Essential Conditions
Shared Vision
Having a shared vision for the goals of the morning broadcast is vital for the success of the program. Working toward a common goal ensures that the resources needed, whether they are physical, temporal or human, will be provided. In our schools the shared vision centers around building school community, connecting to the positive behavior plan, and engaging students.
Space
First you will need a physical space to house your set and equipment. Some of our schools have dedicated studio space while others utilize a quiet conference or storage room. Whatever the space, it just needs to be quiet and have some options for lighting.
Equipment
Equipment can range from a $20,000 professional set up with an encoder cart, teleprompters, HD cameras and green screens to a simple arrangement of a camera, microphone and a computer with encoding software. In the Clarke County district, we have a range of these options. Our current equipment includes:
Having a shared vision for the goals of the morning broadcast is vital for the success of the program. Working toward a common goal ensures that the resources needed, whether they are physical, temporal or human, will be provided. In our schools the shared vision centers around building school community, connecting to the positive behavior plan, and engaging students.
Space
First you will need a physical space to house your set and equipment. Some of our schools have dedicated studio space while others utilize a quiet conference or storage room. Whatever the space, it just needs to be quiet and have some options for lighting.
Equipment
Equipment can range from a $20,000 professional set up with an encoder cart, teleprompters, HD cameras and green screens to a simple arrangement of a camera, microphone and a computer with encoding software. In the Clarke County district, we have a range of these options. Our current equipment includes:
- a room off the library for the TV studio
- a camera on a tripod
- a microphone
- an encoder cart set up by TSAV
- Microsoft Expression 4 encoding software
- an iMac with iMovie & iTunes
- a set of 3 iPod Touches
- several Flip cameras
- Dropbox software installed on the iPods, the encoder cart, and the iMac
News Team
News teams can be built in a multitude of ways, and all schools approach building teams in different ways. At Winterville, teachers provide recommendations to the media specialist. Once a list is gathered, the students do a screen test and interview with the librarian. As the year progresses different students rotate through different roles on the team - anchor, camera man, on-the-street reporter, editor. At JJ Harris, students are more involved in the behind the scenes generation of broadcast media and are not live on-air reporters.
Time
There needs to be a dedicated time that is honored by the school community. Students report to the studio first thing in the morning to go over their script and prepare for the broadcast. Because the Winterville library does not have a library assistant, it's necessary to close the library to student traffic during this time so that the media specialist can focus on the team and supporting the broadcast. Having a consistent time also helps teachers and students watching the broadcast incorporate it into their morning routine.
Our news team will also participate in "working lunches" to brainstorm and film new stories. Because the morning news is part of the school routine, teachers are supportive of the student journalists. Everyone wants the chance to be part of the production!
Support
There are several types of support needed to foster a successful news broadcast. First, you need the support of the administration. With the principal and assistant principal involved and on-board all of the other pieces will fall into place. The expectation that classrooms will tune in each morning to watch the morning broadcast has been built into the school culture by our administration, and they are consistently present and involved with the live broadcast. They also produce media for broadcast. In addition to being actively involved, the administration also provide funding for the purchase of needed equipment.
The other supports needed come from technology services and instructional technology. It is essential to have technicians who will respond quickly to fix any problems with equipment and servers. Instructional technology specialists can provide sustained just-in-time support for the whole news crew. Having a person on hand during the live broadcast to help troubleshoot helps the students capacity in this area. Using a Gradual Release of Responsibly model, students will eventually take on the role of troubleshooting themselves and be able to run the entire broadcast.
News teams can be built in a multitude of ways, and all schools approach building teams in different ways. At Winterville, teachers provide recommendations to the media specialist. Once a list is gathered, the students do a screen test and interview with the librarian. As the year progresses different students rotate through different roles on the team - anchor, camera man, on-the-street reporter, editor. At JJ Harris, students are more involved in the behind the scenes generation of broadcast media and are not live on-air reporters.
Time
There needs to be a dedicated time that is honored by the school community. Students report to the studio first thing in the morning to go over their script and prepare for the broadcast. Because the Winterville library does not have a library assistant, it's necessary to close the library to student traffic during this time so that the media specialist can focus on the team and supporting the broadcast. Having a consistent time also helps teachers and students watching the broadcast incorporate it into their morning routine.
Our news team will also participate in "working lunches" to brainstorm and film new stories. Because the morning news is part of the school routine, teachers are supportive of the student journalists. Everyone wants the chance to be part of the production!
Support
There are several types of support needed to foster a successful news broadcast. First, you need the support of the administration. With the principal and assistant principal involved and on-board all of the other pieces will fall into place. The expectation that classrooms will tune in each morning to watch the morning broadcast has been built into the school culture by our administration, and they are consistently present and involved with the live broadcast. They also produce media for broadcast. In addition to being actively involved, the administration also provide funding for the purchase of needed equipment.
The other supports needed come from technology services and instructional technology. It is essential to have technicians who will respond quickly to fix any problems with equipment and servers. Instructional technology specialists can provide sustained just-in-time support for the whole news crew. Having a person on hand during the live broadcast to help troubleshoot helps the students capacity in this area. Using a Gradual Release of Responsibly model, students will eventually take on the role of troubleshooting themselves and be able to run the entire broadcast.