Description
Maybe you've used pre-packaged vendor tools to create digital news presentations, but you aren't quite ready to tackle full-stack programming, database management and server setup. Maybe you're hoping reporters will learn how keeping structured data about their beat can benefit the organization. Or maybe you're looking for a tool that help organize/display information when that breaking news event happens.
Enter tabletop.js and handlebars.js, two little JavaScript libraries that play well with one another and make it easy to maintain and deliver data-driven content.
The workshop/panel/interactive/session proposes to:
- Show examples of work using tabletop & handlebars by Mother Jones, The Texas Tribune and other news organizations
- Explain how a Google Spreadsheet can power a Choose Your Own Adventure interactive, a chart or a timeline, an engagement project.
- Show how a newsroom can collaborate on a Google Spreadsheet and make changes on the fly to content on a site.
- House structured data that can be put into play when the news warrants.
Links/Multimedia
Some examples of work done with Tabletop.js, Handlebars.js or both.
Mother Jones: You Might Be the 47 Percent If: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/charts-47-percent-romney-tax-data
Blog Post: Behind The Story: Mother Jones and the 47 percent: http://www.ire.org/blog/on-the-road/2012/09/21/behind-story-mother-jones-and-47-percent/
Blog Post: Some Thoughts After a Couple Months With Tabletop and Handlebars: http://blog.chrislkeller.com/some-thoughts-after-a-couple-months-with-tabl/
Mother Jones: Make a news quiz with Tabletop.js: http://motherjones.github.io/newsquiz/index-basic.html
SCPR: The search for Christopher Dorner http://projects.scpr.org/static/timelines/christopher-dorner-timeline/
Mother Jones: "Choose Your Own Adventure" style presentations: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/05/citizens-united-amendment-flowchart
Texas Tribune: "Choose Your Own Adventure" style presentations: http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/interactive-should-texas-expand-medicaid/
Texas Tribune: Whom Do Lawmakers Support in House Speaker Faceoff? http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/house-speaker-rep-pledges/
Texas Tribune: Tracking Texas' Gun Legislation http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/track-83rd-gun-bills/
Texas Tribune: Sequester Cuts by State http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/texas-sequester-cuts/
SCPR: #DearMayor: What should LA's new mayor work on first? http://projects.scpr.org/static/interactives/la-mayors-race/dear-mayor/
Blog Post: Tabletop.js to searchable datatable: http://projects.chrislkeller.com/demos/tabletop_to_datatables
Blog Post: Why I love Tabletop.js but don't use it in production https://gist.github.com/jsvine/3295633
How does your submission contribute to the diversity of conference programming?
This panel/workshop/session will offer an intro to a middle ground for folks who have used pre-packaged vendor tools for creating web presentations, yet aren't ready to tackle full-stack programming, database management and server setup.
This group wants to make creative, dynamic -- and of course newsworthy -- interactive projects, and tabletop.js and handlebars.js can help them do that.
The right balance might be a 10,000 foot overview of a few basic programming concepts -- retrieving information with javascript and displaying it on a page -- that can be re-used and improved upon, and a deeper discussion of structuring the project from the outset.