By George Cole
Video hasn’t killed the radio star. That’s the message from this year’s BETT show as more companies than ever before exhibit radio products and services. And Russell Prue, ICT evangelist at Anderton Tiger LLP is one of them.
“More teenagers listen to music on online radio than with their iPods,” says Russell, “and radio is a fantastic medium for schools to use. It’s not only the quickest and cheapest way of raising pupil esteem, but it equips children with some of the skills they need for 21st century learning.”
The fact that there is so much interest in school radio will surprise many who assumed that today’s younger generation are screen entertainment fanatics (screenagers, we're told), whether that is for TV and videos, computers or mobile phones. Russell's will be showing two new schools radio broadcasting kits (called The Broadcaster), which have already been trialled in several schools.
Using radio in school is not about developing professional radio skills (although it certainly helps anyone considering a career in the media), but about nurturing listening and speaking skills, collaboration, and boosting self-confidence and esteem. It’s about being able to plan, prepare and execute a radio broadcast.
Learners can make radio podcasts, or stream live or recorded radio broadcasts around their school or on the web. Russell is a big fan of live radio broadcasting: “Radio podcasts and live radio are complementary and there’s certainly a lot of value in creating pre-recorded radio programmes. But the beauty of live radio is that it’s happening right now. If you make a mistake, you can’t go back and do it again – you have to learn to handle it. It’s an important lesson about life – you can’t always go back and do things again. Children thrive on the experience.”
Russell has been running live workshops in schools, and at BETT he’ll be on the E2BN stand (J56) in the Becta Next Generation Learning Zone. From 10am each day, he’ll be running live radio broadcasts. Russell will be assisted by winners of the young reporter competition, Making The News 2, and schools will be able to take a live feed – there will even be a lunchtime music request slot.
Russell says the barriers for getting into school radio have been lowered in recent years, but warns: “You can use free software and a cheap microphone to make a radio programme, but it won’t cut it in the world of radio. Children expect to hear high-quality radio and for that you need better kit. Prices have become more affordable.” Music licensing bodies like the Performing Rights Society and PPL have introduced low-cost licences that allow school radio stations to broadcast commercial music.
School Radio Solutions, part of the Sonifex Group (S79), P Squared (R64) and Synergy Radio/School Radio.com (P31) are showing portable and fixed studio installations for schools. The studios include the equipment (such as microphones and mixing desk) and software schools need to set up their own radio station. On the Western Computer stand (S52), visitors will be showing Radio in Schools, a podcasting platform schools can use to create radio podcasts.
Radiowaves launching learners' ICT reviews and new free service
One of the first organisations to offer schools a chance to create their own radio broadcasts was Radiowaves. Cliff Manning, Radiowave’s communications director says more than 25,000 young people in a thousand schools in more than 20 countries now use the service. He adds that Radiowaves is now more than just about radio, although that remains an important component of the company’s offering: “We use the term, ‘Safe Social Media'," he says. "It’s about giving pupils a safe environment where they can blog, upload video content, use radio and other media. There’s also a lot happening with mobile, and we’re developing applications for the iPhone.”
This week, Radiowaves is launching a new free service. The service will offer schools unlimited pupil and teacher accounts, unlimited pupil blogs, their own Radiowaves site and unique web address, space for uploading around one hour of podcasts, moderation tools for teachers to control access and check content, and access to free Radiowaves resources and projects. Schools can get their free account by logging on to: www.radiowaves.co.uk/join.
Although Radiowaves will not have a stand at this year’s BETT, it will most definitely have a presence at the show, working with partners such as Filmclub (K30). Young Radiowaves reporters will also be scouring BETT for stories for their new project, "What We Want", and some of them will be working with Merlin John and this website (Agent4Change.net).
“What We Want,” will enable young people to look at the latest educational technology and give their verdict on what they see. Using blogs, podcasts and video, the young reporters will publish their reviews on the Agent4Change website, featuring a wide range of products. So, if you’re around BETT this year, be sure to tune into the new and exciting developments in radio for schools.
BETT 2010
January 13-16, Olympia, London
BETT has a wide range of radio suppliers, many wth new offerings (see below)
www.bettshow.com
E2BN – Stand J56
www.e2bn.org
School Radio Solutions – Stand S79
www.schoolradiosolutions.co.uk
P Squared – Stand R64
http://www.psquared.net/
Synergy Radio/School Radio.com – Stand P31
www.synergyschoolradio.com
Western Computer stand – Stand S52
www.western.co.uk
Filmclub – Stand K30
www.filmclub.org
Anderton Tiger
www.andertontiger.com/radio
Radiowaves
www.radiowaves.co.uk
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