Five takeaways from my training at National Geographic Headquarters
By Adrienne Forgette
photo gallery
1 . STORYTELLING IS A HUMAN EXPERIENCE
We all love stories – we love hearing them , we love telling them , we love being a part of them . I ’ ve loved learning about National Geographic Fellow Paul Salopek ’ s storytelling journey this year as part of the Project Zero Out of Eden Learn curriculum . I was introduced to John Francis , the planetwalker , a man who spent 17 years in silence while foregoing motorized automobiles . These two men reinforce the importance of being deliberate and present , a lesson that can never be learned too early .
2 . USE GOOGLE FOR GOOD
John Bailey , program manager for Google Geo Education , led two sessions on Google Earth ’ s outreach program . We learned about 360 photospheres and videos in order to make use of the Ricoh Thetas that will be on board our expeditions . During John ’ s presentation , he shared examples of journalists using Google ’ s geobrowsing apps for telling stories that eventually led to change . While Google has a News Lab fellowship for college students to learn how to harness the Google technology in their storytelling , it would be great for our students to begin utilizing these tools during their high school media careers .
3 . MAP
Google Earth has been expanding to include users ’ submitted photospheres to help map our world . Does your school include any photospheres on its Google Earth map ?
Have your journalism students create 360 ° photospheres to contribute to your school ’ s map as well as the maps of your greater community .
4 . USE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EDUCATION
As part of my experience as a fellow , I am required to contribute a lesson for the National Geographic Education page . If you are an educator , check out this resource for inspirational lessons / activities to invigorate your classroom . Here ’ s an activity from a former colleague of mine who was recently featured as one of National Geographic ’ s educators of the week . National Geographic has also just launched a certification program for educators if you ’ d like to delve into professional development . I ’ ll be completing this certification as part of my fellowship .
5 . LESS IS MORE
During our photography lessons , we were encouraged not to feel pressured to capture everything and to look for that one shot that captures our story when we go through our photos . But don ’ t delete images on your camera because you are actually just deleting the shortcut to the photo but not the actual data itself . One of the National Geographic photographers shared that tip . Instead , download all images to your laptop and reformat your memory card after each photo session . We also learned that as we try to convey our experience as a Grosvenor Fellow to others , brevity is key .