Digital Eyewitness News

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Choose groups that will work cooperatively to produce different segments of the newscast and bring them together at the end.

 

This lesson can be used with almost any topic, from creating a newscast about a period in history which demonstrates their understanding of that time, to a special report on the discovery of the quadratic equation which demonstrates their understanding of a math concept. This format is very flexible and can be used in every discipline. Just take a topic, break it down into components, and give each group an assignment.

For example, in science class, you could have a special report about an approaching hurricane. Break the class into four groups and give each an aspect of the topic that they will be responsible for, just as in a real newsroom. One group could produce the anchor pieces where an anchorperson behind the desk informs the audience of an approaching hurricane. Another group could produce the informative piece about hurricane anatomy, while yet another group conducts interviews with construction contractors talking about how to protect a house in a hurricane. Other groups are working on footage of the devastation or its aftermath (which can be pulled off the Internet). In the end, the pieces are pulled together to create a comprehensive picture of a hurricane.

The advantage of a newscast is that you can have the students approach the content in a who, what, where, when, and why format that will assist them in structuring their segments.

 

Grade level:
8–12

Subjects:
All subjects

Time needed:
5–10 class periods or as an outside class assignment

Materials:

Optional Materials:

  • Tripod
  • External Microphone

 

Objectives

 
  • Work cooperatively in small groups to produce segments of a newscast called packages.
  • Work cooperatively to pull the discrete segments together to create a full newscast.

 

Instructions

 
  1. Pick the topic of the newscast and either decide what aspects you would like the students to cover or have a class discussion and have them come up with the components of the newscast.

    Once you have planned the lesson and have a vision for the expected final product, design an assessment rubric which communicates to the students how you will be grading their projects. Click here for a     sample rubric. Share this rubric with the students so that they are clear on what elements you will be holding them accountable for and their relative value to the entire project. You should also consider giving two grades for each student, one a group grade and the other an individual grade. Video lends itself well to group and individual assessment because, within a video crew, each student can be given an individual responsibility, such as camera operator or talent, as well as collective responsibility for the entire production.
  2. Set a schedule that includes preproduction, production, postproduction and give a grade for each phase. Click here to learn more about the preproduction, production, postproduction process.
  3. For the preproduction phase of the project, have the students create a two column script and a shot list and turn it in as an assignment due on the preproduction deadline. This gives you an opportunity to look over the research they have conducted and make suggestions. The shot list gives them a checklist for shots that they need to take or download from the Internet.

    Have your anchor team be the directors for the entire operation, and make sure that their hand offs coordinate with the scripts for the other crews. You could also make this team responsible for the putting of all the clips together at the end, since they will be the ones best able to make adjustments, if necessary.

    For additional tips on how your students can make their video productions look more professional, click here to go to the     digital imaging tips.
  4. For the production phase of the project, have your students show you the raw footage they have taken for their video. You will have the script and the shot list so you should be able to match those two documents with the raw footage presented. Make sure that they have most, if not all, of the footage needed to meet the production deadline. Students are prone to putting off projects and attempting to cram them in at the last hour. Video projects are not easily completed at last minute because of the planning, complexity, and logistics necessary for a video project; especially for a collaborative project such as this. One delayed project could hold up the entire production. Help your students by insisting that they have their footage together before they start editing and grade them on it to prove its importance.
  5. The postproduction deadline is date at which your students are required to turn in their finished segments. You will then have to give the anchor team a little time after this deadline to put together the finished product.

 

Discussion

 

Watch the video as a class and celebrate their collective accomplishment. It is rewarding to be part of a larger effort; have your students reflect on that in a class discussion.

Have the students note what parts of the newscast were particularly effective. What really worked well?

Discuss opportunities for improvement. What could have been done better?

Then discuss what other segments could have been included or, if given unlimited time and budget, what they would have done.

Use the following website for your video: http://www.viddler.com/learn-more/

 

Evaluation

 

Use the assessment rubric(s) you designed for the video projects to assign grades. Again, consider developing two rubrics, one that assesses the collective efforts of the group and focuses solely on the final product, and another which assesses a student’s individual efforts and contributions.

You could require the students to keep a journal of their experience, which would serve several purposes. First, it would force the students to think about their learning process and their role in the collaborative process. It would also give you insight into their learning processes and the inner working of the video crews.

You could require a self evaluation from the students which would allow you to hear what they think about their role in the project, as well as offer you their assessment of their peers.

You could allow the class input in the grading process and have them evaluate each project for its effectiveness.

 

Supporting Material

 Vocabulary:
Preproduction — The phase of a project spent writing a script and developing a shot list.
Production — The phase of a project spent shooting the footage of the video.
Postproduction — The phase of a project spent editing the footage into a finished video.
Production Value — The quality of a video production from an aesthetic standpoint, how professional it looks.
A-roll — The primary footage, such as the picture of an interviewee. This footage carries the primary information of the video.
B-Roll — Footage that is used to cut to from the A-roll to provide additional images that are important to the video.

 

Additional resources

 www.action-in-the-classroom.org — a website dedicated to the implementation of video in education
DigKids digital video tips