Miss K

For my additional technology project, I have worked alongside Mike Futter at Orenco Elementary in assisting the 6th grade students produce a news show called Orca Live.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I spent time observing the different ways in which this show was used as an educational tool and how I could develop a similar method of teaching in my classroom.  The students involved with the show are all 6th grade students at Orenco Elementary and all have to apply to be involved with the show.  The students who produce Orca Live work on a rotating basis and no two weeks have the same crew producing the show.  All Orenco students watch Orca Live on their classroom televisions in a live broadcast on Thursday afternoons.  Because of the whole school attention, by the time students are in 6th grade, they may have been waiting for 7 years to be involved.  This greatly boosts motivation and pushes all students involved to put a lot of effort into the show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another thing that really stood out to me was the types of professional production tools that the students use to create the show.  These students are exposed to the use of sound boards, editing software, and professional television cameras.  At no point do the adults jump in unless the student asks for help.  It is not often that young students are given the opportunity to use these tools, much less fully trusted with them.  This gives the students a sense of pride and they take even more ownership over the show itself.  They are then able to transfer this confidence over to the classroom.  I have noticed as we use laptops and chrombooks in our class, the students involved with Orca Live are the first ones to help their peers.  Even more importantly, those students are often the ones who create more elaborate projects using the computers and are able to take their research one step further.  I think this is completely related to their involvement with Orca Live and being given the opportunity to take ownership of their techological knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What struck me the most about this program was the way in which curriculum is integrated into the production of of Orca Live.  Recently, my students had been studying ecology.  When we went to Outdoor School, they had a daily "Tip for the Earth" which prompted them to think about actions they could take to improve the Earth.  When we got back to school and sat down for our Orca Live writing session, every student wanted to do a segement where they could teach their peers about how to help the Earth thrive.  Using the information they were learning in class and at Outdoor School, the 6th graders wrote and designed a segment where they were able to demonstrate their understanding of ecology in a way that was authentic and meaningful to them.