CTV - Creating a Student Video Broadcasting Station
My students need two iPad Airs (with covers) and an external microphone in order to start a video broadcasting station for our middle school in Boulder, Colorado.
Our classroom is based in inquiry-based learning, full of energy and interaction among the students. We pose lots of questions to answer and problems to solve to foster a deeper understanding of material. Having the materials to start our TV station will be a wonderful asset for the whole school.
Casey Middle School is located in the heart of Boulder, Colorado.
We have over 600 students 6-8. The student body is as diverse as any one school could be - from some wealthy families of Boulder to students who are homeless or living at or below the poverty level. We have students from all over the world - some come because their parents are getting advance degrees at the University of Colorado at Boulder and some come as political or economic refugees. We have almost 40% free and reduced lunch and about 20% ELL. I have taught at Casey for 26 years and have loved every minute of working with these kids.
I know that the students will love having their own "TV" station as a platform to share their voices and ideas as well as pertinent "school news." My research has shown that the most efficient way to produce the content is to film and edit on an iPad and then post the news program as a link for the other teachers to share with their students during homeroom.
My Project
Casey has been a school since 1923, but the 2014-2015 school year will be the first to have a student directed news station. The official title of the course is Publications. I am so excited to be starting this program with the students. We are envisioning student driven programming; allowing the students to design and implement their video broadcasting station covering a variety of programming from daily announcements to in-depth news coverage.
While using the iPads, students will work on their communication, journalism and 21st century skills as they design, develop, film and edit daily and weekly broadcasts that appeal to their peers and the greater school community. A professional microphone will allow for the content to be easily understood by others. Through the powerful medium of video, we hope to provide an enriching experience for all our students.
At least 20 students will be enrolled each semester in the Publications class.
These 7th and 8th grade students will be launching our video broadcasting station. These students will be learning valuable life-long skills as they impact the entire student body. Our hope is to create a student-driven video production program that positively impacts school-wide involvement, pride and identity. Some of the pieces will also be shared with parents in order to build a better home to school connection.
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