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Monday, 23 September 2013

An Inside Look at School News

Posted on 20:16 by Unknown
Your Principal comes to you and asks you to start up a news broadcast at your school.  What do you do?  Where do you start?

Well, it seems like I have been living this dream for a couple of months straight now and want to share some tips and tricks with you on what I have done as I talk with schools.

Now this is just what I have done and by no means is the end all be all of setup processes but maybe you can pick up something along the way.  I will be breaking this up into a couple of blog articles because I can get pretty wordy, and I want you to come back.

So according to this scenario where do you begin? Well, at the beginning of course.

Where do you start? Let’s talk about what you need to have to get things going.  What kind of equipment do you need to have to do a newscast?

Actually this is the easiest part of the whole process.

Really, you might be thinking, yes it is.

So what should you have? Do you need to buy anything?

Whoa, hold on now let’s just take a look at what you have right in front of you first before we start trying to go through that long buying process that every school system has.

(At the end of the blog I will put in some other additional things that you could use to create a newsroom.)

Equipment:

A camera that’s it, that’s all, nothing else.

I am not talking about a Digital or Polaroid camera; I am referring to a video camera.  What type of video camera do you need?  That’s easy depending on what type of computer you have it, might be right in front of you.

Yes I am talking about a Web Camera; you know the one that is built into your laptop or one you may have purchased to go with your desktop computer.  I am of the firm belief of using whatever you have access to before buying anything.

So you have your webcam what else?  You do need to make sure that your webcam does have a built in microphone that is important.  If it does not then you will need to have access to a microphone that can plug into a computer.  I will explain a little more about sound in just a moment.  OK you have the video camera w/a microphone what’s next?

Now you need a space.

Location:

You want to make sure that you have an area set aside to be your newscast location.  It can be anyplace you have available in the school. A small area set aside in a classroom, Media Center or one of those wonderful Cafegymnatoriums.  (It took me a couple of years to be able to pronounce the word.)

The ideal location would be one that is separate from high traffic areas like a dedicated room.

I know that this is not common for most schools, so use what is available to you.

Now that you have figured out what space you are going to use what’s next?  My suggestion would be some chairs and maybe a table, a table is not always necessary though.  As long as you have a comfortable seat for your students to sit that is all that is really needed.

In this area I would also try to eliminate, as much as you can, any additional noises by using what is available as a sound break.  You could use partition walls, book shelves, mobile coat closets, desks, carpet squares, rugs or anything else that could create a noise barrier.

Broadcasting:

Now that we have our equipment and a location to broadcast from how do you get the news out to your entire school?  There are many ways to do this; I will outline a few of them that have been successful in our schools:

  • A quick and easy way is to just record the newscast with the students and then post the video up for the school to see at a later time.  To do this you will need to have a computer with some sort of recording software on it.  If you are using a PC you could use the built in Windows Live Movie Maker, or if you have a Mac you may have iMovie which you can use.  Both software applications have the ability to record from a video camera and then each have some tools for editing and saving the video to your computer to post for all of the students and teachers to see.
  • A second way is to use an online resource to show the newscast live.  A website that allows you to do this is Ustream.TV, the site allows you to live stream video and audio over the internet as long as you have a network connection from the computer your webcam is attached to.  You will have to set up an account on the website for streaming but it is free at least the last time I used the site it was.  You will set up the station to watch, make sure that the camera is connected and visible by the website.  Then you will get a link that you will send out to the school for classrooms to click on and watch.

Ok I mentioned before about sharing some other ideas for Equipment, Location and Broadcasting.  These are the beyond the basics of what is listed above:

Equipment:

  • Video cameras:  Camcorders, singular or multiple to use with a video changer for multiple camera angles.
  • Sound: Sound boards to allow for multiple microphones whether wired or wireless.

Location:

  • Room:  A studio room that is already sound proof and wired for the equipment.
  • Broadcasting:  Closed Circuit Systems can be used if available or a web-based broadcasting system.

This is just a small start to get a newscast going in your school.  Over the next couple of weeks I will talk more about the behind the scenes things that need to be done with student expectations and some interesting tools and techniques you can use to make your newscasts more interactive and fun so stay tuned for more.
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Posted in Evan Herreid, media, news, newscast, technology | No comments

Friday, 6 September 2013

Collaboration in the Digital Classroom

Posted on 06:00 by Unknown
Want to learn more about collaborating in a digital classroom? I am going to offer an online facilitated professional development course called Collaboration in the Digital Classroom. This is from Intel® Teach Elements. Below is a QR code that links to a flyer and video explaining more about the course.

QR Code

Here is a description from Intel® on Collaboration in the Digital Classroom: 

"Provides an in-depth look at collaboration with a focus on online collaborative tools. In this course, you will see how collaboration helps students develop 21st century thinking skills, deepen content understanding, and prepare them for the global world. You’ll learn how to plan and manage collaboration activities that integrate online collaborative tools—increasingly part of our globally connected workplaces.

• Learn how to find and choose the best Web-based tools to support collaboration
• Learn how to manage and support collaborators
• Understand and promote ethical, appropriate, and safe online behavior.

The course offers opportunities to apply the collaboration concepts with action planning exercises."

The start date of this workshop will be September 23, 2013 and we will end on Friday, November 15, 2013. We will have an optional face to face meeting to cover how to navigate this moodle. The optional face to face meeting will be on Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 4801 Bethania Station Road in the IRC computer lab from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. This workshop is limited to 15 participants.
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Posted in collaboration, digital, Dorene Bates | No comments

Tuesday, 3 September 2013

Inspiring Curiosity with Cloud Shapes

Posted on 07:28 by Unknown
Several weeks ago on Twitter someone posted a TED Talk. This TED Talk was by Gavin Pretor-Pinney: Cloudy with a Chance of Joy. Now why would I blog about that? Watch the TED Talk below and see what comes to your mind!


 

A couple of things that I really liked was when Gavin was talking about unplugging from everything and just laying back and watching the clouds. He talked about several cloud formations and that got me to thinking about different science standards and how they have to do with cloud shapes. Wouldn't showing this video be a good idea for introducing a unit on clouds? I think so!

The grade levels and the content standards are listed below:

7th Grade: 7.E.1.4 Predict weather conditions and patterns based on information obtained from:
  • Weather data collected from direct observations and measurement (wind speed and direction, air temperature, humidity and air pressure)

  • Weather maps, satellites and radar

  • Cloud shapes and types and associated elevation
5th Grade: 5.E.1 Understand weather patterns and phenomena, making connections to the weather in a particular place and time.
  •  5.E.1.3 Explain how global patterns such as the jet stream and water currents
    influence local weather in measurable terms such as temperature, wind
    direction and speed, and precipitation. 

Another great idea is using Wonderopolis. They have a great wonder of the day #591: What is a Lenticular Cloud?

One idea of how this could be used in the classroom would be as an introduction to your unit. Watch Gavin's TED Talk at the beginning of the unit, then give students an assignment to just look at the clouds they see (maybe over a weekend). They could also take pictures of these clouds to identify later. Another idea is after taking these pictures and identifying the different types of clouds, they could blog about the cloud and maybe mention what type of shape they saw in the clouds.

How will you see joy in the shapes of clouds?



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Posted in Dorene Bates, science, TED, Wonderopolis | No comments
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      • An Inside Look at School News
      • Collaboration in the Digital Classroom
      • Inspiring Curiosity with Cloud Shapes
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