Using 21st Century Tools In The Classroom

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Integrating technology into my classroom is always fun for me. It’s a good way to increase engagement, and it also gives students the opportunity to make a real world connection with the content we’re learning. The fun part about my subject area, is that tech tools are constantly changing. People are consistently finding new ways to tell stories and distribute them to as many people as possible. Getting my students to understand that the tools they use for fun on a daily basis can also be used to complete industry ready work, is a challenge that I’ll gladly accept.

We’ve been working on creating feature stories for our Podcasts in both my Radio I and Radio II classes, which gave us the opportunity to make good use of Apple’s Voice Note app and AirDrop functionality. Students have been recording interviews with their peers and teachers across campus using Voice Notes. Once they return, to our Mac Lab, they simply AirDrop their freshly captured audio and pull it into Adobe Audition to edit.

We’ve also been brainstorming creative ways to promote our Podcasts, and today, I introduced the idea of using Instagram Live to increase audience participation. Students asked their Instagram Live viewers for questions in real time, as they recorded today’s episode of their shows, and it was a success. I’m looking forward to working with my students to fine tune the process, and hopefully continue to encourage them to expand the way they look at the tools they use on a daily basis.

Stay tuned to see what we’ll be working on next, and see what’s going on with our Magnet program by following @YatesMagnet on Twitter.

 

The Second Period Cypher

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My Second Period Radio 1 Class is full of creatives. We’ve got singers, actors, and rappers up and down the roster. With that said, after we completed our Final Exam playback earlier this week, I decided to let them show off their skills. Here is our cypher, featuring Bri, and Isaac. Please stay tuned to see what these young stars have coming down the pipeline!

If you’d like to support our class, please subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

Teacher Appreciation Weekend With JY Football

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There’s a common thought that teachers have it pretty easy. I can see where it comes from – I mean, look at the perks! We’re out of school for two weeks at Christmas, we get a spring break and many of us don’t work during the summer… and still get paid. What you don’t see are the countless hours spent grading, or the in class battles we have with other people’s children on a daily basis. That’s not a point of complaint, because with anything, there is a trade off. You don’t survive teaching, especially not teaching in an underserved community, unless you really have a love and a passion for your students. There has to be a motivator outside of money (we don’t get paid that much) – for me, the motivation has always been to make an impact on the students that enter my classroom.

Thankfully the JY Football staff thought enough of the rest of us to honor us at one of the first football games of the season, and with that, came the opportunity for each of the players to choose a teacher to honor – and sport their football jersey for a day. This being my third year at Yates, I’ve had the opportunity to see some of my students grow from freshmen to upperclassmen, and it was one of those students, Keyvon, who chose to honor me. He’s come a long way since his freshman year, now as a junior, I’m proud to have been his teacher since he started at Yates. It’s moments like this, that remind me exactly why I do what I do. I’m proud to be a JY teacher, and I hope that I will continue to make a lasting impact on those that I teach.

Superintendent Richard Carranza Comes to The JY Radio Lab

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We got to kick off our school year with Superintendent Richard Carranza in our JY Radio Lab!

Two of my best and brightest students, Jillian and Kenneth got the opportunity to interview Mr. Carranza as he toured Jack Yates for the first time. We had a great conversation about his vision for the school, and what he expects to see from students across the district.

We’re excited about the opportunity that we have to create meaningful media with such awesome students. We’re looking forward to launching more shows via our iTunes & YouTube channels, but in the meantime, you should take a look at some of our previous work!

Working With Our Friends At University Of Houston Center for Student Media

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While we’re on summer break, it can be challenging to wrangle a crew together to experience something new. With that being said, it’s also very important to me as an educator, to ensure that my students are exposed to all the opportunities possible. We formed an alliance with the University of Houston’s Center for Student Media earlier in the year, and finally got to bring our students together for a day of collaborative learning. My students got the opportunity to pick the brains of the U of H students about college – from admissions to scholarships, and the U of H students got a little knowledge from my students about Third Ward, and the effects of gentrification. Everyone worked together to complete a few reporting assignments that took us into U of H’s famed Hip Hop Archives, and a couple of students even got to shoot an edit a music video for a U of H student artist. It was a great day all around, and I’m excited about the potential for our partnership to continue to flourish as we enter the 2016-2017 school year!

Inviting Guests To The JY Radio Lab

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Sports Media ChatWe love having visitors in our JY Radio Lab. Our students work very hard and are showcasing their new skills with industry professionals. Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to host representatives from Turner Sports, CBS, and the NCAA. Students had the opportunity to hear from industry professionals on best practices, but also had the opportunity to interview them for our JY Podcast. We’re looking forward to hosting even more guests as we kick off the 2016-2017 school year.