We put in a TV Studio as part of our construction/renovation which
opened in 2001. We also put in a media distribution system which this
connects through. CATV cabling was installed to every room so right now
we broadcast through that. Every teacher station has a TV tuner so we
can show any of the media through the computer and classroom projector.
You can however, also hook up a TV right to the TV drop. We also have a
broadcast cart which we can take to any TV drop in the building, plug in
and broadcast from that room. So we have two internal channels - one for
the TV Studio and one for the broadcast cart. It's not digital, but I am
now looking at what it would take to upgrade it, how that would impact
our network, etc.=20
As for a TV Studio, I would HIGHLY recommend it! The kids run a Morning
Show each day with the Daily Bulletin, announcements, sports segments,
etc. Since the TV studio is also a production studio, we run all sorts
of classes and special projects there. Right now, they are having
auditions for "BLS Idol" which are run in the TV studio. They edit and
broadcast the finalists for everyone to vote on. They create
"commercials" for different clubs to be run during the Morning Show. The
most popular was "The Carnation Tales", a five day "soap opera"
commercial to support the Valentines' Day flower sales. They created the
school profile/welcome video for the opening reception of our 10-year
accreditation visit. It was great -- they started with a "live"
broadcast and then went into the video. During "author" days in one
class, the kids dress up as their favorite author and give a
presentation. Now they do that in the TV studio and it's all recorded.
We have two broadcasters each day of the week and also have guest
broadcasters, especially new faculty and staff so the kids get to know
them. Then we have a technical team all organized by the student
producer.
This is just such a great opportunity for students. We've had students
get scholarshiops because of their experience in the studio and kids
going to college now to study this. C-Span was here last week with their
Campaign2008 bus and as part of the visit trained our kids in their
production studio. Our students have now formed their own club/company
"Wolfpack Productions". They broadcast all events from the auditorium,
the Alumni Association hires them to do all their events at school, they
negotiated an "exclusive contract" with the Head Master for all
broadcast rights at school (this was as much self preservation because
other groups were messing up their equipment and setups). They broadcast
the big pep rallies on the day before Thanksgiving from the big gym.
There is just so much the kids can do. They edit and post videos on the
web from all the events they cover.
Honestly, I just get out of the way and let them go. We've had one or
two issues with "appropriateness" and live comments, but they were
quickly resolved and the kids know they need to be professional. It's a
fabulous resource and I'm a big fan. You do want to get a company with
experience to spec out what is needed and put together the proper
equipment, cameras, lights and so on. You need a control room, too. We
renovated an old storage space when we created it. We also added a
teleprompter system a couple of years in and that's great. I'd really
recommend having that. AND get the wall painted chromacolor blue or
green!
Cathy Meany
Boston Latin School
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Joshua Sommermeyer
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 3:53 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: TV in a new school building
I am on the planning committee for a new school... One of the members of
the committee is sold on having a TV station for announcements and other
activities... do schools still put dedicated TV station equipment in the
building to broadcast in-house? Does it make more sense to have a
Digital TV station with streamed programming? What kind of hardware
would go into a "Digital TV Station"? I envision a mid-high end digital
video camera, a powerhouse computer, some stage lights, and a streaming
server somewhere on site... does this make sense?=20
=20
My vision is that there wouldn't even be any physical TVs in the
classrooms... just projectors in the classrooms.. and maybe a Plasma
display or 2 in common areas showing announcements, pictures,
what-not...
=20
=20
=20
-------
Joshua D. Sommermeyer
Technology Director
Concordia Lutheran High School
sommermeyerj@concordiacrusaders.org
281.351.2547
=20
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.=20
Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.17.4/1187 - Release Date:
12/16/2007 11:36 AM
=20
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