When PBS NewsHour Extra first approached us about building an interactive learning experience chock full of digital media and civic engagement-related tools to help students produce their own news reports on national issues, we jumped at the opportunity. In fact, this particular Drupal effort, called Student Reporting Labs, comprises a national pilot program for the client.
But what made this engagement particularly satisfying is that we saved the client time and money -- and delivered ahead of schedule and under budget -- thanks in large part to our technical team's implementation of two different Drupal distributions, OpenPublish and Open Atrium.
In fusing together our OpenPublish and Open Atrium Drupal platforms, we supported early launch requirements through future extensions as-needed. (OpenPublish powers the Student Reporting Labs website -- which was beautifully designed by Senior Designer Samantha Warren -- and Open Atrium enables the dynamic portal.)
What's more, we created an intuitive user experience that's complemented by a sleek visual interface designed specifically for the core audiences -- students, journalists, and news professionals.
Project Manager Joel Sackett said that the team loved engaging with such an enthusiastic team (on both sides) and an excellent brand. And when ESchoolNews.com announced on December 1 that PBS NewsHour's Student Reporting Labs earned "Featured Site of the Week" we were thrilled that the product of our collaboration with the historic non-profit yielded such early validation.
Beyond Joel and Samantha, the additional P2 team members who brought this project to life included Joshua Lieb, Dave Leonard, and Developer Brad Blake, who said, "I was excited about producing something that would give these students a great opportunity for mentorship and to gain real-world skills. This type of effort would give them experience they may not otherwise acquire until the end of their college years, and it may help them decide on potential career paths."
