The fifth graders at Sawnee Elementary School produce a daily live video broadcast. My fifth grade daughter is a member of the broadcast team and she gave me a tour of the video broadcast room and explained how the broadcast is produced. Her knowledge of the how to produce a school TV news program was impressive. If you are a media specialist who needs to produce a school TV news program – just find a fifth grader –they will be glad to share their knowledge.
At Sawnee Elementary, four rotating teams of fifth grade students produce the daily school TV news. Each team is made up of 8 members – 2 anchors, 1 weather reporter, 2 camera persons, 1 mixer operator, 1 graphics operator, and 1 director. The volunteer teacher who oversees the program chooses students based on a written application they submit at the end of fourth grade.
Sawnee is fortunate to have decent equipment which they use to produce the program.
The anchors read the script off a laptop which serves as a teleprompter. The volunteer teacher uses PowerPoint to create slides with the script. The anchors simply click the laptop mouse to scroll through the slides.
The video broadcast room has a wall painted green (by yours truly!) which serves as a green screen.
The graphics operator uses a laptop to switch the graphics. The volunteer teacher creates a script for the graphics operator to follow.
The video broadcast room has 2 cameras – one focused on the anchor desk and one focused on an open area in the room.
The mixer is used to add graphics and sound to the broadcast and to switch which camera is being broadcast. The mixer is connected to a simple monitor that previews the broadcast.
The mixer operator refers to a posted list of instructions to help them remember when and how to change the mixer.
The broadcast has a basic format:
Introduction
Weather
Moment of Silence
Pledge
Announcements (lunch menu, upcoming events such as book fair)
Special Feature - Vary daily and include items such as guest speakers, students presenting book talks, presentation of Star Students, presentation of W.A.T.C.H. Dog Dads, etc.
Sign Off - Anchors end broadcast with “Sawnee Students Shine Shine Shine”
The broadcast encounters very few difficulties. The volunteer teacher does wish that they had laptops with Wi-Fi so that there would be less cords running through the room. She is planning on petitioning PTA for new laptops.
The school TV news at Sawnee is basic and their equipment is far from being cutting edge. But that just serves to prove that a School TV News broadcast does not have to be an insurmountable task. Follow Sawnee’s model and start simple, then work your way to having a full blown production such as the one at Pleasant Grove Elementary (http://www.henry.k12.ga.us/pges/knn/).
Remember, the information about Sawnee’s broadcast was obtained from a fifth grader. If they can learn how to create a live broadcast, so can you!
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ReplyDeleteI think that your school has an innovative school news program. The students are provided with the opportunity to use mixers and other equipment that they are not inclined to use in the traditional classroom. I also like how you included pictures in your text to teach us how Sawnee Elementary School manages its school news program.
ReplyDeleteI do my field experience at a local middle school, and they do not have these resources. The students use a single camera, and they inform their classmates about school activities and news. The school also neglects to have a mixer to add graphics and sounds to the news program. Although they have less resources, the students and librarian try to make the program a fundamental news tool for the school.
I also like how your school uses PowerPoint and laptops to allow students to read the news information. I think that this is an effective tactic. I also suggest that allowing students to engage in building the news program, including graphics and sounds, and fusing different tools into the news program improves the volunteer teacher's ability to teach students about news activities.
I also think that your link to the Kids News Network is an appropriate website for learning how to design a news program. I suggest that adding a link on the media center website about the school's news students could educate other students and teachers about the news program's activities.
It's fantastic that your daughter has such detailed knowledge on how to run the newscast! It's amazing that they get to use equipment like a mixer. Did I understand right that the same students run the newscast the entire year? It would be great if more students had a chance at learning hot to do the newscast. At the school where my mentor works, all fifth graders get a chance to work on the morning news cast. They all rotate through during the school year, so every one gets a chance to do one of the jobs: anchor (2), weather person, camera operator and director. The media specialist oversees the production. She wrote a basic script, which is on Power Point, and displays it on a computer in the news room. She changes it up depending on special events going on in the school. Every morning is the moment of silence, pledge, weather report and lunch menu. The pledge is pre-recorded. All students in the school have a chance to say the pledge on a rotating basis. The media specialist calls down groups of 5 students at a time and records them reciting the pledge. She records several groups of students at a time. She then plays one group back every day on the news. That way, every student in the school gets to take part in the news cast in some way. The students love to see themselves on TV!
ReplyDeleteTiffany - Your program sounds a lot likes ours except that every part of our broadcast is live even the pledge. Students from other grades are invited to perform the pledge. We have a large school (1600 students) so it is impossible to give everyone a chance to participate in the broadcast. Fifth grades students (approximately 50 out of 300 students) are selected based on their interest and an application they complete. There are 4 rotating teams. The broadcast used to be run by the Gifted Education students only, but this year they expanded the program to allow all fifth graders to apply. It is actually nice that the students get to run the program several times throughout the year. They become experts. This year the volunteer teacher took maternity leave and it was helpful to the substitue teacher that the students knew what to do.
ReplyDeleteMy son was part of the morning news when he was in high school, but I don’t think the students were involved in the actual production of the program. The program that you described, especially for middle school students, seems to be an excellent introduction to broadcasting. I love the fact that the students are involved in so many key rolls. I realize that the technology of today does not intimidate our students, and as media specialists we would do well to tap into their enthusiasm. I applaud your volunteer teacher. I realize they must commit a great deal of time to this project, but the students are gaining so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this overview. I believe this type of project could be used to promote morning news, book review, upcoming projects, and countless other events at the school. Great post!!!