The following is some information on the audio slide show assignment for all JEM 230 students. Consider this general information about the assignment; your individual reporting section instructors may modify any part of this for your class.

All students will produce an audio slide show, due at some point during the second week of the semester.

This piece should be real journalism, covering some aspect of the beginning of the school year. It should be about something that is of interest to a more general audience. It should contain journalistic reporting - namely gathering information.

Here are the minimum requirements:

• The slide show should be two to three minutes long.
• It should contain 20 to 30 pictures with shots that are long range, medium range and close-up.
• It should have audio narration recorded by you.
• There should be a title card (full-page graphic) at the beginning and cards containing the date and credits at the end.

Remember that these are MINIMUM requirements. A slide show could also contain voices of sources, ambient sounds and music. It could contain text cards that add to the narration. It could even contain video.

You may use any software or hardware available to you for this project. In JEM 200, you were introduced to the Audacity software for audio editing and the Picasa software for putting the pictures together with the sound. Picasa is a free program from Google that comes in PC and Mac versions. It can be downloaded to anyone's computer. Both of these programs are extremely easy to use and can be learned on your own with relatively little effort.

Some students prefer iMovie or a PC equivalent, and some may be adept at Final Cut Pro. As we said, any software is acceptable.

Here is a short article on JPROF about audio slideshows.

JPROF also has the seven steps you should take to put together a good audio slideshow.

Finally, here are some examples of some audio slideshows completed by JEM 200 students this past spring:

http://tnjn.com/2010/may/08/ut-senior-plays-out-his-passio/

http://tnjn.com/2010/may/03/commuter-parking-and-the-first/

http://tnjn.com/2010/may/05/outdoor-exercise-unhealthy-in-/

http://tnjn.com/2010/may/05/ut-addresses-environmental-iss/