They passed articles to each other for critique. They found the judges' feedback particularly useful and were surprised by the variation in points of view among the judges. For the students, the contest has been a tremendous confidence-builder. They see it's all working - all the things we discuss as good journalism are paying off. Bidleman believes that Highwired.
Net gives student journalism new credibility.
It's fun to hear students saying we're not just a high school club. We're not just high school students. We are spending our time developing real journalistic skills, using the same technology as real journalists. When they go out there on the Web and see other quality programs, they feel good about what we do here. Perhaps the greatest advantage of programs such as Highwired.