School TV News or School Intercom News?
The news at my school is presented
daily over the intercom around 8:00am. It is organized by the Media Specialist;
she also trains the anchors. The anchors present the information in the same
sequence every day beginning with 40 seconds of silent reflection. They then ask
the students to stand as they recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the school’s
pledge. Next the students give a report on the weather that is followed by the
lunch menu and the character education word of the week. At the conclusion of
the news, the Principal will deliver his important announcements.
I have worked at several schools
that actually had a live broadcast of the school news and I found this to be
more effective for the staff and students. It was more engaging as it allowed
the viewers to make a visual connection with the information being delivered. The
anchors made the broadcast humors and interesting. They included video clips informing
the students of current events locally and globally and to promote clubs,
fundraisers, and other happenings at the school. The broadcasts were also
published to youtube for the staff, students, and parents to reference if
needed. The members of the newscast were the Gifted Teacher, School Librarian
and a rotation of students from every grade-level. The resource used to create
the broadcasts was iMovie. The news being presented in this way helped bridge
the gap between all stakeholders of the school. This would be an ideal way to
deliver the news at my current school; however, the classrooms do not have
televisions. I honestly didn’t even think about that until completing this assignment.
We have all of the latest and innovative technology devices and resources, but
we don’t have access to a single television in the building. We have a $5,000
poster maker, but no way of viewing anything internally or externally unless it’s
through youtube or another form of live streaming and even with that, it isn’t used
consistently or school-wide.
Video Distribution Systems & GPB Education Resources
CCES Elementary does not have a video
distribution or closed circuit cable system, as stated in the
previous post; we don’t even have televisions in the classroom. We have one
floor model big screen from the 80’s that is located in the library and is
liable to give out at any moment. My school does not use a digital system that
transmits TV content over the data network and I am not familiar with how these
systems work. I am familiar with and have used a closed circuit cable system
when I worked in Clayton County. We had about four of five channels that were
mostly internal, but if I remember correctly, one channel was external and
showed the local news. The internal channels were used to display and view school
news broadcasts, watch instructional movies, and view pre-approved movies that
were used as incentives. I read on another post that “Currently,
the teachers utilized the digitalized classroom to view instructional videos
and the school news. Clayton County Public Schools are digitalized classrooms,
which allow teachers to access the digital system with the wireless network via
Clayton County laptop or desktop”. This is a prime example of how fast technology
is trending and evolving because 6 years ago, such was not the case in that
district. It is my belief that even though teachers have
access to a plethora of online resources, a video distribution system of some
sort is necessary and beneficial. Online resources are not always reliable as
many others may be trying to use them simultaneously or there may be
technological glitches that occur.
Formerly known as United Streaming, Discovery Education is the most commonly used GPB resource in schools and school libraries. My school or district doesn’t have a universal GPB resource that we are expected to use collectively. Teachers also use resources such as youtube and teachertube on an individual basis. This assignment has allowed me insight and access to a variety of other GPB resources including PBS Learning Media and Fast Forward Launchpad. I will be sharing the GPB site with my librarian and colleagues.
Formerly known as United Streaming, Discovery Education is the most commonly used GPB resource in schools and school libraries. My school or district doesn’t have a universal GPB resource that we are expected to use collectively. Teachers also use resources such as youtube and teachertube on an individual basis. This assignment has allowed me insight and access to a variety of other GPB resources including PBS Learning Media and Fast Forward Launchpad. I will be sharing the GPB site with my librarian and colleagues.
*I
accidently did the wrong topic initially so I posted them both. This is the
blog post for group 1 J
My school is truly behind the times. We need so many technology updates. With every class I take and assignment I complete take for SLM certification, I see more and more I want to implement. Broadcasting the morning news is one of the things I am truly intrigued with. As with so many things, I lack knowledge and experience in how to even begin broadcasting – but I have a desire to learn! Our school currently has a camera, but I’ve been at my school for ten years and have never seen or heard of it being used. As I read in the post, if televisions are required in order to share the broadcast with the school, then we too would have difficulties. There are a few televisions still in our school, but the majority of the classrooms no longer have working televisions. I just assumed with the many technology advancements the news would be able to be transmitted via our promethean boards. Again, I don’t actually know, but I’m thinking of the many ways in which people are able to communicate with each other through video conferencing and it seems that there would be a way to share a news broadcast without the use of television. I hope to learn more about broadcasting the school news through the posts of my classmates, my visits to media centers, and research. With training and proper equipment, of course, I feel a live broadcast would truly capture the attention and interest of our student body.
ReplyDeleteHi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very informative to me. It was interesting to read information from someone who has actually volunteered at a school who had updated equipment and did creative things with it. Saying the Pledge and allowing students to listen to the weather are such great ideas. I have been making a list of all of these so that I will have a great reference for innovations in my future career. How neat is that, that the broadcasts are also on Youtube? This is awesome for teacher who need to go back again and review announcements.
You did a great job discussing the issues surrounding a school in which technology abounds but the simple things like a TV are missing. Last year, I was in a school that had virtually no technology but it did have the big box body Zenith monstrosities precariously bolted high up on the wall. All the news and announcements were done over the intercom and a ticker ran across the school’s website as a backup for needing information. At my new school this year, we have touchscreen Promethean’s that are basically giant iPad/big screen TV combos but no way to put the announcements all of them in every classroom simultaneously. However, we do still have the old, boxy TVs perched upon the walls that the daily announcements are displayed on. Students in the Business Connections class film them and send them as a .mov file via Google Drive to the media specialist who then sends them through the hardwired TV connections. We only have that one channel for announcements while things like Channel One, CNN Student News and the like are done through YouTube, TeacherTube, and United Streaming. It’s amazing how the more technology improves, the more we still have to rely on the simply things like the 19 inch standard definition dinosaur…
ReplyDeleteI like how your students are involved in the morning announcements. Our school used to do daily video announcements with student anchors, but since our school day has started earlier, the principal and media specialist couldn't find the time to fit in the daily announcements. The students loved it and felt more involved in the happenings of the school. Although, our students do not do video announcements, I feel that they can still be a part by doing the announcements via intercom. I will definitely be passing this on to my media specialist and administration. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post on using, or not using, a video distribution tool in your school. Even though your school does not use one, you still see the importance of having that type of technology at your disposal which I couldn't agree with more. We use ours for morning announcements every morning and for school wide movie days. It is housed in the media center so the specialist and myself have complete control over it. The teachers are equipped with technology in the classrooms to make them as self-sufficient as possible but technology is a fickle, fickle friend! Our specialist is always having to go fix promethean boards or lady bugs. Having a video distribution tool to fall back on is a great asset. I am interested in finding out what resources, if any, our school uses from GPB. Sounds like there may be some things worth looking into!
ReplyDeleteI love how a morning announcement show can help make a school feel more of a community. I believe it encourages students to become involved and help make the announcements more appealing and interactive. I remember that when I was student teaching that students were rewarded in order to be on the morning announcements and students really worked hard to be recognized for their good behavior.
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ReplyDeleteUsing technology to share pertinent information about events, programs, and promoting a love of learning through school news is definitely a priority on my to-do list as a future media specialist. I have had the opportunity to see it done really well, as well as inconsistent with little to no planning. It is a great way to showcase student talent and communicate with the entire student body. I prefer it streamed live because many times when the information is sent via email many teachers will opt out of showing it to their students. Katie, I totally agree with your thoughts of creating a community through the broadcast. At my previous school, it was a priority and my principal taught essential life skills and built character through the broadcast from the word of the day to highligting proper manners weekly. There is a plethora of technology available, but as many of you have stated it is not always utilized in a manner that will impact student learning and provide teachable moments.
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