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Sign up for classes online. Each registrant can choose up to four sessions, or take advantage of the Mini-Boot Camp (a special package of eight sessions that cover the same training as IRE's five-day Boot Camps, including hands-on spreadsheet and database classes). If you've already registered for the conference, we'll send an e-mail notifying you when online sign-ups are available. Seats are limited, so sign up right away to make sure you get a spot in your choice of classes.

Choose to see the schedule for a particular day or scroll down to see the whole schedule:
Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday

Guide to Hands-On CAR Classes: B=Basic; I=Intermediate; A=Advanced Classes designated as "MINI-BOOT CAMP" are reserved for participants who have previously registered for the Mini-Boot Camp.
Thursday (optional advanced day) Thursday will be devoted to advanced techniques of computer-assisted reporting.
Time	Panels	Room
9-10:10 a.m.	The latest in mapping: From ArcView tricks to recent work • Brian Hamman, Columbia Missourian • David Herzog, Missouri School of Journalism	Ballroom A
	Perl and Python programming • Chase Davis, Houston Chronicle • Daniel Lathrop, Seattle Post - Intelligencer	Ballroom B
10:20-11:30 am	Building your intranet: Getting data to the newsroom • Doug Stanley, The Tampa Tribune • James Wilkerson, The Des Moines Register	Ballroom A
	Doing your own sampling and surveys • David Donald, IRE and NICAR • Paul Overberg, USA Today	Ballroom B
11:40 am-12:50 pm	Web scraping: Techniques and challenges • John Perry, The Center for Public Integrity • Linda Johnson, The Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader	Ballroom A
	String functions: Cleaning up that data • Richard Mullins, The Center for Public Integrity • Griff Palmer, The New York TImes	Ballroom B
	Wikis and other new tools for investigations • MaryJo Webster, St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press • Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com	Gold Room
Lunch on your own
2-3:10 pm	What’s next: Smart text at The New York Times • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times • Janet Roberts, The New York Times • Tom Torok, The New York Times	Ballroom A
	Making stats sing: From crosstabs to regression • Robert Gebeloff , The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger • Jennifer LaFleur, The Dallas Morning News	Ballroom B
	Social network analysis: Overview and techniques • Jaimi Dowdell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Brant Houston, IRE and NICAR • Paul Walmsley, IRE and NICAR	Gold Room
3:20-4:30 pm	Making data interactive on the Web: Progamming tips • Chase Davis, Houston Chronicle • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times	Ballroom A
	Alphabet soup: A primer on ASP, PHP, SPSS, VBA, SQL and what all the CAR acronyms are used for • Maurice Tamman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune • Jodi Upton, USA Today	Ballroom B
	String functions: Cleaning up that data • Richard Mullins, The Center for Public Integrity • Griff Palmer, The New York TImes	Gold Room
4:40-5:50 pm	Wikis and other new tools for investigations • MaryJo Webster, St. Paul Pioneer Press • Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com	Ballroom A
	Social network analysis: Overview and techniques • Jaimi Dowdell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Brant Houston, IRE and NICAR • Paul Walmsley, IRE and NICAR	Ballroom B
	What’s next: Smart text: Smart text at The New York Times • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times • Janet Roberts, The New York Times • Tom Torok, The New York Times	Gold Room
Friday There will be ongoing panels and hands-on sessions Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In addition, special small workshops will be held in the Demo Room. Watch these pages for additions to the program in the next few days.
Time	Panels and Hands-on Classes	Room
8:30 a.m.	How best to use this conference • David Donald, IRE and NICAR • Brant Houston, IRE and NICAR	Gold Room
9-10:10 a.m.	Internet 101: Effective searching and best sites • Neil Reisner, Florida International University	Ballroom A
	CAR and environment • Spencer Hunt, The Columbus Dispatch • Ken Ward, Jr., The Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette	Ballroom B
	The latest in mapping • David Herzog, Missouri School of Journalism • Jeremy Milarsky, South Florida Sun-Sentinel • Mark Salling, Cleveland State University	Gold Room
	Hands-on class I: Downloading and analysis using American Community Survey data • Paul Overberg, USA Today	Carnegie
	Hands-on class B: Access 1: The purifying experience of filtering your data. Learn to select and sort data items you choose • Aaron Kessler, The (Charlottesville, Va.) Daily Progress	Stouffer
	Hands-on class B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting • William Hartnett, The Palm Beach Post	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: Mapping 1: Displaying data geographically with ArcView9.2 • Sarah Okeson, Florida Today	Garfield
	Hands-on class A: When desktops aren't enough: SQL Server introduction on how to import, view and query the data • Janet Roberts, The New York Times	Halle
	DEMO ROOM Parsing tricks with Monarch • Robert Gebeloff , The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger	Severance Room
10:20-11:30 a.m.	Internet 102: Advanced searching, the invisible Web, and downloading data • Neil Reisner, Florida International University	Ballroom A
	CAR and local government contracts • Jason Grotto, The Miami Herald • Dan Keating , The Washington Post	Ballroom B
	Presidential money and politics • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times • Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com	Gold Room
	Hands-on class B: Web sites and search techniques for reporters • Beth Kopine, IRE and NICAR	Carnegie
	Hands-on class I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing • John Maines, South Florida Sun-Sentinel	Stouffer
	Hands-on class B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates in Excel • Robert Gebeloff, The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: Mapping 2: Importing and selecting data by attribute (ArcView9.2) • Chris Schnaars, The (Allentown, Pa.) Morning Call	Garfield
	Hands-on class A: When desktops aren't enough: Introducing the basics of MySQL, an open source database server • Daniel Lathrop, Seattle Post-Intelligencer	Halle
	DEMO ROOM Reporter spycraft: Technology tips to keep your secrets • Steve Doig, Arizona State University	Severance Room
11:40 a.m.-12:50 p.m.	Using CAR for criminal justice stories • Justin Mayo, The Seattle Times • Griff Palmer, The New York TImes • Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times	Ballroom A
	Transportation: Covering accidents and infrastructure • Jennifer LaFleur, The Dallas Morning News • John McCormick, Chicago Tribune	Ballroom B
	Basics of social network analysis • Jaimi Dowdell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Aaron Kessler, The (Charlottesville, Va.) Daily Progress	Gold Room
	Hands-on class B: Backgrounding people on the Internet • Carolyn Edds, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times	Carnegie
	Hands-on class A: Access 3: How to join tables, matching information from one file to another • Jeremy Milarsky, South Florida Sun-Sentinel	Stouffer
	Hands-on class B: Excel 3: Learn pivot tables, filtering and more • Doug Haddix,The Columbus Dispatch	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: Mapping 3: Geocoding to merge databases with street addresses into maps (ArcView9.2) • Andrew Lehren, The New York Times	Garfield
	Hands-on class A: SQL Server: Using views, from basic to advanced • Tom Torok, The New York Times	Halle
	DEMO ROOM Web Scraping Jumpstart • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times	Severance Room
Lunch on your own
2-3:10 p.m.	Writing and editing CAR • Doug Haddix, The Columbus Dispatch • Stuart Warner, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer	Ballroom A
	Dealing with home mortgage data • Paula Lavigne, The Des Moines Register • Griff Palmer, The New York Times	Ballroom B
	Investigating subsidies • Megan Clarke, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution • Sarah Cohen, The Washington Post	Gold Room
	Hands-on class B: Backgrounding businesses on the Internet • Neil Reisner, Florida International University	Carnegie
	Hands-on class B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Larry Gillick, American University	Stouffer
	Hands-on class B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Jennie Coughlin, The (Staunton, Va.) News Leader	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: Mapping 4: How Spatial Analyst can pinpoint places and improve stories (ArcView9.2) • MaryJo Webster, St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press	Garfield
	Hands-on class A: SQL Server: Aggregating and manipulating data, including string functions • James Wilkerson, The Des Moines Register	Halle
	DEMO ROOM Data-sharing frameworks for the newsroom and Web • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times • Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com	Severance Room
3:20-4:30 p.m.	Using numbers in CAR • David Donald, IRE and NICAR	Ballroom A
	CAR for consumer investigations • Chris Schnaars, The (Allentown, Pa.) Morning Call • Mc Nelly Torres, South Florida Sun-Sentinel	Ballroom B
	CAR and the Web 1: How to get reporters and developers working together • David Milliron, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times	Gold Room
	Hands-on class B: Excel and Internet: Importing data from the Web into spreadsheets • Carolyn Edds, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times	Carnegie
	Hands-on class B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Steve Doig, Arizona State University	Stouffer
	Hands-on class B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Debbie Wolfe, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: Mapping 5: Nailing down the details — dealing with projections • Jennifer LaFleur, The Dallas Morning News	Garfield
	Hands-on class A: MySQL and PHP: Sharing data in your newsroom and on the Web • Brian Hamman, Columbia Missourian	Halle
	DEMO ROOM RSS scripting to download data • Daniel Lathrop, Seattle Post-Intelligencer	Severance Room
4:40-5:50 p.m.	CAR for disasters • John Maines, South Florida Sun-Sentinel • Ron Nixon, The New York Times	Ballroom A
	Census: From ACS to IPUMS • Steve Doig, Arizona State University • Paul Overberg, USA Today	Ballroom B
	CAR and the Web 2: Programs for data and interactivity • Brian Hamman, Columbia Missourian • Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com	Gold Room
	Hands-on class B: Excel and Internet: Importing PDFs from the Web into spreadsheets • Debbie Wolfe, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times	Carnegie
	Hands-on class B: Importing data into Excel (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Ryan McNeill, The Oklahoman	Stouffer
	Hands-on class B: Importing data into Excel (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Agustin Armendariz, The San Diego Union-Tribune	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: Connecting the dots and statistics with Social Network Analysis • Jaimi Dowdell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch	Garfield
	Hands-on class Programming skills: Moving data into your newsroom with ASP.NET • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times	Halle
	DEMO ROOM Serving up online maps with ArcIMS and ImageMapper • Ted Mellnik, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer • Dave Sheingold, The (Hackensack, N.J.) Record	Severance Room
6-7:20 p.m.	Philip Meyer Award Reception	Ambassador Ballroom
Saturday
Time	Panels and Hands-on Classes	Room
9-10:10 a.m.	Google and Yahoo mapping - mashups • Tom McGinty, Newsday • Maurice Tamman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune	Ballroom A
	Using CAR for education coverage • Jason Grotto, The Miami Herald • Frank Kummer, The Philadelphia Inquirer	Ballroom B
	CAR and the Web 3: Making data interactive and visually enticing • Shan Carter, The New York Times • Steve Duenes, The New York Times	Gold Room
	Hands-on class B: Web sites and search techniques for reporters • Neil Reisner, Florida International University	Carnegie
	Hands-on class I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing • Robert Benincasa, Gannett News Service	Stouffer
	Hands-on class A: Beyond basics: Using advanced Excel functions • MaryJo Webster, Saint Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: SPSS 1: Navigate SPSS, using descriptive statistics and frequencies. Create basic counts and percentages to help you understand your data. • Doug Haddix, The Columbus Dispatch	Garfield
	Hands-on class A: Programming skills: An introduction to Perl and regular expressions • John Perry, The Center for Public Integrity	Halle
	DEMO ROOM Visualizing speeches (and more) with tag clouds • Chase Davis, Houston Chronicle	Severance Room
10:20-11:30 a.m.	Following the money in Congress • Bill Allison, The Sunlight Foundation • Sheila Krumholz, Center for Responsive Politics • Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com	Ballroom A
	Covering nonprofits with CAR • Andy Hall, Wisconsin State Journal • Brant Houston, IRE and NICAR • Dan Moore, GuideStar	Ballroom B
	Using FOI for CAR: Recent developments • Wendell Cochran, American University • Jennifer LaFleur, The Dallas Morning News	Gold Room
	Hands-on class A: Web Scraping 1: Programming techniques to mine the Web • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times • John Perry, The Center for Public Integrity	Carnegie
	Hands-on class A: Beyond basics: Access string functions for data cleaning and more • David Milliron, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution	Stouffer
	Hands-on class B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting • Andrew Lehren, The New York Times	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: SPSS 2: Doing crosstabs to show the data in different ways, and statistical tests • Jason Method, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press	Garfield
	Hands-on class A: Programming skills: Using ASP to share data in your newsroom • Robert Gebeloff, The (Newark, N.J.) Star--Ledger	Halle
	DEMO ROOM Mashing it up with AJAX, XML, JSON • Brian Hamman, Columbia Missourian	Severance Room
11:40 a.m.-12:50 p.m.	Using CAR for covering housing foreclosures • Geoff Dutton, The Columbus Dispatch • Ted Mellnik, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer • Jill Riepenhoff, The Columbus Dispatch	Ballroom A
	State Money and Politics • David Poole, Virginia Public Access Project • Maurice Tamman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune	Ballroom B
	Federal databases you need • Sean Moulton, OMB Watch • Ron Nixon, The New York Times • Jeff Porter, IRE and NICAR	Gold Room
	Hands-on class A: Web Scraping 2: More programming techniques to mine the Web (attendance from Web Scraping 1 required) • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times • John Perry, The Center for Public Integrity	Carnegie
	Hands-on class A: Beyond basics: Building a database using Access forms to ease the process • Edwin Bender, National Institute on Money in State Politics • Paul Overberg, USA Today • Jodi Upton, USA Today	Stouffer
	Hands-on class B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates in Excel • Tisha Thompson, WMAR-Baltimore	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: SPSS 3: Basic linear regression techniques and diagnostics • David Donald, IRE and NICAR	Garfield
	Hands-on class A: Programming skills: Python — the programming language for the rest of us • Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com	Halle
	DEMO ROOM What's next: Smart text and the Standardizer at The New York Times • Tom Torok, The New York Times • Janet Roberts, The New York Times	Severance Room
Lunch on your own
2-3:10 p.m.	CAR and healthcare • Robert Benincasa, Gannett News Service • Joan Mazzolini, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer	Ballroom A
	CAR and broadcast • Nancy Amons, WSMV-Nashville • Mark Greenblatt, KHOU-Houston • Jeff Porter, IRE and NICAR	Ballroom B
	CAR and the military • Michael Fabey, Aviation Week & Aerospace Daily • Andrew Lehren, The New York Times • Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times	Gold Room
	Hands-on class A: Google Maps 101: How to build dynamic maps • Maurice Tamman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune	Carnegie
	Hands-on class B: Moving into Access: An introduction to filtering (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Chase Davis, Houston Chronicle	Stouffer
	Hands-on class B: Moving into Access: An introduction to filtering (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Megan Clarke, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: SPSS 4: Using SPSS syntax to automate time-consuming tasks • David Donald, IRE and NICAR	Garfield
	Hands-on class A: Taming data: Turning reports into tables with Monarch • Paula Lavigne, The Des Moines Register	Halle
	DEMO ROOM Tracking federal dollars: New search tools • Sean Moulton, OMB Watch	Severance Room
3:20-4:30 p.m.	International CAR • Helena Bengtsson, The Center for Public Integrity • Brant Houston, IRE and NICAR • Karl Idsvoog, Kent State University	Ballroom A
	Investigating business with CAR • James Bandler, The Wall Street Journal • Charles Forelle, The Wall Street Journal • Jason Method, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press	Ballroom B
	Workplace CAR • David Knox, Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism • David McKie, CBC News • Ken Ward, Jr., The Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette	Gold Room
	Hands-on class A: Advanced Google Mapping: How to create dynamic maps overlaying thematic polygons • Maurice Tamman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune	Carnegie
	Hands-on class I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Ted Mellnik, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer	Stouffer
	Hands-on class I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Griff Palmer, The New York Times	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: Mapping 2: Importing and selecting data by attribute (ArcView9.2) • Mark Greenblatt, KHOU-Houston	Garfield
	Hands-on class A: Taming data: Using text editors to clean your data and text manipulation • James Wilkerson, The Des Moines Register	Halle
	DEMO ROOM CAR-station on a stick: Portable apps on the run • Daniel Lathrop, Seattle Post - Intelligencer	Severance Room
4:40-5:50 p.m.	Quick hits: CAR without projects • Dave Davis, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer • Linda Johnson, Lexington Herald Leader	Ballroom A
	Covering ethnicity and race with CAR • Elliot Jaspin, Cox Newspapers	Gold Room
	Hands-on class A: Wiki for your thoughts: Setting up and creating this free-wheeling database • Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com	Carnegie
	Hands-on class A: Access 3: How to join tables, matching information from one file to another (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Tom Gaumer, freelancer	Stouffer
	Hands-on class A: Access 3: How to join tables, matching information from one file to another (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Dave Sheingold, The Record	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class A: Mapping 3: Geocoding to merge databases with street addresses into maps (ArcView9.2) • Dan Keating, The Washington Post	Garfield
	Hands-on class A: Taming data: Perl and VBScript as tools to format, clean and organize data for use in any database software • Tom Torok, The New York Times	Halle
	DEMO ROOM What IRE and NICAR can do for you • Staff	Severance Room
6-7:20 p.m.	Hands-on class OPEN LAB for MINI-BOOT CAMP: A session on finding, downloading and importing data (limited seating available; students might have to share computer time) • IRE and NICAR staff	Carnegie
	Hands-on class If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.	Stouffer
	Hands-on class If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.	Rockefeller
	Hands-on class If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.	Garfield
	Hands-on class If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.	Halle
Sunday
Time	Panels and Hands-on Classes	Room
9-10:10 a.m.	Teaching CAR in journalism schools and newsrooms • Larry Gillick, Jr., American University • David Herzog, Missouri School of Journalism • Brant Houston, IRE and NICAR • Karl Idsvoog, Kent State University	Ballroom A
	Internet 101 • David Donald, IRE and NICAR	Ballroom B
	Hands-on class B: Backgrounding people on the Internet • Carolyn Edds, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times	Carnegie
	Hands-on class B: Build your own database: The in's and out's of how to structure and maintain a database you create (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Ken McCall, Dayton Daily News	Stouffer
	Hands-on class B: Build your own database: The in's and out's of how to structure and maintain a database you create (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • David Knox, Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism	Rockefeller
10:20-11:30 a.m.	Roundtable on CAR in the changing newsroom • Brant Houston, IRE and NICAR	Ballroom A
	Immigration and Homeland Security	Ballroom B
	Hands-on class B: Backgrounding businesses on the Internet • Todd Wallack, Boston Business Journal	Carnegie
	Hands-on class A final Q&A session, exercise and how to take it all home (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • IRE and NICAR staff	Stouffer
	Hands-on class A final Q&A session, exercise and how to take it all home (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • IRE and NICAR staff	Rockefeller