We’re happy to announce that registration is open for ONA09 Pre-Conference Workshops, the unofficial start of the Online News Association’s annual conference on Thursday, Oct. 1, at the San Francisco Hilton.

This year, we’ve reached out to leaders in the digital media field and offer full- or half-day sessions that feature hands-on multimedia training and delve into new concepts in technology and digital thinking.

To register for a Pre-Conference Workshop, visit ONAconference/register.

Fees are discounted for ONA members. ONA Membership is $75 for journalists and academics, $25 for students, and also comes with $300 off a full-conference pass. Not a member? Join now.

For full session descriptions, visit the Pre-Conference Workshops schedule.

Full-Day Sessions: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Video Production for Beginners
Instructor: Chet Rhodes, Deputy Multimedia Editor, Breaking News, washingtonpost.com
Capacity: 50 students
Fee: $100 for members; $150 for non-members
This workshop is for those new to shooting and editing video for the Web. Chet will provide hands-on training for journalists looking to learn to add video to print and online reporting. Participants must bring their own laptops. Video cameras are welcome but optional.

Video Storytelling
Instructor: Richard Koci Hernandez, Ford Fellow, University of California-Berkeley’s Knight Digital Media Center
Capacity: 24
Fee: $100 for members; $150 for non-members
This session will cover more advanced techniques for those with experience shooting and editing their own videos. A hands-on training experience for journalists looking to expand their multimedia skills. The focus is on mixing photos, video and audio content and editing them into multimedia presentations. Students will produce their own finished project—from capturing content to editing to compressing the final files. Get inspired seeing some of the most cutting-edge multimedia projects and learn how they were produced.

Dynamic Interactives for Newsrooms: A Django Workshop with IRE
Instructor: Aron Pilhofer, Editor, Interactive News Technologies, New York Times
Capacity: 25
Fee: $100 for members; $150 for non-members
You’ve seen the database-driven interactives like The New York Times’ Cabinet Picker or Word Train. Now learn how they’re done. This all-day, hands-on workshop hosted by Investigative Reporters and Editors, will focus on Web frameworks programming techniques for online journalists to tell stories in ways unique to the Web.

The session will take you from the basics to a fully functioning application in Django, the framework that drives eye-catching sites like EveryBlock and Politifact, as well as interactives on news sites like the Washington Post, New York Times and Los Angeles Times. It’s a soup-to-nuts course, in which you’ll start with a blank slate and wind up with a near web-ready Django backend that can talk to a Flash interactive.

The session is best for those who already have some advanced skills (SQL, ActionScript, Javascript, PHP, etc.) and are interested in writing database-driven applications for the Web or for their own internal intranets. Bring your own laptops.

Fund My Media
Instructor: Jan Schaffer, Executive Director, J-Lab at American University: The Institute for Interactive Journalism
Capacity: 80
Fee: $50 for members; $60 for non-members
This all-day workshop, supported by a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, shows how new forms of foundation-funded or grant-funded media are emerging in the new media ecosystem — and how you can join them.

The digital streets of American are rife with journalists looking to practice their craft and their passion outside the strictures of a traditional, brand-name newsroom. Jan will lead a day of practical advice — and cautionary tales — for those thinking about striking out on their own. She’ll cover starting a site from scratch, looking for funding, making the choice about non-profit or ad-driven models and how to define success.

Half-Day Sessions: 1-4 p.m.

Retrain Your Brainstorm: An Afternoon with IDEO
Instructors: IDEO staff
Capacity: 40
Fee: $50 for members; $60 for non-members
Learn the unique steps in IDEO’s brainstorming and innovation process, training yourself to break out of conference room brainstorms to learn what true product innovation means. It isn’t just the result of happenstance — it requires a determined and dedicated approach to finding opportunities. IDEO, the San Francisco global design consultancy, is a pioneer in using a human-centered, design-based approach to help organizations find, test and own growth opportunities. Members of the IDEO team will provide a hands-on session describing their approach to audience research and brainstorming and immerse the participants in an interactive session using the different steps in IDEO’s design-based innovation process.

The Facebook API: Tapping Into Facebook for Distribution and Conversation
Instructor: Eston Bond, author, designer and developer behind Socialuxe
Capacity: 20
Fee: $50 for members; $60 for non-members
In four short years, Facebook has gone from campus sensation to worldwide social phenomenon, a global network of friends and communities that has changed how people communicate and how media is consumed. Participants will learn first-hand how to use Facebook’s open API and Facebook Connect tools to harness the power of the network to foster community and distribution from a former product designer at Facebook. Some technology/developer experience a must.

To register for an ONA09 Pre-Conference Workshop, visit ONAconference.org/register.