other educational resources

So many groups have opened the doors to curriculum materials of all kinds. We began building this collection of links in March 2020. (Disclaimer: Some of the offers may expire or be extended past the original date.) Some sites are filled with inspirational collections of images rather than curated lessons. You might assign your students to find something they’d love to know more about — and learn it. Just provide them this list. Afterward, you could schedule five-minute Each One, Teach One sessions (then everyone can learn together) or have them write a quick paper/make a short video. Let this page become your instant evergreen assignment for students who have time to fill or points to earn.

ADOBE EDUCATION EXCHANGE

Choose from dozens of free courses created and taught by educators, for educators. Courses are either self-paced or live, and you’ll learn how to take creativity to the next level in your curriculum and classroom. Also powerful for those editors who will find themselves teaching and coaching younger staffers next year.

APERTURE

Aperture, a not-for-profit foundation, connects the photo community and its audiences with the most inspiring work, the sharpest ideas and with each other — in print, in person and online.

ART AND DAISIES

Twenty lesson ideas for students looking for fun and creative ways to use their photo and design skills.

CHARACTERSTRONG

Social-emotional learning, character development curriculum and professional development training to help educators weave this work into the fabric of their schools. Free digital resources include a virtual tool kit, digital student assemblies, a virtual Whole Child Summit and a 30 Days of Kindness Journal.

COMMONSENSE.ORG

Another list of offerings that might help. They have hand-picked tools to recommend for this unprecedented situation. Most are free (or cheap), and all offer stand-out learning experiences that shouldn’t be too difficult to slot into your plans. Of course, you’ll also want to dig into their privacy and safety practices, so make sure to check out the privacy evaluations on the review pages (when available).

COURSERA

Although taking, sharing and viewing photographs has become second nature for many of us, our regular engagement with images does not necessarily make us visually literate. This course aims to address the gap between seeing and truly understanding photographs by introducing a diversity of ideas, approaches and technologies that inform their making. In this course you will look closely at photographs from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art and hear a variety of perspectives on what a photograph is. You will also hear about the ways that photography has been used throughout its nearly 180-year history: as a means of artistic expression, as a tool for science and exploration; as an instrument of documentation; to tell stories and record histories; and as a mode of communication and critique in our ever-increasingly visual culture.

Learning Objectives

Develop skills to better examine and understand the differences between photographs and photographic images.
Discover how context influences the production, circulation and reception of photographic images.
Learn about different modes of artistic and technological experimentation as well as innovation in photography.
Investigate photography’s role in our increasingly visual culture.

The site says they are offering free courses and it mentions financial aid so some additional research would be wise.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY SCHOOL

The TIPS section alone offers nearly 300 entries ranging from Tips for Next-Level Selfies and Great Photography Ideas for When You Are Stuck Indoors and a huge array of weekly challenges. It might be fun to have the staff (or at least the photo team) compete in weekly photo challenges.

GALLAGHER PHOTO

It’s no secret. The world is on lockdown. By now, many have been forced home and are now wondering how they are going to fill their days for the coming weeks. In light of this, here is a list of some of my favorite photography- and photojournalism-related documentaries that I have bookmarked and watched over the years. Even though I have been in the photography business for more than 15 years, I still like to learn from those master image makers that came before me. You can never stop learning and being inspired by others work who you admire. Here, in no particular order, are the films that should provide you with roughly 10 hours of time-killing viewing. Think of them as an at-home workshop during lockdown. I promise, this will be a much better use of your time than that latest series you just binge-watched!

— Sean Gallagher, Photographer and Filmmaker, National Geographic Image Collection

GURU SHOTS

From great articles and inspiring collections of images to fun photo challenges, there’s lots of information here.

HIPPOCAMPUS

Find more than 7,000 videos in 13 subject areas to share with your students. The English section includes lots of resources that would be great for rising EICs and copy editors. Teachers can set up playlists for their students too. HippoCampus is always free.

FLOCABULARY

Hip-hop videos and instructional activities that promote literacy and spark creativity. Teachers and schools closed due to COVID-19 can request free access to Flocabulary and to remote-learning resources such as webinars and remote-learning guides.

JEA STUDENT PRESS RIGHTS COMMISSION

Several members of the Scholastic Press Rights Committee developed some lessons for advisers to use with their journalism students. The lessons are intended to be asynchronous basic introductions to help teachers fill the law and ethics instruction gap during this time. The goal is to introduce students to the content and provide resources they then can examine further. We have included resource links for this purpose. The lessons include information on the First Amendment, copyright, libel, staff manual creation, how to choose a forum concept, prior review and some situational legal and ethical considerations.

JOURNALISM EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

The JEA curriculum team and board thought it was imperative to offer some resources for those who are engaging in distance learning/online learning for the foreseeable future. The curriculum team created a Google Drive folder of resources you can use that live outside the curriculum member wall. For now, the resources are all related to basic skills you could encourage students to hone, as well as a couple of ideas for advanced students and pub staffs. Be sure to start with the READ ME message. This is not the entire curriculum, but it would give you a taste of the materials that have been developed. Many advisers consider these resources alone worth the cost of membership.

JUST CREATIVE

Have your art directors and/or EIC visit this site and sign up for the free Branding Briefcases which promise access to hundreds of branding, design and business resources including a mini course on branding. Sounds like a perfect tool for those who brand the yearbook to learn more about the craft.

LEAD4CHANGE

Based on the best-selling book, Taking People With You by Yum! Brands Co-Founder, Former Chairman and CEO David Novak, Lead4Change empowers students to act, serve and make BIG things happen. Join the leadership movement today! It’s free and includes ready-to-use lessons, videos and resources.

MY MODERN MET

There are so many articles, collections and videos your students could explore as the bases for self-enrichment and inspiration. Topics include design, color, type, photography and more.

NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION

Associate Director Gary Lundgren shared his trends show of 2019 books from the NSPA Gloria Shields workshop. It includes his look at top trends and notes some devices/ideas he has seen too often.

NEW YORK TIMES

The NYT has announced free access to the digital version for high school teachers and students.

NEWS LITERACY PROJECT

Checkology Premium gives you access to the platform’s full complement of news literacy lessons and enrichment. You can also create up to 150 accounts for students to enable them to complete work on their own devices and submit it to you for evaluation.

They’ll provide you with support materials for account setup and suggestions for using Checkology in the context of this public health crisis.

If you represent a U.S. school or district affected by closures, or if you’re a parent who wants to use Checkology at home, simply complete a form for free access. They aim to respond to requests within one business day. You also can email support@checkology.org.

NEWSEUM ED

Now an online service for teachers, NewseumED offers courses, collections and tools for teacher and student use.

NIKON

Nikon’s mission has always been to empower creators. In these uncertain times, we can do that by helping creators stay inspired, engaged and growing. That’s why they are providing all of their courses free for the entire month of April. Let’s come out of this even better.

PARLAY IDEAS

Resources — in categories like Journalism and Media, Visual Arts and Social and Emotional Development — will be free until May 14. There are lots of topics available.

PBS STUDENT REPORTING LABS

Student Reporting Labs lesson plans focus on understanding the role of journalism in society and developing broader communication skills, including listening, asking questions, teamwork and public speaking. Access 10 flexible lessons that can be used in the context of courses in English, social studies or video production classes and include critical thinking, analysis and production activities.

Each lesson is designed for a 50-minute class with engaging high-interest activities to nurture a sense of purpose and accomplishment. PBS has also taken a deep dive into the Common Core State Standards, ELA and ISTE to make sure that your students’ involvement in the program helps prepare them for college and career and builds life-long learning skills that translate to other areas of their lives — both academic and personal growth.

POYNTER INSTITUTE

The Poynter Institute has dropped tuition for all News University webinars and self-directed courses. As a service to the journalism education community in this challenging period, Poynter is offering its online catalog free for a limited time to help educators and students affected by COVID-19 (coronavirus).

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS OF AMERICA

The Professional Photographers of America (PPA) has opened up its entire catalog of online photography courses to everyone free of charge. There are more than 1,100 courses to choose from across a variety of topics for beginners and more advanced photographers alike. There is no end-date posted on this offer, but at one point, two weeks was mentioned.

SLIDO FOR EDUCATION

This brand-new virtual classroom platform integrates PowerPoint, Zoom video webinars and Slido quizzes into one streamlined package. Slido is offering free access to its Advanced Education package for students and teachers until July 1, 2020. Sounds like a cool tool to use as they are preparing theme presentations or lessons they might teach each other.