Amended version
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| Terry in the studio |
John Hanson Community School is doing great things in the field of
podcasting. We've been working together on a podcast for me, and I went
to visit the staff and students. It was a great experience.
"We come up here in break times or in lesson times"
"Here being where?"
"Here."
Such is the impeccable logic of 14
year olds! As it happens, the "here" in question was the music room,
and the recording studio, of John Hanson Community School in Andover,
Hampshire, in the south-eastern part of England. I spent a most pleasant
morning there last Monday, meeting staff and students, especially those who
are working on a podcast for me.
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| Hanson Radio |
A couple of months ago I wrote in my
newsletter, Computers in Classrooms, that while I enjoyed making
podcasts, I didn't really have the time or the inclination to devote
the time required to make them as polished as I should like. I wondered
aloud whether there was a school that would be willing to work with me.
The benefits for me would be obvious, and hopefully the students would
benefit from having an opportunity to work with a real client, and, if
required, a reference or testimonial from me to go into their
eportfolio. And, for the school, some extra publicity.
This item was picked up by Hampshire
Consultant and newsletter subscriber Colin McQueen, who works for the
Hampshire Inspection & Advisory Service. He
passed it on to Mike Adams, Assistant Headteacher at the school and, as it turns
out, one of the driving forces behind Hanson Radio. As soon as I heard one of
their podcasts, I was entranced by the quality and the professionalism
(as you will be: give it a whirl).
Up till now, communication has been
via email, my website, and the school's VLE. I've been sending
recordings, and Mike sent me some original music, which I commented on.
Today I visited the school and met Mike and Colin for the first time,
some of Mike's colleagues -- including Alastair
Johnston, Head of Performing Arts, who is also heavily involved with this project -- and some of his students.
I was impressed with what I saw and heard:
* The pupils were not only confident
users of some music-creating software (E-Jay), but were confident in
playing for me and the class the results of their efforts. They had
every reason to be confident, because their compositions sounded great.
(And just for the record, I'm not easily satisfied.) In fact, not only
did it sound nice, it also satisfied the brief, which was to produce
some upbeat music with a jazz funk feel. They had also responded well
to the feedback I gave on the first one they produced.
In English National Curriculum terms, taking into account user
feedback is Level 7, and taking users' needs into account is Level 8.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not suggesting for a moment that taking part in
this activity has propelled the students to the dizzy heights of Level
8, but it does serve to illustrate the fact that if you want your
students to be able to work at those levels, you have to provide
opportunities for them to do so.
* Two pupils who have been working on
one of the sections played me what they'd done and showed me how they'd
achieved the miracle of making me sound fluid and coherent! They seemed
very comfortable working with Audacity in the music studio.
* I was then interviewed by four
students, Sophie, Ruby, Alan and Steven, who had prepared some
thoughtful questions and who agreed to be interviewed by me in turn. It
was in that context that we had the discussion about where "here" was.
Their interview of me will be featured in a forthcoming Hanson Radio
podcast, and in the one they're doing for me, I hope, as will my
interview of them.
Mike has also had a couple of great
jingles made for me, and sought and obtained permission to use the
original works of a living composer, Kevin MacLeod.
So, watch this space for further news of podcast progress, and for the podcast of me interviewing the students.
What do you
think? Please leave a comment.
© Terry Freedman Wed, 6 Dec 2006
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