Example 1: Making a live Internet radio programme (3 days for 12 to 16 students).

Aim: To work together to produce a one hour radio show complete with music, quizzes, jingles, news reports, drama and interviews with students and teachers.  The programme can be streamed live over the internet, archived for posterity, or even broadcast over the school’s PA system.

Content: We begin the workshop with a discussion about what makes up a radio programme and the different roles involved in producing a show.  We then discuss what should be included in our radio show and encourage the students to take on different roles, such as:

• interviewing and interview preparation
• recording technician
• programme producer
• editing and preparing music and audio clips
• presenter
• scriptwriter
• studio manager
• sound technician

For the first two days we work with the students to develop the broadcast based on the roles and the format they have chosen, aiming to complete any final editing, interviews and programme planning by the end of the second day. A brief session is held at the end of each day to discuss our progress and resolve any outstanding issues as well as plan the best way forward for the following day.  A rehearsal is held on the final day, followed by a live broadcast for students, teachers and parents.

Example 2: Podcasting for beginners (2 days for up to 6 students)

Aim: To introduce the concept of listen on demand programmes delivered via the Internet (podcasts) and the  technology involved in their production and distribution.

Content: In this workshop we discuss what we know about podcasting, the kind of content we might expect to find and the advantages of them.  We then look at how to find podcasts on the Internet and listen to them using a computer or portable MP3 player.

Students then work to create their own podcast, starting with planning the format for the programme and discussing the necessary equipment and software.  Students find out about how to use a microphone to record audio and other relevant tools such as an audio mixer and audio editing software.

Finally we produce a podcast file using podcast writing software to be later uploaded and distributed online.

Download a copy of our Internet  radio and online media workshops information sheet (PDF 1MB).