So many things have changed this year. It feels like everyone is having to adjust to the new normal. Virtual classrooms, online meetings, Zoom – who knew that back in January we’d all have to get used to all of these changes.
Virtual learning is definitely different from in-person learning. It’s easy to forget how important face-to-face interactions can be. While a remote class can be challenging, there are ways to overcome these challenges! If your yearbook class has moved online, you can still create an incredible yearbook.
5 Things To Do In Virtual Yearbook Class
If you’re attending your yearbook class online, you can maintain your yearbook for the year. Sure, you may have to make some slight adjustments, but these can open up opportunities to develop new skills! Here are 5 things to do in your virtual yearbook class.
Check Access
Your first point of call should be checking everyone’s access. Do all of your yearbook staff have the correct login details? Make sure they are able to access your online yearbook software. You’ll want to make sure that everyone is able to work without any issues.
Develop Your Theme
Just like any other year, your yearbook is going to need a theme. Your yearbook theme will be the central idea or concept that your yearbook is built upon. Developing your theme should be fun! And this year can present a unique opportunity to get really creative!
Further Your Training
Creating a yearbook requires a variety of different skill sets. Within your yearbook team, you’ll have:
- Photographers
- Designers
- Advertisers
- Journalists
- And more!
A virtual yearbook classroom can provide a great opportunity to help further your yearbook skills. At YearbookLife, we host several group webinars throughout the season and individual training webinars that will help guide you through the yearbook design process.
Outline Your Yearbook
Working as a team, identify how you want to layout your yearbook. Look at the upcoming school year – what events are you planning to cover? With many events being held virtually, how will this impact your yearbook layout? Outlining your yearbook from the beginning can help you identify any core themes. It can also help identify places where you may need additional content to fill the pages.
Collaborate and Communicate
Make sure you’re collaborating and communicating with your team. Are there any tasks that a group will need to complete together? In a virtual world, communication is extremely important. Check in with your team regularly. Stick to deadlines, and create new tasks as needed.
We know that this year looks different. But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed. And that’s our commitment to providing you with yearbooks to create lasting memories. Our yearbook support staff are on hand to help you create your yearbook this year. If you’re interested in learning more, get in touch with YearbookLife today.
Printed yearbooks are a great way to highlight the academic year. School events, sporting victories, current events, these are all great topics to help make a yearbook memorable.
But have you ever thought to yourself, I wish that I could have my yearbook on my IPad or mobile device?
Digital yearbooks look exactly the same as your printed school yearbook. And yes, you can still sign them.
What is a Digital Yearbook?
A digital yearbook is your school yearbook, but on any mobile device. It looks exactly like your printed yearbook! But with a digital yearbook, you can browse on your mobile, tablet, or other mobile device.
What Makes A Digital Yearbook Different?
With traditional digital yearbooks, you can truly interact with your school’s yearbook. Most digital yearbooks will let you:
- The Yearbook of the Future
- Environmentally friendly
- Much more cost-effective
- Sign your friend’s yearbooks digitally
- Have your yearbook with you anywhere, anytime.
How to Make A Digital Yearbook
Creating a digital school yearbook can be a fun and creative project. Here are some steps to help you get started:
Planning and Organization:
- Determine the scope: Decide on the content and sections you want to include in your yearbook, such as class photos, student profiles, clubs and activities, memories, quotes, etc.
- Gather resources: Collect photos, artwork, and other digital materials from students and staff. You can ask them to submit their content through an online form or shared folder.
- Create a timeline: Set deadlines for content submission, design, editing, and finalization.
Choose a Digital Platform:
- Look for a suitable digital platform or software that allows you to create and design your yearbook. Ask your yearbook publisher if they provide online yearbook creation platforms specifically designed for schools.
Design and Layout:
- Start with a template: Utilize the pre-designed templates available in your chosen software or platform. These templates often have pre-set layouts, fonts, and designs to make your work easier.
- Customize the design: Add your school’s colors, logo, and other relevant branding elements. Experiment with different layouts and fonts to create a visually appealing and cohesive look throughout the yearbook.
- Organize sections: Divide the yearbook into sections and allocate appropriate space for each, ensuring a balanced representation of students and activities.
Content Creation:
- Insert photos: Insert student and staff photos, class pictures, and images from school events. Make sure the images are of high quality and properly organized within the sections.
- Add text and descriptions: Include student and staff profiles, memories, and quotes. Write engaging descriptions for clubs, activities, and special events.
- Feature artwork: If your school has student artwork or illustrations, include them in appropriate sections of the yearbook.
Collaboration and Review:
- Share drafts: Share the draft version of the yearbook with staff, students, and teachers for review and feedback. Allow them to suggest any necessary edits or additions.
- Proofread and edit: Ensure that all text, captions, and descriptions are accurate, error-free, and properly formatted. Pay attention to spelling, grammar, and consistency.
Digital Publishing and Distribution:
- Export and save: Save your yearbook project in a suitable digital format, such as PDF or a format compatible with your chosen platform.
- Online publishing: If you have a school website or online platform, upload the yearbook file to make it accessible to students and parents. Alternatively, you can create a dedicated website or use cloud storage services to share the yearbook digitally.
- Print options: Consider offering a printing option for those who prefer a physical copy of the yearbook. Explore professional printing services or discuss with your school administration about potential printing arrangements.
Remember to always obtain proper permissions and follow your school’s guidelines when collecting and using student photos and other personal information.
Interested in our Digital School Yearbooks? Click here to learn more.
Many of us are feeling more anxious than normal. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted our mental health and our social lives.
As schools prepare to reopen, the 2020-2021 school year looks to be like no other. Distance learning and virtual classrooms are just a few of the changes that we’re seeing.
And as schools adapt to this new learning environment, it’s important to consider the impact it’s having on the students. Practicing mindfulness can help reduce feelings of anxiety, and improve overall mental well being.
The Importance of Mindfulness
At some point in time, we’ve all practiced mindfulness. Being mindful involves taking the time to focus on the present. Think about how you are feeling and where you are.
In periods of increased stress and anxiety, it’s harder than you might think. It takes time, but the benefits are worth it. Being mindful can help keep us in a more positive mindset. This in turn helps boost our mental and physical well being.
And, thankfully, you don’t have to pay anything for mindfulness. Most mindfulness activities can be done from the comfort of your home. Below we’ve listed some top mindfulness activities.
- Take a Moment to Stretch
- Meditate
- Learn a New Hobby
- Bake Something
- Keep a Positivity Journal
- Create a Yearbook!
- This year is one worth remembering. Creating a yearbook gives you a creative outlet. Plus, it’s a great way of documenting all of the events in our current lives.
YearbookLife can help you create lasting memories. We offer a full range of yearbook publishing and printing services. Elementary School Yearbooks, Middle School Yearbooks or High School Yearbooks, we’ve got you covered. Give your yearbook an unforgettable edge with YearbookLife’s 3D Yearbooks. Or go fully interactive with YearbookLife’s Digital Yearbooks, powered by FC Yearbook. Find your perfect yearbook by clicking here.
Students and educators alike are gearing up to head back to school. But the 2020-2021 school year is shaping up to be unlike any we’ve experienced before.
COVID-19 has changed many parts of our daily lives. School is no different. Distance learning and virtual schools have become the norm.
Looking after the well-being and health of our schools, educators, students and communities is important. At YearbookLife, we are here to support you during this unusual time. To help schools and our communities, we’ve put together free education and health resources. Check out our COVID-19 resources for schools list below.
Distance Learning Resources
BrainPOP – Originally founded in 1999, BrainPOP is an online learning resource supporting “core and supplemental subjects, reaching millions of learners worldwide.” Science, social studies, math and English are just a few of their available resources.
Back To School Planning – The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have put together a helpful checklist to help parents, guardians and caregivers prepare for the upcoming school year.
Dance Mat Typing – Touch typing is a valuable skill. The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) have developed Dance Mat Typing, a fun way to teach touch typing.
Duolingo – Learning a second language is made easier with Duolingo’s free mobile App. Available for iPhone and Android devices. Duolingo breaks language learning into small, easily digestible daily tasks.
Resource-Bank – As stated on their website, “Created by Scholastic Resource Bank’s team of educational experts, you’ll find hundreds of engaging resources to help your child build key skills, develop their understanding and reach their full potential.”
Epic! – Gain access to a vast library of books, videos and more to help develop reading skills.
Prodigy – This math platform aims to motivate 1st – 8th grade students to learn and practice math.
School Administrator Resources
U.S Department of Education – Read the latest advice and information for educators from the U.S. DoE’s COVID-19 Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel.
CDC’s Guide for K-12 School Administrators and Child Care Programs – Per their website: “This interim guidance is intended for administrators of public and private child care programs and K-12 schools. Administrators are individuals who oversee the daily operations of child care programs and K-12 schools, and may include positions like child care program directors, school district superintendents, principals, and assistant principals. This guidance is intended for administrators at both the school/facility and district level.”
Further Support Resources
Speaking To Your Children About COVID-19 – It can be difficult to broach the subject of COVID-19 and its repercussions. The National Association of School Psychologists have put together a guide to help.
Avoiding Loneliness During Isolation – Social distancing is important to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. But it can leave us feeling isolated and alone. This article from NPR offers advice on avoiding loneliness.
At YearbookLife, the safety and wellbeing of everyone is at the front of our minds. That’s why we are offering Digital Yearbooks to help with No Touch distribution concerns. This year may be unusual, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not worth remembering. Our digital yearbooks look the same as a traditional printed yearbook, and allow you to message each other directly through the app: keeping you in touch, in a touchless world! Remember all your memories and keep safe with YearbookLife’s Digital Yearbooks. Read more by clicking here.
You’ve probably already heard that planning a yearbook takes time. It’s true; the earlier you get started on your yearbook creation process, the easier the process will be. One thing that is important to consider is the cost of your yearbook. Yearbook costs can fluctuate each year based on design enhancements selected.
When it’s time to gather up all of those amazing school memories, it can sometimes be difficult to convince teenagers to rush out and order a yearbook. But there is a whole different demographic of folks who might be interested in purchasing memories of our school age students – Parents!
Selling yearbooks to parents is a great opportunity to ensure some of those important memories live on. Even if our kids and students aren’t compelled to snatch one up, their parents will be!
We’ve got some great ideas to help entice parents to sign up on the order form for upcoming yearbook sales.
Selling Yearbooks to Parents – Tips and Ideas to Sell
Here are some great reasons to purchase a yearbook as a parent. Plus, ways you can help your school promote yearbook sales.
- Encourage students to purchase for family – Promote to your friends and family that supporting your student by purchasing a yearbook can help older members of your family see what your student has been doing all year. Those memories last a lifetime and grandparents will love it!
- They’ll appreciate the memories…someday! – Even if your student doesn’t seem interested in purchasing a yearbook now, it can be a unique and memorable gift later on. When we’re young we sometimes don’t realize the value in seeing our life experiences in print. Let’s face it, school can have a lot of fantastic memories. By emphasizing the importance of those memories, parents might want to sign up for a few!
- Utilize incentives – By offering coupons to various activities or even special “early bird” discounts, you can capture those parents that aren’t always active participants at school events.
- Build up anticipation – Hand out fliers, hang posters – build the anticipation by giving sneak peaks. Send things home, post on school social media, and use your email lists and parent contact lists to alert parents that yearbook time is upon them.
- Use existing digital avenues – Advertise on school websites, use social platforms, email lists and even call lists. These are great ways to alert parents that yearbooks are coming.
- Give frequent sneak peeks! – If you can, by utilizing fliers, digital avenues and even parent meetings, you can give parents a taste of the great content you’ve created to offer. This can help generate buzz for yearbook sales.
When it comes to it, we live in an age where Instagram and social media apps are king. By compelling parents to hang on to something tangible that they can potentially gift their kids as they get older, you can capture sales in a unique way. Just remember that apps and social media are ever changing, but a yearbook is forever!
Get a FREE Yearbook Quote from YearbookLife today!
At YearbookLife, we make yearbooks easy. Our easy-to-use yearbook design software and technical support assistance help simplify the yearbook process for you. Plus, our experienced customer care team are on hand to help you market your yearbook and increase your yearbook sales. If you’d like to request a quote today, please click here.
