School Radio – Radio in the curriculum – where do I start – getting on air
Use radio to meet your targets
The common misconception we encounter is that most departments still think that radio is just for the media team. They could not be more wrong.
Radio (or TV) is a wonderfully exciting way to engage your students in a lesson, teaching and learning alike, both take on a whole new meaning when combined with a radio station.
We think, the best way to start gathering material for your radio station, is to create short features. In the radio industry, a feature could be a news story, a short piece about a recording artist, weather or an entertainments guide, but this could be a whole lot more. An animated (using sound effects) poetry reading, foreign language recital, a mathematics pop quiz or a revision feature about the battle of Hastings… The feature ideas are endless. Teachers can even produce revision shows, or present them LIVE!
Once you have created features in the classroom, (or as part of homework) you can review them and automatically post them to the radio studio for playout on your school radio station. Great features make great radio, the more you have, the more interesting your station is to listen to.
Learn how in less than 15 minutes
Anyone can learn the basics of how to put together a radio show in less than 15 minutes. The concept is very simple:
Step 1
Research the topic.
Can we interview someone?
Script the feature.
Rehearse reading the script.
Design the sound track – do we need music or sound effects or both?
Step 2
Features
Record and Edit
Using our ‘zoom’ handheld system or any PC or laptop equipped with a microphone
Record the feature script.
Record the feature elements such as interviews or sound effects.
Download the audio to any PC or laptop.
Edit on our FREE editing software
Step 3
Schedule & Play
Send the feature to the radio studio.
Schedule the feature into a playlist (remember you are broadcasting 24/7)
Tune in to your very own radio station.
The feature plays on the radio.
Is the technology complicated?
Many broadcast providers would have you believe that the engineering and technology required for radio stations is very complicated and that they have developed equipment especially for education… This is simply not the case.
Radio broadcasting is VERY simple, if you choose the right way to go about it. We have found that by using broadcast standard equipment, we provide solutions that are easy to use, simple to support and are above all, built to last. We looked at solutions made just for education and we found that they just were not strong enough to cope with the rigours of day to day use, a solution which relies upon a single PC to control ALL of the audio for example, is rendered completely useless if that PC breaks down… Which it will, because all PC’s do.
We use broadcast standard equipment, mixers, audio delivery computers and software that will operate ‘stand alone’ or as part of a complete integrated solution. So if your PC stops working, your studio can still be used the old fashioned way… CD’s and great live speech.