leadership
newbie survival guide
I created this powerpoint to serve as a yearbook crash course for incoming staffers. As Editor-in-Chief, I wanted to provide as much information to new staffers as I possibly could. This covers yearbook jargon, interviewing, designing, photography, the deadline process and multiple videos I made explaining different aspects of staff. I also included my tips and tricks from my personal experience on staff, especially in the photography area. This acted as a resource for new students to utilize all year long because I made it available on our shared staff Google Drive. If anyone has a basic yearbook question, they can probably find the answer here.
All of the spreads and photos from other yearbooks are for educational use only and are credited on their respective slides. The links to YouTube videos that I did not create myself are also for educational purposes only.
All of the spreads and photos from other yearbooks are for educational use only and are credited on their respective slides. The links to YouTube videos that I did not create myself are also for educational purposes only.
instructional videos
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I have listed instructional videos that I created to aid yearbook staffers with different skills such as posting on the website and basic yearbook design. These videos demonstrate my ability to understand voiceovers and screen recording as well as creating helpful content for my peers. I used Final Cut Pro to create both videos and included text when needed on screen to further the connection to the staffer viewing it. All photos included in "How to post on Boone Pubs" are examples used from previously published stories on the Boone Publication website. All the photos in "Yearbook Design 101" are ones the yearbook or newspaper staffers have taken.
These videos are all unlisted on my personal YouTube channel and staffers can only find them through the links provided in the presentation above. They are for educational purposes only.
These videos are all unlisted on my personal YouTube channel and staffers can only find them through the links provided in the presentation above. They are for educational purposes only.
trello
When I heard that we would have to make yearbook a hybrid class due to the pandemic, I knew Trello would be perfect for the virtual organization of our deadlines, as I had previous experience with the program. Pictured above is the whole yearbook Trello board. Spreads start their journeys in the "spreads in progress" list and as they are completed, put through majors, and sent to the publisher, the individual card makes its way down the board. The staffers and editors are all on this same board and everyone works together to keep it updated. For a little excitement, I changed the backgrounds regularly to match the seasons and holidays.
Here are examples of the individual Trello cards. Each spread had its own card. Each card is assigned to a deadline and listed deadline dates and three different checklists. Usually, we had two to three people working on a spread at a time so Trello allowed everyone to see how much progress everyone else had made. Also, on the cards, staffers and editors attached photos, Google Docs and InDesign files which made it extremely easy to transfer work between the classroom and students working at home in real time. Also, attached to the card is a Google Sheets grade sheet for the spread. When a staffer turns in to an editor, the editor opened this grade sheet to grade them and keep track of their progress. There is also a comments section on each Trello card where staffers and editors communicated quickly with one another.
It took a lot of planning, time and learning to efficiently use the digital space to get it to the system we have in place now. As the only person who understood Trello at first, I had to teach the rest of the editors and then the staff how to do it. I truly cannot imagine staff without it now because of how much more organized and efficient it makes us. |
basecamp
We use Basecamp as our main form of staff communication. There is a general chat where you can message all of Boone Publications, as well as one just for the Legend Staff and then another for Legend Editors. If everyone talked in one huge group chat all the time, it would be overwhelming. Basecamp keeps it manageable. You can also direct message people if you only need to talk to them specifically.
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checklists
While editing content, I found it efficient to create checklists on Canva and print them out. After looking over a spread, editors would fill out the checklist and paper clip it to the spread. Then, the Junior-Editor-in-Chief, Brooke, and I would double-check and ensure the spread upheld all the qualities it needed to send to the publisher. After doing this for spreads, I found that editing senior and business ads could benefit from this process and made a specific checklist for our ad editors.
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classroom atmosphere
Making the yearbook classroom an enjoyable place to work every day, served as my main goal as Editor-in-Chief. Last year, I felt the editors, including myself, lacked the qualities listed to the left. In order to reinforce these important ideals on staff, the Junior-Editor-in-Chief, Brooke, and I made posters and put them all around the classroom as a constant reminder to put new staffers' needs before your own, to always communicate with each other and to always respect everyone on staff no matter what. Editors have told me that they feel more respected and less nervous on staff this year, which makes my heart extremely happy.
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This year on staff, it has been difficult to get staffers to volunteer to do simple tasks and help each other out while they are working on their deadlines. So, I created this volunteer list. Whenever someone needs to get an interview that an online staffer can't get because they are at home, the responsibility falls on whoever's name is at the top of the list. Once they are finished, they can move their name to the other side and won't have to "volunteer" again until their name is back at the top of the list. If there is a legitimate reason the staffer can't complete the task it goes to the next person and they stay at the top until they help someone. We tried it the first time and used it three times within a class period. It makes staff more efficient because we aren't wasting time asking people to help get interviews or volunteer to take photos. If you are at the top, you do it. It simplifies the process.
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