Brian Benton signed up for a beginning journalism class during his sophomore year at Palo Alto High School to test the waters a bit. He couldn't have asked for a better test, as the journalism ­program at "Paly" (the school's nickname) is both nationally known and highly regarded.

By the end of the year, Benton was hooked, and in May 2011, he became a co-editor-in-chief of The Campanile, the California high school's award-winning newspaper.

One might think Benton spends most of his time poring over copy, but that's hardly his reality. In fact, technology has transformed the way Benton and his fellow student journalists report the news: He actually spends almost as much time editing video and image-based slideshows as he does producing a paper.

"We're working hard to get more out of our stories by adding videos or photo slideshows to them when they're posted online," says Benton, a...