The Teacher-Writer Program is a 6-week online program where teachers become journalists as they produce 4 editions of the Via News Didi newsletter that is read by 1000+ students, teachers and parents across the country!
The 1st cohort of the program will run from 28th January to 10th March 2024.
We believe that teachers, with their understanding of how learning takes place - are best suited to write the news for children and help fellow teachers take current affairs into their classrooms.
Our newsletter, titled Via News Didi, aims to help readers understand how the world around them is changing and how they can change it for the better! We do this by sharing ‘news’ that's student-friendly and solutions focussed. Instead of problem centric news stories, we cover stories of people solving problems and ideas that work.
From conceptualising and designing to writing and editing - teachers will have an opportunity to put together each edition of the newsletter from scratch.
What will teachers do?
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Teachers will attend 2 writing workshops
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Teachers will write a variety of articles (including, but not limited to) -
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Articles on education and school systems/policies
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News stories or articles on current affairs
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Opinion articles
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Teachers will get to create activities for fellow teachers to take the news to their classroom
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Create and write a column with the cohort.
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Attend a Masterclass by journalists and other media professionals.
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Teachers will attend weekly team meetings with Team Via News Didi and have a ton of fun!
What will teachers learn?
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Writing for an audience of thousands of students, teachers and parents
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Conducting interviews and research skills
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Explore different kinds of writing - Feature writing, Opinion writing, Data-driven writing
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Co-creating with student writers
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Essential creator skills to design and publish a digital newsletter
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Data analysis for articles and analysis of reader data
Who is the program best suited for?
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The program is for any and all school teachers
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Teachers with an interest in writing may find the program exciting
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English and Social Science teachers may find the program to useful to learn about teaching journalism or current affairs
Who is eligible for the program ?
All school teachers are eligible to participate, no prior writing experience is required
How much time do participants have to give the program?
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Teachers will have to devote 6-8 hours per week
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2 writing workshops of 120 minutes each at the beginning of the program. These workshops will be conducted over the weekend.
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1 team meeting per week, no longer than 90 minutes
I wish to participate in the program. How can I apply ?
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Teachers must fill out this application form before Monday, 15th January 2024.
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Selected applicants will be invited for an online conversation.
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Each cohort will include only 7-10 teachers
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The program is free of cost