Archive by Author
Posting photos to the web easy, necessary
Posted on 01. Sep, 2011 by Jim Streisel.
Tweet I have a new requirement on my staff this year: Everyone who submits a beat report needs to also submit a photo to accompany it. It’s easier to do than you think, especially with the prevalence of cheap digital cameras or, even better, camera phones (see the example in this post). Eye-trac studies support [...]
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What to do if your district won’t let you host your website yourself
Posted on 01. Apr, 2011 by Jim Streisel.
Tweet An adviser I taught at a recent multimedia workshop last year emailed me with a plea for help. Here’s what she wrote: “My district is making me shut our WordPress site down. Apparently our district policy states that we aren’t allowed to use sites outside of our own servers. (I didn’t know about this [...]
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Branding: Work to develop your ‘whole’ identity
Posted on 09. Mar, 2011 by Jim Streisel.
Tweet Think about your favorite products for a moment: Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Disney, Apple, Nike, Tide, Chevrolet…the list goes on. Now think about what images come to mind when you think about those names. On the surface, maybe you think about the products themselves—Nike shoes and cans of Coke, for example—but odds are also strong that [...]
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Use beat system to generate more online content
Posted on 15. Feb, 2011 by Jim Streisel.
Tweet A police officer walks a “beat” so he becomes familiar with a neighborhood and the people in it. Similarly, reporters have “beats” — areas of the school they cover throughout the year on a scheduled basis. The idea is the same; beat reporters become intimately familiar with a particular group, club or organization — [...]
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Online content: Who puts it there, who makes sure they do?
Posted on 08. Feb, 2011 by Jim Streisel.
Tweet It’s one thing to have a great-looking site, but with no content to populate it, no one will have a reason to come back to your site again and again. Making content generation a priority is key to your website’s success, but if it’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that to [...]
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Used responsibly, social networking sites provide excellent communication tools
Posted on 12. Jan, 2011 by Jim Streisel.
Tweet The numbers don’t lie. On Dec. 12, 2010, the HiLite Online garnered 258 views – a pretty average day for the site. On Dec. 13, however, that number spiked to 760 views. The reason? Snow, or rather, the fact that Carmel (IN) High School, which had already been out of school for a snow [...]
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Interior site organization creates easier user experience
Posted on 05. Jan, 2011 by Jim Streisel.
Tweet Since they began working on it in 1996, members of the Carmel (IN) High School HiLite Online student news website team have tweaked the site’s design in an attempt to create an easier experience for readers to find information they need and want. But so often those changes tended to be only to the [...]
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It’s time to enter the blogosphere
Posted on 22. Nov, 2010 by Jim Streisel.
Tweet Blogging isn’t as tough as it seems. In fact, it can be a great way to add personality to your site. Here are some tips to follow in this PowerPoint presentation. Download the Blogging 101 presentation here or view it below. Enter the blogosphere
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Got an iPhone? WordPress makes it easier to post video
Posted on 01. Oct, 2010 by Jim Streisel.
Tweet Now it’s getting even easier to post video to your WordPress site. Here’s a link to a MacLife article about WordPress for iOS v2.6. It’s a free app for your iPhone or video-equipped iPod Touch.
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