So it’s not the actual new year of 2015. But if you are connected with a school or college or other institution of learning, September always feels like a beginning, the place where everything starts again. (Maybe bankers feel this way about a new fiscal year but I don’t think they show the same excitement.) I am feeling the tug of the future, the sense of new possibilities — even if the temperatures steamy.
Tonight is the first class of the MAPW’s Multimedia, Social Media and Software for the Professional Writer. The first class this summer was a learning experience for the instructor as well as the students and I am anxious to bring in new tools for digital narratives and story telling. Issues with social media are always heating up and we are looking to have a lively class. I’m already wondering what will be the new app that will swoop in and “change everything” before the end of the semester. Any guesses?
We will definitely play with some of the many videos apps out there. Over the weekend, while I was planning the class, I took out 15 minutes to create the welcoming video posted below. Fortunately I had some decent quality photos on hand of me “in action.” Of course, I wish I could Photoshop away the wrinkles and those extra pounds but that’s no fault of the Regis photographer who did a good job under rushed conditions.
Tomorrow, Anne Stuart, a colleague, friend and one of the best all-around journalists in the Boston area, will start her hybrid class on “Advanced Business Writing for the Trades and Technology.” Professor Stuart is a long-time journalist (Associated Press, Quincy Patriot Ledger) with extensive experience as a staff writer and editor at national magazines, daily newspapers, business websites and an international news service. She has been a freelance contributor to many additional print and online publications. She has also been a regular adjunct professor of graduate communication classes; frequent instructor of writing workshops. Currently, she is the editor of Custom Editorial Content at MIT’s Technology Review. Business writing — with an emphasis on technology — is hot field right now and Anne has been at the cutting edge for years.
Monday sees the first session of our “foundations” course, the introduction to professional writing. I’m still finalizing the schedule but this course will be heavy on guest speakers in the writing and communications field who will add a huge dose of reality and excitement to the class. Expect more about this course in the weeks to come.
After all, it is a brand new year.
The New Professional Writer 