Student Broadcast Show 1

Running Head: Student Broadcast Show

Starting a Student Broadcast Show

Stephanie Moses
University of West Georgia

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My topic is regarding implementing a student broadcast show at the elementary school at

which I am employed. Students at my school are excited to participate in extracurricular
activities and a student broadcast show will be a great addition to the school. A broadcast show
would be supervised by the computer literacy teacher and would foster social and emotional
growth. Students can express their creativity and work on public speaking skills as well
(Bencivenga, 2000).
Teachers at the school were surveyed using Survey Monkey to get their input on
implementation of a broadcast show. The teachers surveyed teach K-5th and they all agreed that
our school will benefit from having a broadcast show, except one teacher. 45% think the show
should be done once a week and 29% once a month, 16% once a day and 8% to or three times a
week. Teachers agreed that the broadcast show should be offered for 3rd-5th graders and that the
most important criteria for allowing students to participate are as follows: Students show respect
and has good manners, works well with others, has good grades, good speaking voices and
willingness to learn new things. The teachers were split regarding when the students should meet
for the broadcast show but most agreed after school was the best time to meet. There are many
benefits to the broadcast show that teachers stated such as: improve speaking skills, leadership
skills, improve self-esteem, and build self-confidence and motivation. Students might also feel
they have a voice at school and feel more informed about events. After conducting research and
interviewing a fellow colleague that already has done student broadcasting shows in the past, the
budget ended up not being a major issue as once thought in the beginning. Although, teachers
offered some fundraising ideas to help fund the student broadcast show such as: bake sales, car
washes, one mile fun run, school store, doughnut sales, and ice cream sales.

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As far as equipment needed, the main purchase is a video camera. The show will be
placed on the share drive at school and streamed through a computer in the classroom. Other
equipment that will be useful in implementing the broadcast show is a computer to display
visuals during the taping of the show, tripod for camera, microphones (handheld or wireless) and
a thumb drive that contains all information pertaining to the show. As the broadcast show grows,
then more advanced equipment could be purchased.
The student broadcast show can be conducted in two ways. If the show is done once a
week, important events and interviews of students can be the focus. For a daily show, students
can greet students, announce lunch menus, event of the day, pledges, thought of the day, and
special announcements. The Education Worlds Principal Files Team agrees that a student
broadcast show builds a sense of togetherness and sets a positive tone for the school day.
Building a routine is important for students to experience; also student success thrives on
routines and a broadcast show will support this as well.
Students can express interest in the broadcast show process by submitting an application
and teachers can recommend students as well. Students can be switched out every quarter to give
more students opportunities to participate. The exiting broadcast students can train the incoming
students for the upcoming quarter.
Most of the broadcast show will be short in length ranging from three to five minutes.
The script can very basic and can be practiced so students can be prepared for the taping of the
show. When taping, students can use a poster board with the script printed on it that would be
placed in front of them to deter students from looking down and reading a paper. There are other
jobs students can perform besides news anchoring. Students can also be directors-making sure
everything that is needed is in place, sound-select and control music, helping guests before the

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show, run the camera and prepare scripts. All the shows are videotaped beforehand because all
classes have such varying schedules during the school day. The students can look forward to
having a broadcast show as a part of their day or week (Weiss, 2000).
There are services that student broadcast shows can use to stream live video on the
Internet. The budget and the amount of shows one plans on streaming are factors in determining
which service is a better fit. SchoolTube is an example of a service that school can use to create
their own channel and have more flexibility for broadcasting. The fee is $1000 per year so it can
be slightly costly. For a more budget conscience school services such as iHigh, Grandstream,
and Ustream provides the school with a channel that the broadcast show can be viewed and even
archived. The downside of these services is that ads will be present that support the service. The
ads can be aggravating or the school district policies might not allow it. But if the idea of free is
more helpful than harmful then these are great options to stream the student broadcast shows live
(Dupont, 2016). Another way student broadcast shows can be produced with ease and a level of
professionalism is through Adobe video production software called Visual Communicator. This
product utilities a teleprompter through the computer screen to report news at eye level instead of
looking down while reporting (Martin, 2008). This program allows alternation between camera
and other media (such as a picture) which makes the presentation ooze with professionalism.
The additional equipment that possibly could be used to continue the more professional look are
lighting and the use of a green screen that the Visual Communicator by Adobe can offer. This
would be a great option for our school after we get our broadcast show started and running
smoothly.
One of the first steps in implementing a student broadcast show is to secure that
stakeholders are on board with the idea. I had a conversation with my principal about the

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possibility of starting a student broadcast show. She was totally excited and on board with the
idea. My principal asked what would be needed and that she is willing to help in anyway
possible. This research project has enabled me to be able to gather the necessary information to
begin the implementation process. My principal also directed me to a colleague at another
school in the district that already has a student broadcast show in place. I was able to gain some
information as to how that show is conducted. That particular school uses a video camera and
places the show on the share drive for all the students to view at the teachers convenience.
This is an exciting venture for our school and the students will be thrilled to participate
and to watch the show. The survey that I conducted with the teachers was beneficial and helps
foster support from the faculty. I have prepared a handout for the stakeholders-teachers,
principal, assistant principal, and PTO board. The stakeholders can also view a PowerPoint
presentation on the benefits of implementing a student broadcast show and how it can begin this
upcoming school year. In the history of the school, a student broadcast show has never been
attempted so I am ecstatic to have an opportunity to possibly introduce a student broadcast show
to the students and staff at our school. Public speaking and expressing creativity are the main
skills that can be cultivated through participating in a student broadcasting show. These skills
will be useful for students as they progress through school and become lifelong learners in the
process.

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References
Weiss, Judie. (2000). News Show 101. Library Talk, 13 (2), 35.
Bencivenga, Anthony. (2006, August 9). Small Screen, Big Success: Creating a StudentProduced Television Program. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/studenttelevision.
Dupont, Albert. Live Video Web Streaming: What Are Your Options?, School Video News,
2016, http://schoolvideonews.com/Resources/Live-Video-Web-Streaming-What-Are-YourOptions.
Martin, Sara. (2008, June 11). School News Shows Made Easy with Adobe Visual
Communicator. Retrieved from
http://blogs.adobe.com/educationleaders/2008/06/school_news_shows_made_easy_wi.html.
Swetnam, Lorena. (2013, January 19). Broadcasting Live from our School Studio. Retrieved
from http://lswetnam.blogspot.com/2013/01/broadcasting-live-from-our-school-studio.html.
Education World Principal Files Team. Retrieved from
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin351.shtml.

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Appendix A
Survey of Teachers at R.B.Wright Elementary for Student Broadcast Show

https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-ZVWGX7PT/