This (in reference to the title) is not anything new, but today I think it really made a difference in the lives of a few of my students. And that means something to me. 

Gregg Doyel from CBSsports.com did a Google Hangout with my journalism class and some cross-town journalism students in our district thanks to Devin Schoening setting it up (through Twitter none-the-less). It was an hour conversation, and within the next hour, our school newspaper's Editor-in-Chief had a story ready to publish. 

If you get a chance, watch the whole video. Gregg has a lot of really good things to say to students in general, and what it takes to succeed (the first 10 minutes especially, but it's all good). 

I'm going to link to the (newly redesigned) Signal website for Kelsi's story, because she really got the essence of it I think.

The Signal (the Lead): Doyel Hangs out with TJ (note: that link location changes. I will post when it does.)

The full Google Hangout is featured there as well. Sorry for making you jump sites, but I am proud of what this created. 

I had kids, that I knew were interested in journalism, ask me what their next steps might be. I had students (that I honestly didn't know read our school publication) ask me about how they could get involved. 

Word of mouth is a powerful tool. 

Kids were talking about the conversations my journalism students just had. 

With somebody in Ohio. 

That only knew that Iowa was a wrestling state, and couldn't remember Iowa State men's basketball's head coaches name - only that he liked "The Mayor." (I had to bring it up.) 

*He did help get a previous coach fired, and I was on the Iowa State journalism crew at the same time. We were probably in the same room. 

That's fine to me. 

This was probably the most prominent journalist my students have ever met (and some of them will ever meet). But it's an experience I hope to let them have again. 

Video Below

*This post was written for a newly created district website at my school. I will link to it when available (called CBLearns365). There is a lot of potential for the blog and who (and what) it can impact!

I am a journalism adviser. I don’t see myself as a teacher, but a sharer of responsibility. In the five years I have been teaching, I have only had to work a handful of times. And, I came from the journalism field. I have a degree (because experience needs validation), and I have met famous people (a requirement for being recognized in our society).

I also write exactly how I think (and the use of parentheses is important to me).

But why is this important? Because when I was asked to write a blog post for CBLearns365, my focus was a question: “What is the role of a student journalist?” And I needed to break it down.

To me, I want the role of a student journalist to be that of a learner and a problem-solver. Writing is important, but getting to the meat of a story is better. And I thought, “Where is the meat of my question?”

Students.

So I brought the question to the kids. I collaborated with them, and I wanted the kids to be a part of the process… of my thinking process. This is what we created:

Our journalism program has a long and rich history. I am only a part of it. The students in this video are an even smaller part of it. But as educators, we are able to impact the history of our school, and more importantly our students’ lives.

So, what is the role of the student journalist? It is that of a student impacting and remembering our (collectively as a school and as a body) daily history.