Jump to: navigation, search

Contents 1 History of the school morning show 2 Morning Shows Today: A Look at WKSN 2.1 What it takes to get the show on the air 2.2 Before air time 2.2.1 Equipment 2.2.2 Software 2.2.3 Student Positions at WKSN 2.2.4 Show Segments 2.3 On the air 2.3.1 Real-world applications for students 2.4 Off the air 2.4.1 Learning continues 2.5 A new direction for WKSN: Podcasting 2.6 The future looks green 2.7 Conclusion 2.7.1 At WKSN 2.7.2 At WBEN 2.7.2.1 Media Component 2.7.3 What ever happened to the Murrary Avenue students? 2.8 Image Used 2.9 Resources 2.10 References

[edit] History of the school morning show

Hailed as the pioneers of bringing television into schools, the Larchmont-Mamaroneck public school district in Westchester County, New York had in its mist a group of individuals all in the right place at the right time, when put together these individuals played a part in what was to become an extraordinary effort: The first television studio in an elementary school.

• Dr. Calvert E. Schlick, Associate Superintendent for Instructional Services.
• Jean Baity, a parent volunteer educated in speech and television at Universtiy of Michigan.
• David K. Stewart a former educational radio announcer hired in 1963 as principal of Murrary Avenue Elementary.

Dr. Calvert E. Schlick, was Associate Superintendent for Instructional Services in Larchmont-Mamaroneck public schools in Westchester County, New York beginning in 1966 he told the school board and any who would listen “Anything that equips students to deal with the barrage of information beamed at them by TV is a valid part of the curriculum.” Dr. Calvert was an advocate of teaching media literary in the classroom, he saw television and media as instruments of writing and felt that instead of passive onlookers students could be not just consumers but producers. He further stated:

We learn by doing. Experiences which actively engage our hands and eyes stay with us. Perhaps the true virtue of modern culture is the rich variety of media it affords for understanding and expressing ideas in the arts and sciences. Movies, radio, design, photography, print, and all the other communication forms are available to us not only as sources of information and pleasure, but as graspable tools for active, creative and, ultimately, educational production. . . . Such experiences can provide kids who previously had little respect for their own potential not only with a sense of satisfaction, but also with gains in the verbal area. Composing and recording words for a radio drama or a film help many students improve their writing and speaking abilities. . . .

With funding from a state grant written by Stewart, construction of the television studio began with the entire installation costing little over twenty-eight thousand dollars half was paid by the state. When school opened in September, 1966 the three camera studio was complete and the first elementary school morning show patterned after the Today Show aired at Murrary Avenue Elementary in Larchmont, NY. Under the supervision of Jean Baity, each of the school’s fifth and sixth grade classes took turns serving as news crews.

[edit] Morning Shows Today: A Look at WKSN

In the WKSN Studio everything is a buzz, the crew members are all busy on duty, getting ready for the Morning News Show. This has been a tradition at Kate Sullivan Elementary in Tallahassee Florida for the last ten years. Crew members arrive early and are on the job at 7:30 a.m. to set up for the show which airs promptly at 8:05 a.m. daily. No announcement is necessary, the entire campus is tuned into channel four for the news of the day.

Each fifth grade class has a team of students who serve as the crew, each crew member rotates through all the positions on the crew, giving students a chance to do each job necessary to run the show. At the start of the year interested students complete an application to serve on the morning show crew. WKSN applications must be signed by both the student and their parent or guardian, as a part of the application students must secure a recommendation from a former teacher from the third or fourth grade and a paragraph explanation of why the student would be an asset to WKSN is part of the application. Parents at this time also give permission for the student to participate in the podcast that is broadcast weekly on the internet.

[edit] What it takes to get the show on the air

The biggest challenge faced by Mrs. Dietrich is finding time to do a quality show, students come in at 7:30 a.m. and during their free play time after lunch. Students are trained the week before they run the show, the first crew of the year is trained by the Media Specialist and her assistant Mr. Mishaw, all additional teams are peer trained two days before they switch crews.

Mrs. Dietrich explained that each week a different team comes in and they change jobs from the week before, by the end of the year students would have rotated thru all the positions. When asked how working on the mornings show team helps student performance, Mrs. Dietrich noted that apart from the writing of reports and scripts, and the oral reporting and presentations, one of the most valuable skills student learn is the ability to problem solve. Since the show is done live, when problems occur student have to work out possible solutions, try to resolve the issue and possibly try all over again if that solution does not work, unlike paper and pen in the classroom, this has real-world applications where students see the product of their labor.

A great resource as the current show was developed, was the Leon District Media Center staff informed Mrs. Dietrich, of equipment choices and even with the set up of the studio. WKSN has been presented at FETC (Florida Educational Technology Conference) where Mrs. Dietrich highlighted the do’s don’ts and how-to’s of elementary morning shows.

When looking at legal aspects two things immediately come to mind for WKSN sponsor, Royalty-free music i and parental permission. You cannot just use any old music without thinking of the copyright issues and parental permission is needed for students to appear even on closed-circuit tv within the school and for voices to be used for the weekly podcast.

[edit] Before air time

[edit] Equipment

• Closed Circuit TV System
• Video Cameras
• Video Mixer/Switcher
• Audio Mixer
• Monitors
• Microphones
• Computers
• CD/Taper Player
• DVD/VCR Player

[edit] Software

• Microsoft Word & Power Point
• ScriptQ3 for teleprompting
• iMovie

[edit] Student Positions at WKSN

Anchor This job is important because the anchorperson is whom the audience sees. Most times the show is judged by how well the anchors perform.

Assistant Producer This crewmember coordinates the live show. He/she makes sure the run down sheet is accurate and changes it each day.

Audio Technician This crewmember must run the audio board during the show. The Audio crewmember must learn to follow the “Rundown Sheet.”

Camera Two They must know how to change the shot, zoom the camera and in general how to set a shot during the live broadcast.

Graphics Technician This crewmember creates the graphics on PowerPoint that are used during the news show.

Reporter/iMovie These crewmembers are in charge of having reports/iMovies for our weekly production.

Studio Manager/Camera One This crewmember makes sure that the equipment is turned on in the morning and that the set looks good and is cleaned up.

Switcher/Video Technician This crewmember handles the switching board and coordinates what the viewer sees during the show.

[edit] Show Segments

Some of the show segments are a part of the daily show and others are featured on a particular day. The principal as a prerecorded segment on each show called “Celebrating Kids” which is part of the school wide behavior management program. Some of the other features are:

• Announcements: Current & Upcoming events at school
• Book Reviews
• Daily Report varies from an on campus interview, report on famous person, an iMovie to promote a book, brain gym, words of wisdom (Character education), or Florida trivia
• FCAT word
• Lunch Menu
• Pledge
• Today in History
• Weather
• Word Wizz Quiz(Friday)

All the segments are researched, written and reported by the students.

[edit] On the air

[edit] Real-world applications for students

The purpose of the morning show is to communicate school news, celebrate learning activities and good citizenship, while giving students and opportunity to learn various production technical applications in a real world setting. What is happening simultaneously is learning of a different kind. Listening, viewing and speaking skills are being improved. Reading, writing and research skills are developed all while students prepare for the morning show. Once on the air, students have to be prepared for the unexpected, since this is a live show, as problems arise they trouble shoot on the spot and problem solving skill are fine tuned.

[edit] Off the air

[edit] Learning continues

The academic benefits are obvious but the social and emotional benefits are not to be overlooked. Reluctant readers are drawn out, shy loners are recognized in the hallways after just one appearance on the air. Just the words WKSN sparks a smile on the faces of would be staff member who can’t wait to get to the fifth grade.

Each school year brings a familiar last name or face, as siblings of prior team members see fifth grade not as the last year of elementary school but as they year they are eligible to work on the WKSN staff. Year after year, generation after generation the same families of students apply for positions on the WKSN team. Mrs. Dietrich attributes the endless stream of applicants to the positive effect the participation has on the students.

[edit] A new direction for WKSN: Podcasting

WKSN Podcast click second link on left to go hear podcast.

In an effort to integrate new technologies into Library Media Program at Sullivan, Mrs. Dietrich has done a weekly podcast of the Friday WKSN morning show for the past two years. This podcast has for an audience, not just the faculty, staff and students of Sullivan, but the family and friends of the students tune in on a regular basis. A subscription to the podcast is available on iTunes and has an RSS feed. Asked if other podcast are on the way, Mrs. Dietrich says the possibilities are endless, as this is great way to motivate students, showcase their talents while they have fun improving academic skills.

[edit] The future looks green

When asked what the future holds for the WKSN team, Mrs. Dietrich is looking forward to learning all she can and training her students in the use of green screen technology. She sees the chroma key technology as the natural next step to making an even more professional looking show and plans a social studies segment where the audience learns about the location in the reporters background.

[edit] Conclusion

[edit] At WKSN

Mrs. Dietrich sees positive success stories in her students daily, to her they are winners when they apply, and they continue to win every day they make positive choices not just at school and at home but in the community.

[edit] At WBEN

The WBEN morning show at my school has benefited instantly from this project. Our morning show is new but the enthusiasm and talent of the students is amazing. The complexity of the equipment has not scared them away, they have not merely learned but mastered the cameras, audio and video mixers, computer applications and the presentation it takes to put on a daily live show. We are working on developing our student lead segments and as a result of the lessons learned we have revised our crew rotations as we work towards a totally student run production from start to finish. We are on the way to joining the ranks of productions like the well oiled machine that is the WKSN morning show, it is an excellent example from which we have learned a great deal about the structure needed to take the learning beyond the studio.

[edit] Media Component

Listen to the first podcast of the WBEN morning show.

Created using Audacity

Intro/exit music used on WBEN Morning Show from purchased CD Soundzabound Royalty Free Music Volume #3, Disc #2, Track #31 Cool Newz TV

[edit] What ever happened to the Murrary Avenue students?

A follow-up study conducted in the early 1990s (Moody, 1993, Columbia U.) showed that many of these students had successful careers in communications including a number of producers for major networks. A far greater number had benefited from new insights into the medium of television and critical thinking skill developed in the process of using it. David Gumpel, who had come to the TV studio when he was in the fifth grade, was an Emmy-award winning producer with Jim Hensen in the year the follow-up was done. Gumpel recalls, "I was at a twisting point in the 5th grade-failing everything in the regular classroom." He said that his teachers thought of him as less capable than some of the others because he could barely read. What the teachers did not wish to deal with was David's dyslexia. However in fourth grade, David had been in a play that performed in the TV studio. Gumpel says that he remembers only one thing about that experience: "LIGHTS! ...and the black and white flickering monitors." Talented at problem-solving, he soon found his niche repairing and reconnecting things in the studio.

[edit] Image Used

Students at work in the WKSN studio taken by Pat Dietrich, used with her permission.

[edit] Resources

Articles and Reports-Center for Media Literacy: Production/Creating Media.

Building confidence among students

Definition of Chroma key

Flickr.com Online photo management and sharing application.

Green screen tutorial

Streaming Video of Amherst Middle School Tech TV Morning Show

The First TV Studio in an Elementary School

We Learn by Doing: Making Media in the Classroom

[edit] References

Barnouw, Eric. Early Experiments in School Television Production. Available: http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article339.html. Last accessed December 11, 2007.

Learmont, Donna. (2003). Collaborating for Success. Cable in the classroom. June, 14-16.

Moody, Kate. The First TV Studio in an Elementary School. Available: http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article425.html. Last accessed December 11, 2007.

Savage, Carol. (2002). Lights, Camera, Action: the ample rewards of turning your media center into a student-run studio. Available: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA236089.html. Last accessed December 11, 2007.

Schlick, Calvert. We Learn by Doing: Making Media in the Classroom. Available: http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article624.html#bio. Last accessed 11 December 2007.