Tag Archives: K12 education

Areavoices Digest #35 – Okay, is it casserole or hotdish?

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I had to laugh earlier today when I noticed a thread on one of my Facebook friend’s pages. She had taken a picture of a Tator Tot Hotdish she had made. What followed was an hours-long discussion about the merits of Tator Tot Hotdish and how to make it even better (if that’s even possible.) We Midwesterners love our hotdish!

I remember moving to North Dakota as a kid from the Washington D.C. area. I had NO idea what my friends were talking about when they mentioned they were eating “hotdish” for dinner. What? Like you mean a warm bowl type thing? When I came to realize that “hotdish” meant “casserole” I was all set. And years later when I was introduced to Tator Tot Hotdish and found myself saying “yah, that’s real good, then” I knew I had truly been converted to a Midwesterner (an upper Midwesterner, anyway).

That’s why I was especially attracted to one of our recommended blogs of the day, “Becoming Midwestern.” Enjoy it and the other four blogs I suggest for this week.

Becoming Midwestern – http://becomingmidwestern.areavoices.com In this blog, a young woman celebrates her new life in the Midwest after a time living in Washington state and Virginia. She says “I’ll share my experiences in North Dakota and the Midwest (lutefisk excluded), and shed a little light on the glories that the Midwest has to offer. I’ll try to become truly Midwestern.” I think this is a really fun blog that makes a take a closer look at ourselves.

 
Lupulin Libations – http://lupulinlibations.areavoices.com
Nick Rondeau is a beer enthusiast from Hastings, Minnesota. In his blog he hopes to help people find the right beer for them or help them learn more about a beer they already enjoy. He says his motto is “If you claim to dislike beer, you haven’t tried the right one yet.”

Hubbard County Historical Museum – http://hubbardcountyhistoricalmuseum.areavoices.com
The Hubbard County Historical Museum is located in Park Rapids, Minnesota. Through their blog they hope to  provide cultural, educational and historical information about what they call the “rich cultural heritage” of the region. I really liked the look of this blog. This is a great example of how to do a museum blog.

 
Happy Green Life – http://happygreenlife.areavoices.com
When she was a little girl Laura Caroon picked up garbage in the park to do her part to help save the planet.  Now as an adult she continues to embrace the green living lifestyle. Her blog offers tips and advice on topics such as which recycled bag to choose or how to clean your reusable water bottles.
Lake Superior College News – http://lakesuperiorcollege.areavoices.com
News and happenings from Lake Superior College in Duluth, Minnesota. A nice looking blog with plenty of pictures of campus events and projects.

Areavoices Digest #30 – Let’s Talk Movies, Golf and More!

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After a couple of pretty heady news days, some Areavoices bloggers are looking to have a little fun. This week’s list of recommended blogs includes a couple of new movie review blogs as well as blogs about golf, running, politics and education.

Let’s Talk about Movies – http://film.areavoices.com – “Let’s Talk About Movies” is an Areavoices blog where community members can offer up reviews and opinions on film and engage one another in discussion. It’s a chance for film lovers who might not have the time to start their own blog to  participate and contribute their opinions.

 Cinema Bazaar – http://cinemabazaar.areavoices.com  “Cinema Bazaar” is a blog where you will find weekly movie recommendations for your viewing pleasure. These recommendations will vary from week to week and will feature anything from mainstream blockbusters, indie films, cult classics, midnight movies, and everything in between.
Rep Bruce Vogel – http://repbrucevogel.areavoices.com I’m so happy to see more politicians taking advantage of the Areavoices platform to talk to constituents. Representative Bruce Vogel represents District 13B in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Vogel is a Republican serving the Willmar area. 

 
 
Dakota County Technical College – http://dctc.areavoices.com This is a nice looking blog full of news and information about Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minnesota. They’ve only been blogging a short time, but they’re doing a great job.
 

18 Holes with Jack…Daniels – http://fmgolfguy.areavoices.com Many of us  are looking forward to getting out on the golf course. Corey Herlickson is the head golf professional at The Meadows Golf Course in Moorhead and his blog will provide tips and advice for the golfer and highlight some of the best holes and courses in the area. 
 
Adventures with Amanda – http://adventureswithamanda.areavoices.com Amanda started this blog to document her efforts as she trains for the Fargo marathon later this month. She’s a frequent contributor to the community running blog, but this blog is her personal journey
 

FM Community Theatre – http://fmcommunitytheatre.areavoices.com Since its founding in 1946, the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre (FMCT) has provided a wide range of dramatic experiences to the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area and surrounding rural communities. This blog shares news, information and photos about the theatre’s many productions.

Areavoices Digest #25 – A great new to keep all those product recalls straight!

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This is our 25th areavoices digest. Shouldn’t we have a party or something? I’ll get right on that.
 
 
EXPLORE MINNESOTA – http://exploreminnesota.areavoices.com   I’m really excited about this one. As you’ve heard, we’ve really been focusing lately on getting more tourism and CVB’s blogs started. This one is written by Chuck Lennon with the Minnesota Department of Tourism. Chuck was anxious to get this going. His first post features Joe Mauer singing. Can’t beat that! 

 
PRODUCT RECALLS – http://productrecalls.areavoices.com. We hear about product recalls all the time. But who can remember all of them. That’s where this blog will come in  handy. Beth Kern of the Wadena Pioneer Journal had an idea to take all of those press releases she receives from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and turn them into a blog. I think that’s a great idea. 
 
THE PERPETUAL EXPLORER – http://perpetualexplorer.areavoices.com  Written by Victoria Gelling, she says this is “a blog about the joys and headaches of travel.” I think we can all relate to this blog.
 
 
The runners keep coming on strong on areavoices:
 
RE-RUN: FINDING MY FEET ON THE RUN AGAIN – http://rerun.areavoices.com Blog author Sally Wurpts is a longtime runner who recently walked away from the sport. She says, “The past year has been one of the most difficult and challenging, both personally and professionally, and something had to give.  So, running and I ‘took a break.’  But as I looked to start a new chapter in my life, I realized, I wanted running to come along.” This blog details her journey as she laces up her running shoes again.
 
The final two blogs are both education-related:
 
CONNECTING LEARNING TO LIFE – http://packerpaths.areavoices.com The career center at West Fargo High School has been blogging since 2008. It’s a well-written look at planning for your career path. 

 
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA WOMEN’S CENTER- http://univwomencenter.areavoices.com
The primary goal of the Women’s Center is to coordinate efforts toward the removal of social, political, and economic barriers to women’s full participation in society.

More information at your fingertips with areavoices directory

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Back in college, my friends Janet and Jill and I competed in a lip sync contest as The Pointer Sisters. Why do I tell you this in my blog post about areavoices? It’s because of the song we sang, “I’m so excited!” That is how I’m feeling today upon the completion of our areavoices directory page. Maybe it’s a stretch to pull out an old song from the 80′s to communicate my feeling over this project or maybe I’m just a little loopy after going through all of the blogs featured on Forum Communications company websites over the past week or two. How many blogs is that, you ask. More than 400!!!!  That is 400 different blogs with information ranging from opera to astronomy, from Minnesota Twins to Wisconsin wildlife, from knitting up north to knoephla in North Dakota. All that, plus news and information from schools, businesses, cities and counties in our region. Check out the areavoices directory either at www.areavoices.com or by clicking on Directory link right under the titles “Featured Staff Blogs” or “Featured Area Voices” on the newspaper home page.

The directory has been out for a couple of weeks now and in that time, I’ve fielded some questions which I’ll address here:

1. Why isn’t my areavoices blog on the list?

Remember this is a featured blog list. That means at least one Forum Communications newspaper or broadcast website has chosen to feature you. In all, there are more than 2,000 areavoices blogs. These are the 400 that have been pulled out to be featured. Of course, all areavoices blogs can still be found at www.areavoices.com.

2. How can I get my blog featured?

Your first step is to make sure we know about it. I’m amazed at the fantastic blogs I’ve just stumbled upon as I look through areavoices postings. It’s my job to recommend you to the newspaper and broadcast editors, publishers and news directors. I can’t make that recommendation unless I know about you. Once I do, I can forward your blog address to the editors. In the end, it’s their decision whether your blog is appropriate for their website.

3. I’m not sure if I’m a featured blogger. How can I find out?

First, look on the directory. If you’re in the directory, you’re featured by at least one property. If you’re not on the list, you can certainly email me and I can doublecheck whether you’re a featured blog or not. tracy.briggs@fccinteractive.com.

4. I know I’m a featured blogger, but I’m still not in the directory. What’s going on?

A couple of possible things. First, I’m human. I might have messed up and for some reason not typed you into the directory. Of course, after I profusely apologize I’ll make things right. The other possible reason is more intentional. To keep our featured blog list as up to date as possible, we take blogs out of the directory if you have not made at least one post in that blog in the last 3 months.   It was our decision to do this to make sure the directory was not bogged down with blogs that are no longer active. I am more than happy to put your blog back in the directory once you start posting in that blog again. Just let me know.

5. How can I get a  next to my blog?

We put the  next to the blog if it has been created in the last 2 weeks or so. If I missed a , please let me know.

So that’s it. And while I said earlier that I was excited by the completion of this project, the fact is it will never be completed. The directory is almost a living, breathing entity. Okay, I’m being a little dramatic. But the fact is, I’ll be monitoring and managing this directory from now on. It will evolve and change. If you have questions, problems or suggestions I’m ready to hear them. I have time now that I’m no longer a Pointer Sister.

Teachers: Here’s a great idea for your class!

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I would never presume to call myself a teacher. After all, I only teach one night class every other year. But I will tell you this past fall, my class did something that I’d like to suggest to all of you teachers out there. We started a class blog. Ours is called, “The Cobber Connection” and it features the posts of Broadcast News Writing Students at Concordia College here in Moorhead. Over at Minnesota State University-Moorhead a digital media class is doing a blog called, “Doing it Downtown” where they write about the happenings in downtown Fargo-Moorhead.

I started the blog after a few of my students told me they were interested in careers in digital media. It was the first time, teaching this class that I had as many students interested in pursuing digital media rather than more traditional forms. So I figured, given my new job and the ease of areavoices,  a class blog would be a perfect fit.

And it has been. I told the students they were required to make just 3 posts all semester. (What’s funny, is that the overwhelming majority of their posts came yesterday, the last day of class. Procrastination is alive and well). Anyway, I gave them carte blanche regarding what they could write about. That was the fun part. They gravitated toward their interests. One of my students wants to go into sports broadcasting. He did posts about Cobber sports and why the BCS system is a sham. Others tackled tougher topics including sexual assaults on college campuses. Others chose to write about themselves and their families. One student shared why she’s obsessed with teacup pigs. Another, argued that chivalry is dead because of women. Interesting reading.

The fact is, college and high school teachers are sending students into a very different world than the one we entered years back. I was not prepared to learn about digital and online journalism. There was no such thing. These students will need this skill set even if they choose to pursue careers in traditional media. Broadcast and print reporters need to understand blogging and writing for the web as much as they need to understand the who, what, where, when and why of journalism.

If you’re worried about what your students might write, there is a solution. I set myself up as administrator. So while they did all the writing, I had to look through each post before it ever appeared on the blog. You can build in safeguards so content you don’t wish to share won’t get shared.

Obviously, class blogs are great tools for journalism and media classes in college and high school. But I would say that other classes might benefit as well. It gives the student a chance to share their ideas and thoughts, and see it published online.

If you’re interested in learning more about setting up a class blog, please contact me. I’d love to tell you more about it.

Now I must go back and read more about those teacup pigs.

I’m really excited by this trend!

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In my three months working for FCC Interactive trying to recruit bloggers to areavoices, I’ve seen some fantastic blogs. But this week, I’m really encouraged by a trend I’m seeing. Just yesterday, the Moorhead Theatre Department started it’s blog. The students are currently staging a production of the rock opera “Tommy.” In their new blog they’re giving us a behind the scenes look at putting the show together through narrative, photos and video. Pretty cool stuff!  A couple of weeks ago Fargo South Theatre started its blog promoting the show “Bye Bye Birdie.” They, too, are giving us a taste of the performance through stills and video. Check out both of their blogs here:

http://moorheadhightheater.areavoices.com

http://fargosouththeatre.areavoices.com

The reason I’m so encouraged by this trend stems from my background in broadcast news. One of the complaints I heard most often was that we just couldn’t devote enough time to fantastic things going on in our schools. Believe me, many TV journalists are just as frustrated as you students, teachers and parents. We would love to devote much more time to your story and your video. But the time constraints are too strict.  Now to see this kind of video right on the home pages of The Forum and WDAY, I love it! You guys are getting the coverage you deserve under your terms.

I hope it will encourage other school groups, clubs and teams to follow suit. Wouldn’t it be fun to see video from your favorite high school football team or volleyball team on their own blogs? Or to watch your son or daughter in a speech and debate tournament in a speech and debate blog? The possibilities are endless. As always, if you want to learn about blogging for your school or school group, just send me an email tracy.briggs@fccinteractive.com. It’s easy and fun to do!

And for Fargo South and Moorhead High “Break a Leg!”

Areavoices Digest #9 – November 17, 2010

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Areavoices Digest #9 – November 17, 2010

Another week and more schools are jumping on board with areavoices blogs. Areavoices is a fantastic place to share school news. In additon to our newest school blogs, check out some of our other recommended blogs in this weeks’ digest. 
 
 
Valley City State University News – http://vcsunews.areavoices.com  VCSU is the latest of the colleges to join areavoices with an official school blog. Information on the happenings at VCSU not just for Valley City, but for the entire region.

 
Moorhead High Theater – http://moorheadhightheater.areavoices.com – Moorhead Theatre is known for it’s spectacular, award winning productions and the parents who are running this blog have thrown their heart into making it blog look great! You can find video from their latest production of Tommy. Check it out!

 
Bigger Small Talk – http://biggersmalltalk.areavoices.com – Jodee Bock is a business consultant and career coach. She conducts training sessions throughout the region about what she calls “riskful” not “wishful” thinking. About her new blog with us she says:   “this blog will ask some important questions, not because I have any answers, but because I think more often than not, the answers are in the questions. When we ask better questions, we will get better answers. When we challenge each other to really think and respond rather than to repeat and react, we will be creating a brand new experience with every conversation.” 

 
Northern Lights Boy Scouts – http://nlcbsa.areavoices.com – Northern Lights Boy Scouts serves all of North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota. Their blog is well done and has become a great place to share news of upcoming boy scout events in the region. 

 
I would like to make note of a couple of new health related blogs. They include:
 
Health Out Loud – http://healthoutloud.areavoices.com  – “We are excited at Douglas County Public Health to launch the blog – Health Out Loud! In this blog we want to create an active dialogue with all of you to reach out and share reliable health information. Here you’ll find health updates, links to health-related sites and various articles of interest, focusing on health topics locally and in our state. Blog post authors will primarily be Health Educators from our Public Health Department; Amy Reineke, Crystal Hoepner and Jessica Peterson. Please bookmark and visit us often.”   It was hard not to take notice of the headline of their last post, “Your appeal to the opposite sex could TRIPLE as a non-smoker!” These women know about attention-getting headlines!
 
Kandiyohi County Drug Free Communities Coalition – http://kcdrugfree.areavoices.com  – this group started blogging last October and has done a nice job giving us information about tobacco, drugs, etc while also making the blog look really nice. 

 
Also, we now have at least 5 rotary clubs blogging with us. I won’t list all of their urls, but here are a couple that you could look at if you’re looking for examples for clubs in your area: http://farmingtonrotarymn.areavoices.com and http://rosemountrotary.areavoices.com 
 
 
As always if you’re interested in starting a blog just let me know. I’m happy to help!

Areavoices digest #7 – Nov 3, 2010

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Here is my weekly look at what’s news on areavoices. It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Word is definitely spreading about areavoices as a great place to share information. Check out some of our new bloggers!
 
TRAVELING TOD – http://travelingtod.areavoices.com  I’m really excited about this one. Tod Ganje is a travel agent for Travel Leaders in Moorhead. He had a weekly radio segment for 2 years on WDAY-AM. His blog will now replace that segment. Tod is a great resource for everything travel.  His blogs will include: advice on off beat or popular destinations or great deals on airfare, etc. He’s also open to answering questions. 

 
TO BE WELL – http://tobewell.areavoices.com  -
Connie Morrison is a general surgeon at Avera Worthington Specialty Clinic in Worthington.
I really like Connie’s blog about health issues. She writes about everything from walking away the common cold to telling us more about a Lance Armstrong live strong banquet. She also addresses timely topics such as the recent rash of concussions in the NFL.

UND NEWS – http://undnews.areavoices.com – This is a big one. UND has now joined NDSU and MSUM in starting an official university blog. I’ve already heard from UND alumni who are happyt to have this blog going so they can keep up with their alma mater. 

 
NDSU EXTENSION  – http://ndsuextension.areavoices.com  – This is a fairly new blog written by contributors accustomed to sharing valuable, useful information. The most recent post features a discussion on whether beef source and age verification is worth the effort. Scroll down and you’ll see a brussel sprout recipe. This is going to be a nice resource for information and gardening, cooking, food, health and so much more. 

 
NDSU FINE ARTS  – http://ndsufinearts.areavoices.com – The blogger describes his blog this way: “This is a space where you can learn about our events, departments, faculty, students, guests artists and so much more.  We hope you’ll enjoy this blog, a space in which you may love what you see or question what people call “art.”  Because if art doesn’t make you occasionally question reality and broaden your mind, what is the point?”
 
And finally, Moorhead Public Schools have started an official school blog. Fargo started a few weeks ago.  West Fargo Schools should be up and running soon as well. If you are a teacher or school adminstrator and want to learn more about school blogging, just leave a comment on this blog or email me at tracy.briggs@fccinteractive.areavoices.com.

Way to go Sioux and Spuds!

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Welcome to Areavoices University of North Dakota and Moorhead Area Public Schools! Both UND and Moorhead started their news blogs within the last few days. Now it’s going to be even easier to get the lastest news from the two schools. You’ll see their blogs featured on many Forum Communications Company websites , including In Forum, WDAY and WDAZ. To check it out for yourselves go to:

http://undnews.areavoices.com

http://moorheadareapublicschools.areavoices.com

Areavoices Digest #6 -Ghosts, Gumbo, Tawny Kitaen and Dirty Laundry

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Quite a list, right?

But they are among some of the topics written about in this weeks’ recommended areavoices blogs. Some of these blogs are brand spankin’ new. Some are established but might deserve a second look.

 
1) I’m going to start with one that I think is kind of fun and very timely for Halloween. It’s called VRS Paranormal – Paranormal Files. http://paranormalfiles.areavoices.com.
 
 VRS Paranormal is a scientific research team in Fargo, North Dakota that explore claims of paranormal activity throughout the states of North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota. Using scientific methods, they try to discover possible alternatives or logical explanations to paranormal situations. They also try to help people understand through education how to cope with their paranormal environments. These guys are like our local version of the SyFy channel’s “Ghost Hunters.” Their services are free. They’re pretty new to blogging, but I think they’ve already created a pleasing blog with a lot of infomation regarding “Ghost Hunting.” Their latest post, for example, was “Ghost Pictures – Real or Fake?.” Good fun.  

 
2) When I’ve recommended food blogs in the past, I’ve gotten emails from a couple of you exclaiming, “What about Chef Jeff?” Chef Jeff is a favorite for sure!   http://chefjeff.areavoices.com. Jeff Tiedeman is the food editor of the Grand Forks Herald. He writes a great blog about food. One of his last posts included a recipe for Turkey Gumbo. YUM!

 
3) Here’s another one with it’s roots in Grand Forks. Jukebox Hero. http://jukeboxhero.areavoices.com. Jukebox Hero is music blogger Cassie Walder. She says she writes about the music she loves. “That does not include The Beatles. That does, however, include Wings. Please don’t judge. Just comment and add me to your favorites.” She frequently posts music videos which is a lot of fun. I enjoyed today’s post about Tawny Kitaen and Whitesnake. Wow! That is some serious ’80′s hair! Another fun blog.  If only, she’d blog about The Beatles. Just kidding.

4)Dirty Laundry. http://laundry.areavoices.com  “What do the crime beat and being a mom have in common? Dirty Laundry.” Justine Wettschreck is a crime reporter for the Daily Globe in Worthington, MN. She lives in a tiny southwestern Minnesota town with her husband, dog and whichever of her three children are around at the moment.
5) And this last one I mention more for information and inspiration than anything. Fargo School Talk is the Fargo Public School system’s official blog. http://fargopublicschools.areavoices.com. From what I can tell (PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong) this is our first official K12 blog on areavoices. Again, if another district is doing a blog with us, let me know. I’m trying to recruit as many school bloggers as possible and I’d like to have examples of what other districts are doing.  I’m hoping to sign up many more K12 bloggers. That will continue to be a top priority of mine and I will have more schools (and universities to recommend soon).

Welcome Fargo Public Schools – FargoSchoolTalk!

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Another school has joined the conversation on areavoices. Welcome Fargo Public Schools “FargoSchoolTalk.”

The district just started it’s blog on Friday and will be a great source of information for students, faculty, staff and the community about matters surrounding education in Fargo.

Check them out at http://fargopublicschools.areavoices.com.

Welcome to areavoices!

Calling All Schools!

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 Areavoices wants to help you spread the news about your school or team. We’re looking for ALL schools, from institutions of higher education, to high schools to elementary schools. In my years in television news, one of the complaints I heard most was, “Why did your station cover so much of Team A, when our team should have gotten some coverage?”  or “We have some great things going on in our school, but you guys don’t report enough of the good news.”

Areavoices blogging can help.  By starting a blog, school officials, teachers and even students can tell the public, first hand, about  school-related announcements, events and activities. You can spread the news yourself. The way you want it. Unfiltered. Unedited. Positive. You can also use the blogs to manage any negative news that might be coming from your school. You can post your press releases the way you wrote them. You break the news, instead of waiting for the media to do it for you.

Let’s look at four types of blogs related to schools: 

1. OFFICIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BLOG: Written by the school district media relations professional (or whomever you select). Use the blog much the same way you would use media release to deliver school news or make special announcements. It will be your words unchanged and unedited on our websites.

 Advantages:

 ●     1. You are in control of your message. Every time you post to your official school blog it is published unchanged and unedited. Unlike, media releases you are not dependent upon the media to filter your message. You won’t worry that the media has left out important facts and gotten something wrong. It’s your message and as soon as you post its out there on your terms.

 ●     2. More people will see your announcements than if you rely upon them to solely access your website. More than 1.3 million people a month visit Forum Communications websites in the four state region of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Chances are parents of your students are logging onto at least one of our 35 sites at least occasionally. You will have nearly instant contact with parents. For example, if you need to let school out early because of a blizzard,  you can put it on your school blog and it instantly goes online.

 ●     3. Blog only as much as you’d like. The blog is there for you. You are not expected to meet blogging quotas. Just use the tool whenever you need to get information out to the public.

2. PROGRAM OR DEPARTMENT BLOGS – These are blogs written by teachers or professors in various departments or programs of a school.

 Advantages:

 ●     1. Can share announcements with students who are enrolled in department classes. For example: a theatre department of a university can share information about their upcoming production, audition schedules, help needed, etc.

●     2. Great place to share the latest developments in that field of study. For example, a science department can share recent research or links to science journals.

3. ATHLETIC OR ACTIVITIES BOOSTERS BLOGS -  These are blog written by parents, coaches or fans about sports teams or other school-related activities. One of the biggest complaints heard by broadcast and print journalists regarding coverage of school news is that they’re not adequately covering what they think needs to be covered. “Why didn’t you cover my kids’ game” “ Why did you spend so much time (or ink) on Team X, when Team Y deserved more attention?” “Why do you spend so much time covering sports when you should be covering theatre or speech and debate?” Now parents, coaches, and fans can supplement media coverage of their favorite sporting team or activity. They can write a recap of the game or a review of the school play complete with photos and video.

 Advantages:

 ●     The athletics/activities blog becomes a central clearinghouse for information, pictures and announcements regarding a particular sport, team or club. Special tabs have already been set up with each schools name, giving parents easy access to information both for necessity (when are team pictures? ) Or for fun (someone snapped a great shot of a receiver making a catch in the end zone)

 ●     Greater awareness creates greater potential for successful fundraising for school clubs and organizations.

4. CLASSROOM BLOG -This would be a blog set up and run by a journalism class. Let’s face it, students leaving high school today are going into a world much different than in previous years. These students will not just find jobs working for newspapers, television and radio. These are students that will be expected to know the world of digital communication both as they go off to pursue employment or college. This offers them the chance to get their school news published on a real news website.

 Advantages:

 ●     This allows the journalism teacher to give his/her students a real life publishing opportunity while still being in control. IMPORTANT: Each journalism teacher would be set up as administrator or editor of the blog. Students will be authors or contributors. Nothing would get on the blog without the approval of teacher.

OTHER SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES

 North Dakota State University has a blog called NDSU News. In it, the media relations professional, posts news releases on such topics as the latest enrollment numbers or interesting speakers coming to town. It has given NDSU the ability to break news and do it in the way they like. In addition, the NDSU chemistry and biology departments have started a blog which makes science more understandable to the common man. Clubs at NDSU are also taking notice. The NDSU bowling club has started it’s own blog to post results. Most likely, you’d never see bowling results on a typical sportscast.

 FOR MORE INFORMATION

You can contact Tracy at (701) 451-5632 or tracy.briggs@fccinteractive.com to get more information or set up a date when she can visit your school.

Areavoices Digest #1

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Welcome to the first AREAVOICES DIGEST!

Every week in the digest, I’ll be telling you about the newest additions to the Areavoices community. I’ll tell you more about their blogs and where to find them. I’ll also be giving you updates on some of our most popular blogs and uncover some hidden gems on areavoices – blogs that you might have never seen,  but warrant your attention. So in no particular order here are today’s digest features:
(New) The Area Voices Community – http://community.areavoices.com/ -  We set it up this week as a resource for bloggers about what’s new on Areavoices. I’ll be updating this blog daily offering suggestions for effective blogging and also trying to actively recruit bloggers in our suggested topic areas: food, family, health, money and travel. I envision this blog being a permanent storing house for information helpful to our bloggers. We’ll be linking to technical support as well as to online tutorials on Youtube.

(New) Artist Insight – http://artistinsight.areavoices.com/ – Scott Brusven is the theatre director for the Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre. He says, “This Areavoices blog is dedicated to bringing you information about the arts and the artists in the FM area. You will find conversations with artists from all forms of art and learn more about what they’re working on.” 

 (New) Our Students Our Future – http://ourstudentsourfuture.areavoices.com/ – Moorhead levy referendum supporters created a blog this week to raise awareness about the November 2nd operating levy referendum vote. They will use the blog to provide information about the specifics of the plan, where to donate or volunteer and where to vote.

MomStar – http://momstar.areavoices.com – Lisa Simony, aka MomStar, is a Grand Forks, North Dakota, blogger and mother of three. She says she writes “about family, health, money and travel (when we can get away with it!) … oh, and food (mmm, food.)”

AstroBob – http://astrobob.areavoices.com/ – “Celestial happenings you can see from your own backyard.” Many of you might be familiar with AstroBob. This blog originates in Duluth and is one of their most popular bloggers.