Teaching tip: The treasure map

One of the most fanciful tools I used before I retired to teach my students to think through the production process was the treasure map, where x marked the completion of the production.

I downloaded cartoonish treasure map from an online source and challenged my experienced editors –it is unfair to expect new editors to know it all early in the semester– to list, in order, the various steps in the process on the map. They were to include online and social media as part of the story assigning and gathering processes, to the editing process, to the final distribution process.

After they have completed them, I had them share and discuss with other editors, where they are likely to discover steps they missed.

I even challenged myself to work it through. In one version I came up with 34 steps, which included students attending and passing their other classes. (click on images to download pdfs)