Cronkite School offers summer digital training workshops

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is offering a series of hands-on workshops this summer for Arizonans of all ages seeking 21st century digital media skills and strategies.

The Cronkite New Media Academy will include sessions on social media, creating websites, and shooting and editing video for the Web. Participants can sign up for a single workshop or all three.

All sessions are taught by top Cronkite School professionals in digital media labs in the school’s state-of-the-art facility located on Arizona State University’s downtown Phoenix campus.

The academy, which has operated since 2009, has trained dozens of people in the language, tools and culture of the digital media world, said Cronkite Associate Dean Kristin Gilger. Participants have come from a wide range of backgrounds and have a variety of goals: Some want to launch their own professional websites or businesses, some want to build personal websites, and others seeks to advance their careers by building their digital media skills.

“Our approach is to introduce you to multimedia tools in small-group settings and give you time to practice under the direction of skilled media professionals,” Gilger said.

Workshops are individually priced and Cronkite certificates of participation are offered at the conclusion of each workshop.

In addition, the Cronkite School will teach a workshop on videography for the Web for media professionals out of its new bureau in Washington, D.C., this summer.

The local summer offerings are:

Social Media for Professionals – June 24 and 25

This two-day workshop teaches how and why to connect with others using Twitter, Facebook and other social networking tools. Participants will practice effective blogging, microblogging, social networking and social bookmarking and learn how to use visual forms of social media.

Creating Your Website – five consecutive Saturdays, beginning July 9 and ending Aug. 6

This five-day workshop focuses on how to set up a fully functional, multimedia website for personal or professional use. Participants will shoot photos and video and learn to edit in Photoshop and iMovie as well as practice uploading and managing content on their own WordPress sites.

Shooting and Editing Video – Aug. 11, 12 and 13

In this two-and-a-half day workshop, participants will get hands-on training in shooting, editing and sharing video on the Web. They’ll learn to edit using Final Cut Pro and will learn the basics of lighting, audio, shooting and using effects as well as techniques to improve their storytelling.

For more information about Cronkite New Media Academy offerings and to register, go to http://cronkite.asu.edu/newmedia/.