How to #NICAR15 If You Missed #NICAR15

By Madison Feller

Last week, a gaggle of journo/coder hybrids overtook Atlanta, Georgia for the 2015 Computer Assisted Reporting conference. Over three-and-a-half days, students and professionals alike came together to learn about everything from Fusion Tables to APIs. It was a jam-packed weekend, but if you happened to miss it, don't worry. ONA Mizzou is here to tell you how to get everything you can from #NICAR15—even if you didn't actually go.

Step 1: Check out the 2015 CAR Conference blog.

This blog will take you through the weekend's events, including session recaps from fellow MU students detailing what to do when you don't have data and tips for keeping an eye on public spending. These posts are a simple way to peek inside a CAR attendee's notes.

Step 2: Read up on the tipsheets and links.

A majority of the presenters at the conference submitted a tipsheet or presentation so you can go back and relearn the material whenever's convenient for you. If you're new to computer assisted reporting, I'd recommend checking out this rundown of all the tech vocabulary you may hear around a newsroom. (This tutorial on building your first news app also seems like a good place to start.)

Step 3: Go exploring.

Maybe you're already well-versed in all things code and want to know more about what other newsrooms are doing. Luckily, there's a decent amount of open source code for you to peruse and learn from. Look through these 13 repositories to find data and code from The Guardian, NPR, The New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, and more. You can also explore this compilation of open source from a variety of newsrooms.

Step 4: Take it home.

Whether you want to further the education you received at the conference or your intense FOMO left you wondering, "What else can I do?" consider looking into one of these classes:

• JOURN 4430 Computer Assisted Reporting

• JOURN 4508 Information Graphics

• JOURN 4502 Multimedia Planning and Design

• JOURN 4444 Team-Based Mobile Device Application Development