School editorial board members have much potential within them, which can be further enhanced through an editorial skills workshop. With this in mind, HELP University’s Matriculation Centre recently organised the CeP@T School Editorial Board workshop, which is a revamped version of the traditional School Magazine Workshop. The workshop saw a participation of 5 schools from the Klang Valley and 1 school from Kuantan.
CeP@T, which stands for Content, Presence and Technology, provided the students with a fresh approach towards publishing an online school magazine. With the advent of Social Networking Sites and websites, CeP@T is a timely workshop that inculcates school editorial board members with the necessary technological skills to publish an e school magazine.
The Content section of the workshop was conducted by HELP Matriculation Centre Senior Lecturer Dr Chandra who enlightened the students on effective news writing skills. The Presence section was conducted by Senior Lecturer R. Murali Rajaratenam who guided students on effective photo taking, editing and posting techniques while the Technology section was conducted by Senior Lecturer Najmuddin Suki who shared his expertise in creating creative online layouts.
“We started running the School Magazine Workshop 10 years ago for Secondary school pupils to teach them the fundamentals of reporting, editing and publishing news. Through the workshop, we taught students journalistic skills with practical, hands-on sessions,” said Faculty of University Foundation Studies Dean Dhanesh Balakrishnan.
“As HELP University has achieved the coveted Premier Digital Technology University status and prioritises data analytics, we here at HMC felt the school magazine workshop had to be revamped and rebranded to keep up with the times. And so, we initiated CeP@T to groom a generation of school editorial board members who will be equipped with the technological skills to meet the needs of the future.”
Dhanesh added that one of the key components of HELP’s foundation programmes, is to develop leadership skills and confidence in students, as well as to acquire soft skills, such as good communication and teamwork.
“CeP@T is designed along the same lines, so that the school students who take part in these workshops learn to produce a first class e-school magazine through effective news writing, layout, and photography skills.”
Cheryl Phun Tse Ying from SMK Damansara Jaya who attended CeP@T found the workshop engaging and exciting.
“The workshop sessions were an eye opener for me and most importantly, the facilitators made it fun and interesting. I also managed to meet other students which proved to be a good networking platform for us from the school editorial board,” said Cheryl.
Adrian The Fu Xing, teacher from Chung Hwa Kuantan said workshops like CeP@T helps to improve students’ comprehension and writing skills to a great extent “A room without books is like a body without a soul. To be able to write good articles and produce a good magazine, one must read, then only can he write”.
Students who attended the CeP@T workshop will be able to further develop their editorial skills through the forum www.matrics.com.my.cepat Students will be able to clarify their doubts and interact with the facilitators online for further tips on producing their e-school magazine.