Tips on writing newspaper articles and features using the AlphaSmart Neo'

Writing features in advance

For interviews e.g. with a local celebrity or sports star

• Prepare questions in advance so you can start confidently
• Don't be afraid to check the details e.g. ask them to confirm or repeat spellings of names or places, the date when something happened. They would prefer you to get the facts right
• At the end, ask if there's anything else they'd like to add. They may offer an interesting anecdote - or a hot piece of news!
• Include in your feature direct quotes from your interviewee, or from your source material, and make it clear what or who you are quoting.
• Write in short paragraphs so the story will be easy to write when laid out in the newspaper or on the web site.
• During the interview or research, consider making notes on a PDA, laptop or portable word processor, such as the Neo from AlphaSmart, which is ideal for taking out into the field as it is light and battery powered. This saves time and avoids the problem of not being able to read handwritten notes later!

Example: ICT teacher and Scout leader Shaun Joynson specialises in helping young people produce their own newspapers and newsletters. In the past, his students would go out to research stories and take notes by hand before returning to type them up. These documents were then transferred to the central computer or laptop on which the newsletter was being produced.

Shaun now has a new solution: students take Neos out into the field, and type their stories directly into the machine. The Neo is light, easy to hold in one hand and has a long battery life. Most importantly, it is designed to be very robust, which makes it ideal for use in the field.

The machines can survive the rough and tumble of a Scout camp with no problems, so you really don't have to worry about letting the Scouts take them out to write directly into them, explains Shaun.

The Neo also saves files automatically, so there is no danger of text getting lost. Scouts return to base with their stories already typed, and can quickly edit and complete their text.

Briefing the writers or 'journalists'

• Give the writer of each story an approximate number of words or story length, so they can write something which will fit into the allocated space with minimal editing.
• Ensure that the writer is clear what section they are writing for (national or local news, feature, NIB etc.) so they can get positioning and length right first time.
• Advise the writer whether you would like them to suggest a headline or if this will be done by the editor/sub-editor.
• This avoids the writer spending a lot of time thinking up a 'catchy' headline which may not be used, enabling them to focus their time on writing the actual story.
• Make sure writers have a printed copy of the style sheet to refer to. Have plenty of spare copies available in the press room.
• Remind your writers to save their work as soon as they have started and then at regular intervals.
• With the Neo, work is saved automatically so work cannot be lost, no matter how much pressure the writer is under!

Setting up the press room

Have as many computers available as possible. Give your 'journalists' the computers with the least features, as they only need to create text, not graphics or layouts.

Electronic notebooks such as the Neo provide word-processing only so are well-suited to this activity. If your school has Neos that are used by special needs students, ask if you can borrow them for the day (and why not involve your special needs students too?)

Make sure you have enough cables and sockets to connect all computers and printers safely to the mains, and that any battery powered machines are fully charged.

Decide how you will transfer stories written on other computers to the one which is creating the master layout e.g. USB, infrared, data stick, email etc. and rehearse it to ensure data can transfer smoothly.

Transferring the data to the central computer from the Neo is easy, via a USB cable or the Neo's infrared link. Simply put the cursor into the place where the text is needed in the master file and press send.

Example: at the Scout Centres, stories had to be transferred from the old computers on which they had been written on floppy disc or CD. They often got lost or corrupted, which added hours to production time. Tempers got frayed and youngsters were demoralised. This made producing a newspaper, to quote Scout leader Shaun Joynson, a nightmare!

However, transferring data to the central computer or laptop from the Neo is easy, via a USB cable or the Neo's infrared link, making file transfer a matter of moments.

The Scouts were delighted to see the text flow smoothly from their Neos into the MS Publisher file holding the newsletter, said Shaun. We also had none of the usual confusion created by using different versions of word processing packages.