getting started with
Making the News* What is Making the News?
* How do I find my school’s pages?
* Making the news is easy
* Write a news story as a Guest
* Schools policies
* Making the most of MTN
* More issues and ideas
What is Making the News?
• online news reporting system• can be used at school and at home• used by staff and pupils of all ages• it’s free to set up and to use (contact
[email protected] to be set up)• simple interface• no technical knowledge needed or assumed
How do I find my school’s page?
•access Making the News website: http://mtn.e2bn.net
1. click on “Regions”2. click on WMNet3. Click on “Regions” again and choose “WMNet schools” from the drop down menu4. click on your school’s name (contact [email protected] if you aren’t yet set up)(this is your school’s MTN “homepage” or Rostra)
Go to http://mtn.e2bn.net
click on
click on
1.
2.
then
click on
click on
3.
click on the name of your school or project
Choose your school / project
4.
your school /project URL is unique
This is your school / project URL and the link you should use from your website
Making a news story is easy
• make sure you are on your school’s page
1. click on “news” and then “submit”2. click on “guest entry”3. start writing – complete the submission form
Make sure you are on your school / project page
click on News then
1.
click on
Make sure you are on your school / project page
2.
Start to write - or copy and paste – your story beginning with the by-line….
Enter your name – school policy is usually first name only
3.
Then the Story Headline
Think carefully about headlines – do use CAPITALS, puns, alliteration etc
Then the Story
Stories can be copied and pasted from a word processing package – clear paragraphing is important.
Then Multi-Media – make the most of it
Upload a picture, movie, or an MP3 sound file
Multi-Media – make the most of it
Explain your media to the reader in your caption
Insert a relevant hyperlink
This is the text that the reader will see
Insert a relevant hyperlink
This is the full web address for the link (use http://...)
Save and Preview
Preview and add more media items and hyperlinks
Re-edit
Click on re-edit to alter your story, add more media and/or links
Publish
Click on publish to send your story to your school’s administrator(s)
School ICT/Image Consent Policies
Schools will need to look at Making the News in the light of their ICT, Internet and image consent policies and guidance should be
issued.
This is the responsibility of the individual school.
Making the most of MTN• Make sure that you have up-to-date
Flash Player, QuickTime, WMV players installed• At present only QuickTime and WMV movies
can be uploaded – this will be changed in the near future
• Make sure that pictures aren’t too big to be uploaded – use a free package such as Irfan View to compress them
• Ensure that all your reporters are aware of copyright
More issues and ideas
• Administrators can preload images in the Media Library ready for use (be aware of copyright issues)
• FlashBlogging doesn’t always work within your Local Authority for security reasons. It is a neat way of recording a small “talking head” using a webcam plugged into your computer. It may work at school or at home if you wish to try it
• Look beyond E2BN at the other RBCs in “Regions” for ideas and inspiration
Everyone can use MTN – pupils, teachers, non-teaching
staff, PTA, governors…
Use MTN to celebrate learning, activities and events
in your school/home community
Good luck making your news!
This presentation is used courtesy of Damaris Revell (CLEO)