1-5 p.m. Limit 40.

Take your design skills to the next level with this seminar that will show you how to use the power of InDesign to streamline your publication production. 

Bradley Wilson, MJE, Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas, will cover libraries, styles and other InDesign tricks. 

Some laptops will be available for participants; however, if you bring your own laptop please have Adobe InDesign CS6 or later installed. Two students may share one laptop.

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Limit 60.

In this hands-on workshop, beginning and intermediate students will learn the fundamentals of creating an effective news package from the ground up. 

Led by Academy of Scholastic Broadcasting instructor Dave Davis and Jan Sobbe, broadcast teacher at Staley High School, Kansas City, Missouri, this workshop includes videography, sound recording, editing and story structure. Working in small teams, participants will spend the morning developing their videography skills and planning a story, and the afternoon shooting and editing that story. 

Participants must bring their own video cameras, tripods, microphones and laptops with editing software. Please test and become familiar with your equipment before attending the session, as the presenters may not be familiar with your specific hardware/software.

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Limit 75.

Designed for photographers who have at least one year’s experience shooting for their publications, this intensive workshop will cover composition, lighting, cropping and camera technique. 

Led by Mike Simons, adviser at Corning-Painted Post High School, New York; Jed Palmer, adviser at Ranch View Middle School, Highlands Ranch, Colorado; and Clint Smith, adviser at Texas High School, Texarkana, Texas, participants will receive instruction and be given a photo assignment.

Following the photo shoot, the instructors will critique students’ work and offer editing tips and techniques. 

Participants must bring a digital camera, and they are encouraged to bring a laptop computer with the photo-editing program (Photoshop, Lightroom) they will use. 

An off-site permission form is required for each student attending this workshop.

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Limit 40.

Your publication is up and running. Now it’s time to refine your leadership skills and put into practice the best methods for growing staffers, mediating conflict, and creating a culture of excellence. 

In this workshop led by Spencer O’Daniel, associate director of student media at Texas A&M University, participants will explore leadership styles and strategies, feedback protocols, motivating staffers, and managing workflow.

You will leave this class with the tools you need to create communication pathways, an understanding of who you are as a leader and how that interacts with others’ styles, and strategies to grow your staff with positive and productive feedback.

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Limit 40.

During this intensive, hands-on, one-day design seminar led by Sarah Nichols, MJE, adviser at Whitney High School, Rocklin, California, students will learn and practice concepts for print publications. 

Suitable for yearbook, newspaper and newsmagazine staff members and their advisers, the workshop will cover typography, space, color, photo packaging and application of current design trends. Beginners will learn how to apply principles of design and create pages, spreads or packages while advanced students will have the opportunity to redesign work in progress or experiment with more complex concepts. 

Throughout the workshop, students will have opportunities to interact, ask questions, find inspiration, apply feedback and gain ideas for improving design lessons and systems for their own staff back at school. 

Participants should bring a laptop with appropriate design software such as Adobe InDesign and will benefit from having a few current magazines or digital access to inspiration (idea files, mood boards, Pinterest, screenshots, etc), but this is not required.

1-5 p.m.. Limit 50.

This workshop covers an overview of censorship, libel, invasion of privacy, copyright, access to records and meetings and reporter’s privilege presented by Student Press Law Center’s resident legal experts.

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Limit 50.

Are you overwhelmed with the thought of managing a website, a social media presence, multimedia posts and even live coverage online? 

Led by Sarah Lerner, adviser at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Florida, this workshop will cover key online storytelling elements using some of the more popular social media sites like Twitter and Instagram. 

In addition, your team will work on an audio and video project for your website. Your team will leave with a plan for your online coverage and also have a chance to have its site critiqued. 

Students will learn to utilize Canva for Instagram and how to maximize their social media presence. All participants must bring either a laptop or tablet device. 

8:30 a.m. to noon. Limit 40.

Taught by Mark Murray, Santa Fe, New Mexico, participants will learn to use Adobe Photoshop. This workshop will emphasize a basic workflow for preparing photographs for publication. 

Some laptops will be available; however, participants may bring their own laptops with Adobe Photoshop CS6 or later installed. Two students may share one laptop. 

This session is open to both students and advisers.

8:30 a.m. to noon. Limit 45.

Join SNO Sites trainers Kyle Phillips, CJE, and Andrea Bell for an intensive morning workshop for students and advisers designed to help you learn and immediately put into practice methods to improve the design and functionality of your SNO website.

The workshop will focus primarily on site design and customization and will include instruction from the SNO experts, work time to practice what you learned and discussion opportunities to brainstorm and share with other participants. Workshop attendees should be familiar with the basics of site content creation (i.e. publishing a story, creating a staff profile, etc.), as these concepts will not be covered explicitly.

This session is limited to 15 total programs with three attendees per school. At least one participant from each school group should bring a laptop.

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Limit 50.

If you’re looking for ways to sharpen and brighten your writing so others will clamor to read it, this interactive workshop is for you. 

Led by Barb Tholen, MJE, adviser at Lawrence (Kansas) High School, this seminar will entertain and inspire as we analyze excellent writing and apply the pros’ techniques to your work. 

Whether you need to write a catchy headline or a 2,000-word feature, you’ll learn to improve every aspect of your writing as we discuss leads, voice, narrative style and literary devices to tighten and strengthen your writing.

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Limit 70.

Are you ready to get a jump start on planning your 2025 yearbook?

Join Annie Gorenstein Falkenberg, CJE, adviser at Longmont (Colorado) High School, and Carrie Faust, MJE, adviser at Smoky Hill High School, Aurora, Colorado, for a day of intensive planning and goal setting, leadership training, and theme development. Schools can send an individual student or groups of up to 10. 

Be ready to brainstorm and make decisions on everything from staff structure to color schemes. Make sure you have access to the files for your 2024 yearbook, school calendar, page counts, staff list, and any other planning tools. At the end of the day you will have built a foundation for your next book.