I am sorry for the late post, I thought this was due today!
After exploring the suggested sites, it was interesting to see how Orenco Elementary school in Hillsboro, Oregon does their Kids News Network. While I found it to be fun and innovative in their coverage, I believe it was too long at 24 minutes. They covered an extensive amount of school and community news and their graphics and transitions were nice but I think the school news should be shorter in length even if not produced daily or weekly. I reviewed Eisenhower Middle School’s YouTube channel for their news station. It was not too long and the stories were fun but informative.
After exploring the suggested sites, it was interesting to see how Orenco Elementary school in Hillsboro, Oregon does their Kids News Network. While I found it to be fun and innovative in their coverage, I believe it was too long at 24 minutes. They covered an extensive amount of school and community news and their graphics and transitions were nice but I think the school news should be shorter in length even if not produced daily or weekly. I reviewed Eisenhower Middle School’s YouTube channel for their news station. It was not too long and the stories were fun but informative.
I currently work at a high school that has a full TV
station. Students produce a morning news show once per day and is no more than
5-10 minutes every school day. Students audition to become anchor on the news
desk. Two are selected and report school news daily. They do not use graphics
during the reporting. Additional students produce feature stories that are
edited to air. Students are required to follow guidelines to have their story air
such as a storyboard, producer, and appropriate music. Most content is events
that are upcoming, such as extracurricular activities. They do not report on
community news or even report the weather. It is started by an upbeat opening,
then the pledge of allegiance, and a moment of silence. They often have an SAT word of the day. The
production is managed by our Broadcasting teacher, who also teaches the for credit
class. She does an excellent job teaching the students to use the equipment and
how to edit and produce great content. She
has a student station manager who helps to oversee production. They have experienced problems such as students not finishing stories, but they just move on to another one. Students are required to come up with ideas for stories and complete all the tasks, such as securing the talent and editing it for air. The broadcast teacher reviews every story before air.
There is a
rotation schedule of student producers and the students must be in the class or have taken the class
to participate. They also have a club for the station. The news is aired on a
closed circuit channel on TVs in classrooms and lobby areas throughout the
school. At one time they also aired the Channel One News, but it is no longer
aired for benefit of time. I turn it on daily in the media center so I stay
abreast of what is going on around the school as well as for others to view
while in the media center in the morning. Additional feature stories and PSA’s
are produced for a longer show that airs on Fridays. Students are allowed to
produce shows such a promotional fundraiser for donuts that was produced with a
James Bond theme and music. Students also produce PSA’s on topics such as
domestic abuse and teen driving. The Friday show loops all day. Daily in the
afternoons, announcements are aired over the intercom that reiterate the news
show.
I have toured the studio and it is a first class setup with
several Mac computer editing suites, a real studio with professional desk and cameras,
production board, and microphones. The Broadcast teacher does an excellent job
teaching the students a comprehensive overview of TV production. They leave
with skills that will enable them to take them into careers.
I can not imagine having a news segment lasting for 24 minutes in an elementary school. I do believe that a school news production is an awesome way to engage students, but if it drags on students will lose interest. At the school I work at it is my objective to complete announcements in no longer than 10 minutes. On some days, it may not be more than five minutes. This way the morning news delivers needed information, but does not interfere with instructional time. Friday is the only day that we typically go over with added student awards and a student dance party.
ReplyDeleteI also like the idea of giving the students responsibilities for the production. This gives them a sense of ownership and pride in what they are doing.
It’s interesting hearing this from a high school perspective. I certainly agree with you and Heather. Twenty-four minutes is just too long for a news broadcast. However if the intent is to gradually view the material throughout the week it might be a little more conceivable. I’m sure many of us thought we wanted to become television broadcasters at some point in time. I’m also sure that many of us would have appreciated an opportunity to test run some of the career paths of which we had an interest. This would have at least narrowed down our college major choices from 6 to 3. What a great opportunity to explore that career. I would love to see a link to one of their broadcasts.
ReplyDeleteSchool news programs are a great way to keep a school connected. There are so many events and dates to keep up with, that even small schools can feel disconnected without something to bring them together. I think news cast can be a great connecting point for a school community. It sounds like the teacher does a phenomenal job keeping your school's broadcast show moving. I also like that these broadcast shows can cross the borders from elementary, middle and high school environments. I can easily see one running pretty long though, especially when you don't have a broadcast everyday. I'm just glad to see school having these programs. Better long and not at all.
ReplyDeleteHaving a school news program is a great way to integrate technology in schools. The problem is in the amount of time used. I agree with your position that 24 minutes a day dedicated to a school news program is a little too much. A five minute program in the morning or afternoon to begin or wrap of the day is great but having a longer program at the end of the week would also could awesome as well. To combat the instructional day issues, the program could be run on the school website for students and teachers alike to check out what's going on around the school. Many school districts have their own cable channel; why not a school having their own web channel?
ReplyDelete