by Colleen Casner | Jun 12, 2014 | News Slider
Every summer since 2000, high school students from middle and west Tennessee have ventured to Lipscomb’s campus for a three-day journalism camp. From Sunday evening to Wednesday morning, eleven campers took part in journalism classes taught by Lipscomb faculty and students, enjoyed mixers and wrote and photographed their own news stories, the best of which was published on Lumination Network. The camp is co-hosted by Lipscomb’s Department of Communication and Journalism and the Tennessee High School Press Association and is directed by Jimmy McCollum, an associate professor in the department and the head of the THSPA. Unique to this year’s camp, the campers gained their hands-on experience at writing and photographing a news story by covering Lipscomb’s BisonBot Robotics Camp for students in fourth through sixth grades. McCollum came up with the idea to take the camp beyond simply having the campers interview and write stories about each other and instead giving campers a real story to work on that could potentially be published on Lumination. “Now, they can show the fruits of their labor to their friends and family back home and say, ‘Hey, I was a reporter. Here’s my article. Here’s my news story. Here’s my newscast for all the world to see,’” McCollum said. In addition to covering the robotics camp, campers attended the different classes that were geared to the aspects of journalism that interest campers the most. Jai Cosey, a rising junior, especially enjoyed McCollum’s newswriting class. “Mr. Jimmy’s fun,” she said. Cosey originally discovered through poetry that she enjoyed writing and is now interested in newswriting, as well as possibly working on her...
by Arden Igleheart | Jun 11, 2014 | News Slider
Editor’s note: The following stories were written by students at the 2014 Lipscomb University/Tennessee High School Press Association Journalism Camp. By Arden Igleheart, Victoria Curry and Billy Pulley Few people can say they’ve built a functional robotic arm in their lifetimes. The children aged 8-14 at the Lipscomb University and Nissan Engineering and Robotics Camp, however, will be able to say so by the end of the week. The students have four days to create a moving robotic arm that can pick up various items. They are building it entirely from over 100 individual parts, most as simple as screws and pieces of plastic. For many of the campers, this work satisfies a long interest in engineering and building. This is an especially unique experience for 12 of the campers, who come from underprivileged families living in Cayce Place, a low-income public housing facility in Nashville. They were provided tuition and transportation from Nashville free of charge. “My parents knew [this camp] was right up my alley because I like to put stuff together, take stuff apart, and program stuff,” said 12-year-old Andrew. “And so, my parents knew I’d like it.” “When I was a lot younger I used to imagine things I would want to build,” said Michael, 10. “I’ve been learning about gears and how they work.” The students are being taught about diverse aspects of robotics. “We’ve just been learning about gears and how things work and what robots are and what they’re not, and how to use tools,” Angela said. The counselors have noticed that the campers learn broader lessons, too. “[They learn to] try...
by Monaih Sam | Jun 6, 2013 | News Slider
The annual Lipscomb University Journalism Camp, co-hosted by the Tennessee High School Press Association, was held this week on the Lipscomb University campus. J-camp is one of many camps going on at Lipscomb this summer, but one of the few that has lasted for over a decade. “The Genesis of J-camp was in 2002,” said J-camp director Dr. Jimmy McCollum. “We began with four students our first year and we’ve grown each year since.” Nearly 20 students and advisers attended this year’s camp, including students from Georgia and Illinois. “Many students come here because they are interested in journalism or their school advisers want them to come. Others come because they are interested in the school and want to be on campus,” McCollum added. Campers were given the opportunity to stay in the college dorms and get a real feel of the college life This year’s camp offered sessions on topics ranging from video and photography to staff management and interviewing techniques. Campers also got the opportunity to produce their own newscast. J-camp featured over 12 guest speakers including Lipscomb’s own communication professors, Dr. McCollum, Alan Griggs and Dr. Mark McGee. Campers ended the three-day event with a J-camp rewind that presented the work done by the aspiring journalists. Staff Management and Organization Tips Jan Little, teacher and adviser from Brentwood High School taught the session on staff management and organization. Little urged the students to “look for people you can trust,” and prioritize your tasks. Little’s list of task to help run a better school newsroom: Have a mailing list Mail letters to colleges Staff meetings – ad...
