I spent the last two years, my junior and senior years, practicing journalism in high school. This practice has trained me in 21st century skills.

It has allowed me to develop skills in communicating (learning skills), technology literacy (literacy skills) and productivity (life skills).

The class has helped me see the importance of communicating with others. In many other classes, the benefits of working well in groups were not emphasized. In my newswriting class, it was the most important skill a person could ever have. I had to stay updated on how far along a story was and how many stories a person has finished. It was also important during layouts because I had to know who did which pages and which pages were lacking information. There were times when things had to be rushed when communication was lacking.

The class has also helped me in developing technology literacy. I had to learn how to use Google Docs and Drive, Indesign, Photoshop, Twitter, Trello, cameras, and the WordPress site (mhspinion.com). All these devices and technologies were necessary in the classroom. By knowing how to use each device, I was able to contribute to the newspaper through stories, pictures, tweets, story ideas, polls, etc.. Some of these technologies were more helpful than others.

For example, Google Docs and Drive, Trello, and the WordPress site were used more than any of the other devices. Google Docs and Drive allowed stories and information to be shared amongst all those involved. Trello showed the status of all the stories. The WordPress site featured stories, pictures/images, and polls done by all those in the newswriting classes.

The technologies that proved to take the longest time to learn were Indesign and Photoshop. However, once I learned how to use them, I was able to help with the print issue. It was worth learning all of these devices and technologies.

I also learned the importance of productivity. Deadlines were important in my newswriting class and I had to finish stories, layouts and assignments in time to prevent any problems. By being one of the editors, I know how stressful it is to not have a story done by the deadline.

When a story was incomplete, there is one less story to include in the print issue. During my first year in newswriting, I was mostly the web-editor. I was being graded on how often the website was being updated. If there was a lack of stories, I had nothing to look over and ultimately nothing new to put on the website.

All of these skills proved to be helpful in journalism. I was able to learn about them and expand my knowledge. I know that these skills will be useful in the future.