This school year has brought many new journeys as I took on 5 brand new classes! One of my classes is Multimedia and my principal really wanted its purpose to be creating a school newscast! I was happy to take on this challenge and quite frankly excited about it since my undergraduate degree was in Broadcast Journalism. But I will not sugar coat it, IT IS SOME MAJOR WORK! Now that we are in the swing of things I wanted to share my work to hopefully help other teachers looking to do something similar with their students.
The following TeacherTube video (also embedded below) is a demonstration on how to edit a newscast show using WeVideo. WeVideo is a tool I didn’t want at first, because I wanted Adobe Premiere. However, my school has purchased it for all the teachers and students and it has ended up being a pretty great tool! I also wanted to give you some bulleted info to hopefully help you as you embark your newcasting journey! Also, here is a link to my website with final episodes produced by my class so you can get some ideas for content!
Why a school newscast has been my favorite new journey this year
Perks of WeVideo:
Drawbacks of WeVideo:
Breakdown of our newscast
What I expect in WeVideo edits
Benefits to students:
Tips and Tricks:
The following TeacherTube video (also embedded below) is a demonstration on how to edit a newscast show using WeVideo. WeVideo is a tool I didn’t want at first, because I wanted Adobe Premiere. However, my school has purchased it for all the teachers and students and it has ended up being a pretty great tool! I also wanted to give you some bulleted info to hopefully help you as you embark your newcasting journey! Also, here is a link to my website with final episodes produced by my class so you can get some ideas for content!
Why a school newscast has been my favorite new journey this year
- The kids LOVE it, the entire school can’t wait for Pirate TV to air!
- It is a great opportunity to get information and messages out to teachers and students to create a more cohesive school
- It is such a great way to showcase student work
- These students are walking away with so many useful skills, especially as they go into high school.
Perks of WeVideo:
- Can login with Google accounts
- Cloud-based, so students can access from any device at any time
- Collaborative
- Easy sharing and exporting options
- The screen capture feature!
Drawbacks of WeVideo:
- While it’s collaborative, students can not be in a project at the same time
- Not the best quality (you will see in my tutorial)
- Obviously does not have near the capabilities of editing/video correction that more professional software has
Breakdown of our newscast
- Anchors
- Student Life
- Anchors
- Sports
- Anchors
- Student-produced commercial
- Anchors
- Weather
- Anchors
What I expect in WeVideo edits
- Intro
- On camera parts listed above
- Purposeful backgrounds for each on-camera part
- Titles for all on-camera students
- Purposeful graphics to enhance content with visuals
- End Credits
- Exit
Benefits to students:
- These students have become leaders - they are known for being on Pirate TV
- There is an added level of unity in the school
- All kids want to take Multimedia!
- Students are writing better and are more comfortable with public speaking
- They are learning mistakes are OK! =)
Tips and Tricks:
- Once you have created one episode, duplicate that and use it as a template to create following episodes.
- Make a collaborative project on WeVideo.
- Don't go crazy with transitions! If you need to use them try to keep them consistent.
- Use the screen recorder! You will have to install an extension the very first time you use it and make sure your audio is set up right!
- Assign roles to students and hold them accountable!
-
Eqalize your volume! There is nothing worse than really loud/quite clips!
- Adjust volume here or by double clicking on clips.
Good Luck Teachers! Please let me know if you have any questions!