In this hands-on workshop, SPJ Google News Lab trainer Mike Reilley will show you how to use free Google tools that can help your newsroom build interactive charts, maps, visualizations and more. Tools we’ll cover: Google Flourish, Google Dataset Search, Google Fact Check Explorer, Google Trends, MapChecking.com, Google Earth Studio, Earth Engine Timelapse, Public Data Explorer, advanced search, data scraping with Google Sheets and Google Flourish. Prior to the session, set up a free account at http://flourish.studio. Participants will receive handouts with exercises, links to tools and more.

Mike is an SPJ digital trainer who has taught Google News Initiative tools to more than 9,000 journalists and educators in 40 states over the past six years. He also is co-founder of and trainer in the MediaShift Training Network and the founder of Penny Press Digital LLC, a consulting and training company. When he’s not on the road doing trainings, he teaches data and multimedia journalism at the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he is a full-time faculty member. A former reporter at the LA Times and web editor at the Chicago Tribune, Mike served for 13 years as a faculty member at Northwestern, Arizona State University and DePaul University, teaching digital journalism to hundreds of students and professional journalists. He holds journalism degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (undergrad) and Northwestern University (masters). Mike founded and updates the research site The Journalist’s Toolbox for SPJ and runs the Chicago data and urban issues site, The Red Line Project.

All University of Nebraska-Lincoln students, faculty and staff are invited to join the workshop free via Zoom.