throughout the Manchester community .”
Stories posted to The Talon 2.0 Cyber Edition site are strictly news in nature . Longer features that include opinion and research are reserved for the news magazine ’ s print edition , which will be produced three times this year .
One of the biggest benefits for student journalists is that they can see their work on the district website almost immediately . Our 85-minute classes allow for students to write a quick article , have it edited by one of our student editors in class , revise and edit , format the post to include a headline , image / thumbnail , summary , keywords and categories , then submit it to be posted . Once an editor signs off on it , all I have to do is approve it to be posted , and it ’ s online in a matter of seconds .
Our district is now disseminating Cyber Edition stories written by Manchester ’ s student journalists as a part of their news and events coverage , and a local newspaper picked up and ran a story about
JILL OCONE , CJE
Jill Ocone , CJE , has been an educator at Manchester Township High School , Manchester , New Jersey , for 17 years and counting . A two-time teacher of the year , she is vice president of the Garden State Scholastic Press Association . Jill is a regular contributor to Jersey Shore Magazine , to other Jersey Shore Publications guidebooks , and is nearly finished writing her first novel .
our annual Veterans Recognition Ceremony written by junior Kaitlin Clutter . All of our district and building administration retweet links to our stories , and when students see that , it reassures them that their work is worthwhile .
And the results are immediate . “ We can provide information and news at a faster rate compared to the time it takes to produce a newspaper or a news magazine ,” said Simonini .
Another advantage to generating stories that the entire Manchester community can read is that students are able to build their journalistic portfolios as they hone real-world journalistic skills in real time . Students are live-tweeting from school events and creating multimedia videos and slideshows to accompany their online stories , and the community as a whole supports our program now more than ever .
From writing and editing to layout and promotion on social media , student journalists who are involved in our journalism program will be prepared with skills that transcend across college majors and all careers , not just those in the realm of communications .
What made the difference for us is that everyone across the board worked together towards a common goal : turning our student journalists into professionals .