. two days before) to allow time for editing. Stories featuring video and audio should be in by Monday (four days in advance) to allow for editing and to deal with any technical problems. SNN's French counterpart, Rédaction de Rescol, has its own publishing schedule. See the RDR page for details.
Publishing dates for SNN — Fall 1998 August 21 |
| |
|
Every issue of SNN is filled with all kinds of articles. There are stories that let us know what's going on, what students are saying, what's new and interesting, what's making news. If you take a look at some earlier editions of SNN, you'll see what some of our student journalists have written already. This year at SNN, we're coming up with new story ideas and new ways to tell those stories. We're encouraging writers to try a different approach. If you enjoy writing about music, what about doing a news story? If you've always been interested in writing columns, why not try an interview with a local personality? If sports has always been your game, how about a review of a new c-d? Story Ideas To come up with ideas for stories, be sure to look and listen. Read everything you can. Listen to gossip and other people's conversations. Watch television and listen to the radio. Most importantly, just watch everything in your everyday life. Along the way, ask yourself a few questions: What's going on? Those questions will help you recognize a new development or trend in your peer group or in your community. They will help you narrow the focus of your story. And they'll help you as you try to do research and write your story. The SNN Assignment Desk is like a huge bulletin board. The coordinator will post ideas here for students across the country to work on. If you'd like to do any of these stories, just send an email to SNN. We'll put your name next to the story on the list. Someone else may be interested in working with you to create a cross-Canada look at an issue (see Cross-Canada reporting projects). Life after high school: Is university for everyone? Where can you go with a high school diploma these days? Are colleges and technical schools offering something that universities can't? What are the best careers for the class of 2000? Hi-tech teenagers: Recent reports from Statistics Canada tell us that young people are the first to embrace new technology. Many teenagers use computers at least several times a week and surf the Internet regularly. And many teens believe computers help improve their educational opportunities and have positive impacts on their lives. Do the students in your school share that view? Is computer technology widely available to young people? Teens behind the wheel: Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in teens aged 16-20 years. The two main risk factors include lack of driving experience and risk taking behavior. Some American states and Canadian provinces are looking at a graduated licensing system for young drivers — they believe teens need to gradually move from a controlled licence to one with full privileges. Should you be older? Will it reduce accidents? Is it fair? What's God got to do with it? Is religion important to young people these days? What happens if you're one of the few religious people in your group? Or if you are a non-believer in a religious community or school? Computers in the schools: Technology can help students learn but it cannot replace a great teacher's ability to inspire. That's what the president of a major computer company told a class of high school students recently. Is he right? Can technology offer anything to students if they don't have the right teachers to encourage them? What role does technology play in your school? Censorship and young people: What do the students at your school think about movie ratings, warnings on CD labels, acceptable use policies for the Internet — methods used to control or limit what young people see, read and hear? Is there a need to protect children and teens? When are you old enough to make your own decisions? Going under the knife: Should teenagers have the chance to correct what they see as physical imperfection? Should plastic surgery be as common as makeup, body piercing, and hair dye among teens? Or is there a difference between a nose job and a nose ring? One in then rhinoplasties — nose jobs — is now performed on a teen.
Cross-Canada reporting projects You'll see it every day in your local newspaper and in magazines like Macleans, Time, Rolling Stone and People. One journalist writes a story — with help from other journalists in different cities or towns. That system can work well for SNN too. A reporter in Alberta, for example, may want to write a story on violence among teenagers. She talks to people in her community — young people, teachers, police officers. Meanwhile, a reporter in Nova Scotia interviews some students at his school and another reporter — this one in Ontario — checks with a specialist on youth gangs in Toronto. The Alberta reporter writes a story with information from three provinces — and all three reporters put their names on the story. Are you interested in working on that kind of story? Do you have a story idea in mind? Do you want to hear from reporters in a particular place? Send an email to SNN — your suggestion will be posted here and any responses will be added as they come in. SNN will help the reporters connect through email and organize your story.
Exchanging ideas Sometimes the hardest part of being a journalist is coming up with new ideas for stories. That's why it's always interesting to hear what other journalists are doing. What are some of the hot topics at your school? In your community? What are students talking about? Send your ideas to SNN and we'll post them here for other students to read. |