Improving Writing for Online Reporting

On Friday, January 27 I attended the Minnesota Newspaper Association annual convention. Gayle Golden from the University of Minnesota's School of Journalism and Mass Communication gave several helpful strategies and useful resources to improve writing for online audiences. Some of the more important pieces of advice:

• Develop a keyword strategy for all stories.
• Encourage experiments with data visualization using Google Fusion
• Engage readers through social media with two-way conversations

I thought Google Fusion sounded like a great resource for easy-to-make charts and graphs. I also learned about an electronic newsletter service called Mailchimp.

All in all, a great session with helpful, useful advice.

Read Out Loud

For years I have told my students they could improve their writing greatly if they would just read their work aloud before turning it in. I'm pretty sure almost none of them do it. This year I'll have more ammunition thanks to writing guru Ann Wylie's "Benefits of Reading Aloud." She states reading aloud reduces errors, makes your copy more conversational, makes your copy sound better, and cuts through the clutter. She also provides excellent examples or quotes from authors for each. Thanks, Ann! Let's hope my students take heed!

Motivation

 

In doing some research on academic excellence, I came across an article summarizing the main traits college students need in order to do well. Of course IQ is important, but another trait that determines whether a college student will succeed academically is intellectual curiosity. An article in the journal of Psychological Science reports that "a 'hungry mind' is a core determinant of individual differences in academic achievement." The authors of the research project suggest universities should encourage more curiosity in their students.

The problem, of course, is that it's difficult to force someone to want to learn. It's mostly an inherent trait. I think the best thing I can do as an educator is explain the purpose for each learning unit and use teaching methods students relate to that encourage questions and discussion. After that, it's up to each individual student to get out of their education what they put into it.