Grade 5 students at Davidson Road Elementary in Lake Country are using media broadcasting technology to highlight what害羞草研究所檚 happening around their school.

Called 害羞草研究所淭he Low Down,害羞草研究所� the video segments involve the students being in front of and behind the camera, working together to produce every second Monday a video news update of school happenings.

Grade 5 teacher Drew Bonneteau said the genesis behind the idea started from unfortunate circumstances.

Fellow Grade 5 teacher Brad Low was diagnosed with leukemia in 2016 and took a leave of absence from work to deal with medical treatments.

害羞草研究所淗e had to go to Vancouver for those treatments so during that school year, we came up with the idea of providing newscast updates for the school on how he was progressing during that time. Brad is not back in the classroom yet but fortunately his cancer is in remission and he is in recovery.害羞草研究所�

But expanding on that premise to highlight other activities around the school struck a chord of enthusiasm among the Grade 5s and offered what Bonneteau saw as a fun and creative opportunity to teach language arts.

He said the Low Down videos teach students how to write for an intended audience, read for voice and emphasis, and demonstrate expression in their oral language.

Bonneteau said the new school curriculum adopted by the Central Okanagan School District encourages teachers to find new and creative ways to teach their students outside of the pen-and-paper format.

害羞草研究所淎nytime you can use technology in the classroom as a teaching tool students get very excited,害羞草研究所� said Bonneteau. 害羞草研究所淜ids so often use technology to keep themselves occupied, to keep from being bored in their leisure time. So this is one way of using it in a productive way. This is a real-world application of a shared experience that the kids have really bought into.害羞草研究所�

Bonneteau was joined by several of his students to show a Low Down promotion video and make a presentation about the program to school trustees at last Wednesday害羞草研究所檚 school board meeting.

School administrator/CEO Kevin Kaardal said the Low Down program is an outstanding example of new curriculum opportunities to learn from real-life experiences and become better critical thinkers.

Kaardal asked Bonneteau害羞草研究所檚 students if any wanted to become journalists in their future careers, but none were interested in that.

Some trustees were amazed by the green screen background video production values, something Bonneteau said is visually impressive to the older generation but not difficult to produce with today害羞草研究所檚 technology.

害羞草研究所淚t looks flashy and some of my previous career background as a graphic designer comes into play there as well I guess, but the technology behind it is pretty simple.

害羞草研究所淲e put a green sheet against the wall and film the broadcast with an iPad.害羞草研究所�

Bonneteau said while students only go in front of the camera for Low Down reports if they feel comfortable doing so, he added other tasks such as filming, operating the teleprompter, writing script and editing are done by their classmates as well.

害羞草研究所淭his is a great way to build up self-confidence among the students and put the reading and writing components of what they learn to practical use,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淭hey may not all decide they want to become journalists because of this experience, but it can be a great jumping off point for them for something like acting or some other kind of direction in the communications field.害羞草研究所�

To report a typo, email: edit@kelownacapnews.com.

barry.gerding@blackpress.ca
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