I work at Devonport High School for Boys in Plymouth, and I decided to do the Community Journalism course after my Assistant Head Post-16, Sharon Davidson challenged the school leadership group to sign up for a MOOC. She wanted to introduce this new way of learning to our Sixth Form students and we were to lead the way.
My role at the school includes writing and editing our newsletters and developing our social media channels. I haven’t had any formal journalism experience or training but have always enjoyed writing and desktop publishing. At the time I was thinking about how to develop the school’s online presence and the content of the Community Journalism course seemed to offer ideas on how to take this forward.
I wasn’t sure what to expect but felt confident that this would provide an excellent introduction; the main attraction for me was the chance to hear directly from the leading academic staff in my chosen subject.
The most useful aspects of the course were the sections on engaging and serving communities, building and nurturing an audience, the use of images and how to write a good story. Also very interesting was the ‘Think Mobile’ section on considering the use of mobiles and tablets as a platform for communication. We know from looking at our website statistics that this is a growing area for us.
One of my weekly course summaries
It was really useful to follow the Twitter hashtag to see and hear other learners’ thoughts, and I also shared a summary each week which helped me to consolidate my own learning.
Since the course, I have been involved in developing a new school website and building an audience for our weekly online newsletter called the ‘Head’s Blog’ which has grown to over 1,000 views each week. The practical advice on writing and sharing news stories and using images and photos continues to be very useful but equally valuable is the guidance on nurturing and maintaining an audience.
Developing a brand and finding a voice has been important for the school and the thoughts shared in Week Three about ensuring authenticity have been key to the success and development of our culture. I’ve found that students and families are happy to engage and contribute to our social media strands when they can rely on the accuracy and integrity of stories and images.
This has helped to develop the positive perception of our school and community.
Sarah Nicholson is the Headteacher’s PA at Devonport High School for Boys in Plymouth. Read more about her experience of the Community Journalism MOOC, and see how the school is getting on with its new website and social media channels by visiting @DHSBoys, @DHSBHeadsPA and www.dhsb.org
Image accompanying this article is copyright James F Clay.
