Wednesday, June 17: and then there was one

Greetings, gentlemen, for the last time:

Since our purpose is to get absolutely as much done of your finals BEFORE the actual day of the final exam, I thought it best to lead off with what I still lack from each of you. For each item below, if you have the files, please send them ASAP:


sfx sounds ---> Jeff, Nick, Andrew, Chris, Alex, Matt EMAIL THEM NOW
bumpers ----> Jeff, Devin, Chris, Alex, Matt EMAIL THEM NOW
(individual broadcast) theme song --> Devin, Chris, Alex, Matt EMAIL THEM NOW

Additionally, I still cannot locate the individual broadcasts for the following individuals:
Jeff, Devin, Alex

There are also two discussion posts that are due from each of you:

"year in review" --> Alex

"research topic" --> everyone except Zach. And Even he needs to put in his website sources at the bottom of the post

Finally, I am awaiting team broadcasts from everyone. However, the first group which nmeeds to go in today is "Tone Def Radio" since we ran out of time last class for them to do so.

For the rest of you, I want, at the very l;east, the team broadcast you have right now. If you need time to improve upon it, that's fine, but I need something immediately.

That oughtta do it,
Mr. L

Monday June 15: the final step

Greetings, one and all:

Today, you will begin the last phase of the process we have been working on for the past two weeks: your final team broadcasts. You have two classes to complete them. Here is what they need to have:A) at least ten minutes of actual broadcast time, excluding theme song, bumper music, sfx sounds, or any other "add-ons"

B) all team members should be heard from during the broadcast

C) the choice of topic must be school appropriate as always

D) you must send the completed file to me in mp3 format with the filename including the phrase "exam team broadcast", plus the name of your team

Th-th-that's all folks!!!

Mr. L

Friday June 12: Where you are, where ya gotta be

Hello once again,

Gentlemen, you have all done a tremendous amount of work, some of you more tremendous than others. i have done my best to locate all your work; I'm sure you will point it out if I've overlooked something:

individual broadcasts: I have them from everyone but Jeff, Devin and Alex. So you guys are going to be next door tutto pronto

year in review: I have a group discussion posting on this topic from everyone except Matt and Alex. The rest of you did well with this part of the final, but I will need Zach and Andrew to come see me on this very briefly

research topic posting: I have been emailed the results of this by Andrew, Zach, Graham and Adam. I have not found anything other than a simple listing of website resources from anyone else, and many of you have not done this yet either. You all need to post a group discussion based on this that includes the facts you've gathered in paragraph format, with your sources listed at the bottom. Please label this discussion so I know what it is, and who did it please!

theme song: I have one from everyone except Alex, Matt and Nick. Guys, please get 'em done and get 'em to me!

bumpers: I've only found those from Adam ,Graham ,Nicholas ,Zach & Andrew...the rest of you, if I've somehow misplaced them, please help me locate them!

sfx sounds: ditto for this category--> I only found those for Adam, Graham, Zach and Devin

That'll be all gentlemen. Cheers,
Mr. L

Wed June 10: team broadcasts, plus finishing up everything from previous classes

Greetings gentlemen, once again!

Today, you have two basic things ya gotta get done:

A) Finishing up all work from the previous several classes (see yesterday's post, and the previous several posts)

B) coming up with a topic/topic outline for your final team broadcast, and posting that as a discussion. Please label it clearly, and make sure as always that its a "school appropriate" topic

I am busy compiling what I have from each of yuo so far. By Friday, I wish for this list to be complete. Let's work together to make it so!

"the faster we go, the rounder we get"
Mr. L

PS I can say this for certain: I only have the "year in review" as a properly formatted group discussion post from three people: Zach, Graham and Adam. Also, by the looks of things, the first two people who need to get next door today are Devin and Alex, followed by Matt and then possibly Andrew and Nick.

Tuesday June 9: finishing up from yesterday (and the previous week)

Gentlemen, I bid you greetings!

Today, you will need to finish up from yesterday, as well as the past several days. Here is what I need to have from everyone:

A) your individual broadcast, both the whole thing put together and its component parts (the actual broadcast, the sfx sounds, bumper music, on air identifier)

B) a group discussion post based on the rough draft of the "year in review" which you were supposed to have emailed me already. The discussion post must be at least three paragrpahs inlength, with each paragraph composed of at least three complete sentences. Please include all points which you (theoretically) emailed to me yesterday. Make sure that the discussion posting is labled with your name and the phrase "year in review"

C) You need to also create a more final version of the topic for which you located eight website resources and two facts from each of those sources. This version, which you will also email to me with the subject line including your name plus the phrase "my topic" should be simply a complete sentences/complete paragraphs version of the facts you collected yesterday. In other words, write out the facts together as if you were telling a story -- which is effectively what you're aiming for.

OK, that should do it for today!

Mr. L

Monday June 8: End game Part Three

Greetings, Traffic Dodgers!

Today, you have three separate tasks to perform:

A) if you haven't already, I need your individual broadcasts, in my email in mp3 format They need to be clearly labeled, so I know who they belong to

B) You need to expand upon the research topic you chose last week by emailing me at least two facts you have discovered about your topic from EACH of the eight online sources you procured last week. Each fact must be presented in the form of a complete sentence. Make sure your email is labeled with your name and the phrase "my topic facts"

C) create a rough draft on the topic of "year in review". All you have to do for this is to email me at least seven different things that stand out in your mind about this class. Whatever you remember the best, the events that stand out the most, particular broadcasts, the teamwork, etc etc etc. Just make sure that the subject line of the email includes your name and "rough draft year in review". A complete sentence for each item you recall the best will suffice for now

OK, that oughtta do it for today

Cheers,
Mr. L

Thursday, June 4: End game Part two

Gentlemen, you got two basic things to get done today:



A) all apsects of your "individual" final broadcast need to get wrapped up. That not only includes the actual broadcast, but also all the other pieces of it that need to be part of it: new theme song, bumper music, sfx sounds, an on air identifier so I know who the heck is speaking. I need all the parts as separate files, AND the final product.



speaking of which, the choice of topic is up to you, just keep it school appropriate (naturally) and GET ME THE ACTUAL MP3 FILE!



B) If you are already finished with this, or while you are waiting your turn at the production facilities, you will need to start researching a "topic pertinent to radio production". Again , the choice of topic is up to you:
it could be an outstanding broadcaster, either famous or infamous --- so that leaves the field as wide open as Paul Harvey and Howard Stern

-- a milestone event, such as a radio broadcast of WoodStock --is there such a thing?-- the Orson Wells "invasion from Mars" broadcast, the Hindenberg disaster, etc etc etc

or even an invention, such as FM broadcasting, the invention of mp3 files, online streaming of such files, the first use of microwave towers, shortwave radio, satellite transmissions etc etc

What I will need besides a choice of topics are at least a bytes worth of websites that you could use as source citations, only one of which can be from wikipedia. Email thsi with your name and "topic and websites" in the subject line

OK, that oughtta be enough for today

Cheers,
Mr. L

Wednesday June 3: keep on keepin' on!

Greetings one and all,

Today you have an entire block to do the following:

A) finish sending me the elements you started working on day before yesterday -- theme song, sfx sounds, bumper music. (If you've already done this, then skip ahead to part B)

B) get crackin' on making a personal broadcast, again, as spelled out in yesterday's blog post. So, you ALL need to start getting some time next door, say at least 10 minutes a piece. Whatever you do, make sure you save all your work and export it as an mp3 file. And, make sure you send it to me by email, labeling it "personal broadcast rough draft"

Let's do it, let's get it done!

Cheers,
Mr. L

Monday June 1st: End Game, Part One

Greetings, Traffik Dodgerz!

As of this moment, we have only two full weeks before the onset of the exam week, which is scheduled to begin June 18th. Because of the nature of our class, and due to the fact that I never like waiting to the last minute anyway,we are going to commence work on your final projects, beginning right now. Before I begin, let me give you a very simple outline of what we will be accomplishing over the next two weeks:

A) An individual broadcast: each of you weill be expected to make an individual broadcast; details to follow soon

B) A final farewell team broadcast: each team will make a final broadcast based upon a topic of their choosing; further details of this to follow soon

C) research topic: each of you will need to research a particular topic pertinent to Radio Production. Details to follow,but please understand that your topic will be broadcast -based as well as print based

D) "year in review": details to follow

In any event, let's get down to what you will be doing today. Each of you will be working on an individual broadcast, so let's work on some of the components for that:

1) theme song: each of you will need to create a new theme song,not less than thirty seconds long and not more than one minute. Please work on a rough draft of one, and send it to me via email, with your name and "my theme song" in the subject line

2) bumper music: each individual broadcast will need some bumper music, so each of you will need to create at least five loops, each not less than 20 seconds and not more than 45 seconds long. Please attach all five and send in an email to me, with your name and the phrase "my bumper music" in the subject line. In the body of the email, please list each full song that you used, including the name of the song,name of the group or artist, year of release and any other details you may believe are pertinent

3) special effects sounds: your individual broadcasts will also require sfx sounds, so you will need to package at least ten that you will choose from later on. Each sfx file should be between 5 to 15 seconds long.Please attach them and send by email, with your name and the phrase "10 sfx sounds" in the subject line

OK, that oughtta do it. Let's get going!

Cheers,Mr. L

Tuesday May 26: tying up loose ends, speaking your piece

Greetings one and all,

Today you will need to accomplish two things:

A) Wrap up any unfinished busniess from the past two weeks. This includes senior interviews, advice from each of you to the incoming freshman class, your first May broadcasts, and of course, all group discussion postings, including the latest one on your "final words"

B) Speaking of which, I am also expecting -- as a new assignment for today-- a rough draft mp3 audio file from each of you, based on the "final words" assignment mentioned above. It must be at least five minutes long, school appropriate as always, and it must be a solo act; that means NO ONE else is to play any part in it. Additionally, if you never got around to posting your "final words" or did not take it seriously, you might want to actually get that done now.

That should be enough for one morning, I should think.

Cheers,
Mr. L

Wednesday May 20: finishing up senior interviews/online file streaming/any last words?

Greetings, fellow noise makers!

Here's how our schedule breaks down -- literally-- over the next several days:

• Well, you do have this class today, AND you're all here
• tomorrow you are not here at all
• Friday is a half day, and pardon me if I believe that some of you won't be showing up at all that day either
• we have next Monday off
• two days later the seniors are GONE
• two days more and we're in JUNE

So for the purposes of getting set up for the final stage of this class, we don't have a lot of time

So today, you will need to do four things:

A) get me your senior interviews and make sure that I have your May shows based on these interviews

B) Make sure that I have the previous show you had done at the beginning of May

C) Discuss amongst yourselves as a team, and come to some kind of consensus as to what you believe to be the very best show you have ever done. Please post to our discussion group a brief paragraph as to which one you decided on, when it was created, what it was about, and maybe some sort of reason WHY you chose this particular one

D) the previous effort was a GROUP project; this final one is an individual project. I need each of you to post as a discussion a rough draft of what sort of statement you would want to make if the entire world had to listen to you AND it was the last time you were ever going to be allowed to speak

Cheers,
Mr. L

Monday May 18: New Rules, Same Class

Greetings, one and all: Before I begin, I would like to take the time to make some observations about how this class is going to need to be modified if it and its twin during Period 2 are going to continue to function properly:

1) Each time is going to be granted 15 minutes at a time in the radio production room next door.When your time is up, you need to rotate out so that other teams can get some work done

2) We all need to be doing a LOT more to keep the production rooms clean and orderly. Whatever you may or may not be doing at home in your own room, you need to understand that this production room is a privilege,not a right. (Matter of fact, I've never anything like it in all the time I've been teaching)

3) When you are not next door recording, you need to be in here either working on adding to that recording, or working on some other assignments which I will be providing you (more on that in a minute)

4) At all times, you will conduct yourselves in such a way that you will never be thought of by anyone else in this building as anything less than exemplary

5) Part of what this means is that I am not only repeating, for at least the fifth or sixth time that NO BALLOONS are allowed anywhere near our facilities,you also may not bring food and drink in there, and you must keep the production room clean at all times.

6) Additionally, the door must be kept locked and closed at all times.

OK,now here is what you are going to need to do while you are NOT in the radio production room today:
Each of you will do a search online for "history of online broadcasting"
Each of you will record the address of at least eight distinct websites that could provide some useful information on this topic
You will record these addresses,along with a one paragraph summation of at least three of the websites you discovered in a post on our Google discussion group
You cannot simply DUPLICATE the addresses of another member of this class.
Do your OWN work please!

Now for the other, "radio production" part of today's class:

Here are the two possible things your teams need to be doing: A) capture a senior, and bring that "about to make an escape" 12th grader back here for an interview, OR

B) start gearing up for another more standard type of broadcast, taking all the usual steps.



One way or the other, you've got a regular block of time to get SOMETHING done. So let's get started!


Cheers,
Mr. L

Thursday May 14: one way or the other!

Greetings, one and all:

Here are the two possible things your teams need to be doing:

A) capture a senior, and bring that "about to make an escape" 12th grader back here for an interview, OR

B) start gearing up for another more standard type of broadcast, taking all the usual steps

one way or the other, you've got a lunch block to get SOMETHING done. So let's get started!

Cheers,
Mr. L

Wed May 13: let the senior interviews begin!

greetings once again traffik dodgerz!

Since you have revamped your "question lists", and seem confident that they will make a good interview, I say it is high time we began the actual interview process. as part of that process, I have made the rounds of several different staff members who can help us:

Mr. Bishop down in guidance, who is head of senior projects

Mr. Kammer down in C205, who is actually cooordinating the senior project students

Ms.Rainey who is a senior class adviser who teaches ceramics down in C202

I also tried to track down the other senior class adviser,Ms. Welch, but I was unsuccessful inthis attempt. I know that she is setup near the weight room downstairs though.

The point is, if you CANNOT get the senior you wish to interview this period, we have access to others. All three of the above mentioned staff members assured me that we could send you guys down to "collect" some seniors to be interviewed. And so you shall do; the more actual interviews we conduct, the more likely we are to get some really good audio footage.

If you CAN get the senior you were hoping to interview, that will also be great. The more the merrier!

OK, lets do it, lets get it done!

Mr. L

PS As I mentioned, balloons in the Radio room is a big no no. If you find them, bring them in here so I can get rid of them, ASAP

some advice to you, some advice from you

Greetings,tRAFFIC dODGERS!

Today,you will be tasked with doing two things:
A)I have asked each of you -- by email-- to do a re-write of your questions,to make them more specific and more likely to produce a longer and more interesting answer.I have also instructed you on how to condense some of your already existing questions into one question,since they dealt with similiar subjects

If for some reason you did not get an email from me its either because you were not here last Friday and therefore couldn't do the assignment, or you were here and chose not to do it. Either way, get it done now please.

B) While you are waiting to get hold of some seniors,you will --by teams-- record a short broadcast which runs in length an average of five minutes per team member. The purpose of this broadcast is for each of you to provide some useful advice to the incoming freshman class. Please ensure that everything you do today is school appropriate

Cheers,
Mr.L

Friday May 8: in our end is our beginning!

Greetings gentlemen, and pardon the delay,

Today you will need to do two things:

A) Make absolutely certain that the radio show I have from each of you is the one you want to be graded on.



B) We also need to begin with the first part of our next assignment. What I would like to see us do is to get a group of seniors -- who are in their last weeks here-- into our production rooms to get some final thoughts from them before they amscray outta here. As such, what I would like EACH of you to do is this:

• 
  come up with a series of at least eight questions to ask them


• 
  make sure the questions cover a wide range of possible topics, such as any advice they might have for underclassmen or incoming freshmen, good times they can recall, favorite classes, opinions about the lunch menu...anything really


• 
  try to make the questions as open ended as possible.Don't try to force people to say what you think they "should" say


• 
  naturally, make sure your questions are school appropriate


• 
  DO NOT DUPLICATE EACH OTHER. Fer cryin' out loud, I don't want 20 seniors getting asked the same boring lifeless questions over and over


• 
  Try to frame your questions in such a way that the answers you get are longer than a sentence, especially a one or two word sentence. Don't go hunting for "yes" or "no"

Ok, that'll do. Get to it!
Cheers, Mr. L

Tuesday April 28th: a new assignment for May

Greetings, one and all!



Today, each of your teams will begin a new assignment: to create a radio show that


A) meets the same minimum requirements as before
Greetings, one and all! Today, each of your teams will begin a new assignment: to create a radio show that A) meets the same minimum requirements as before:

0) you must have posted both a topic and a topic outline to our Google group
1) it must be at least twenty minutes long
2) it must have a theme song not more than one minute in length
3) it must include audible input from all team members
4) it must include either bumper music or special effects sounds in at least two points in the broadcast
5) it must make reference to at least one website that contains information relevant to your stated topic
6) it must be certifiably "school appropriate"

B) Connects a topic you have done already to a topic unlike any other you have done previously


C) Discusses how technology that has only come out in say the last two years has affected the two topics from point B

For example, some of you have done broadcasts that have been generally related to the overall topic of sports. Once you connect it to some other topic -- for example, betting on sports is as old as sports itself -- you would then discuss how technology has affected both of them. You will need to discuss at least one affect that very recent technology has had, and give at least several different examples.

OK, get your brains a-stormin', and get something set up on our Google discussion group

Mr. L



B) Connects a topic you have done already to a topic unlike any other you have done previously

C) Discusses how technology that has only come out in say the last two years has affected the two topics from point B

For example, some of you have done broadcasts that have been generally related to the overall topic of sports. Once you connect it to some other topic -- for example, betting on sports is as old as sports itself -- you would then discuss how technology has affected both of them.

You will need to discuss at least one affect that very recent technology has had, and give atn least several different examples.

OK, get your brains a-stormin', and get something set up on our Google discussion group

Mr. L

Tuesday April 14th: this is where your teams stand

OK, radio talkin' gents, here is where you stand in terms of your April shows:

TONE DEF
0) you must have posted both a topic and a topic outline to our Google group FOUND
1) it must be at least twenty minutes long 17 minutes
2) it must have a brand new theme song, not more than one minute in length FOUND
3) it must include audible input from all team members FOUND
4) it must include either bumper music or special effects soundsin at least two points in the broadcast FOUND
5) it must make reference to at least one website that contains information relevant to your stated topic NOT FOUND
6) it must be certifiably "school appropriate" Lots o' swearing on the RATM song at 16 minute mark, and swearing in the song at about 9 minutes -- FIX THAT!

REVOLUTION RADIO
0) you must have posted both a topic and a topic outline to our Google group FOUND
1) it must be at least twenty minutes long ABOUT 3 minutes so far
2) it must have a brand new theme song, not more than one minute in length NOT FOUND
3) it must include audible input from all team members FOUND
4) it must include either bumper music or special effects soundsin at least two points in the broadcast NOT FOUND
5) it must make reference to at least one website that contains information relevant to your stated topic NOT FOUND
6) it must be certifiably "school appropriate" YES IT IS SO FAR

PETER COTTONTAIL -- show not found, please tell me where the heck it is



THE SHOW RETURNS
0) you must have posted both a topic and a topic outline to our Google group FOUND
1) it must be at least twenty minutes long YES IT IS
2) it must have a brand new theme song, not more than one minute in length FOUND
3) it must include audible input from all team members FOUND
4) it must include either bumper music or special effects soundsin at least two points in the broadcast FOUND
5) it must make reference to at least one website that contains information relevant to your stated topic NOT FOUND
6) it must be certifiably "school appropriate" YES, ALTHOUGH I WOULD GO OVER IT AGAIN JUST TO BE SURE

SOGGY BUFFS
0) you must have posted both a topic and a topic outline to our Google group FOUND
1) it must be at least twenty minutes long roughly 12 minutes
2) it must have a brand new theme song, not more than one minute in length NOT FOUND
3) it must include audible input from all team members FOUND
4) it must include either bumper music or special effects soundsin at least two points in the broadcast NOT FOUND
5) it must make reference to at least one website that contains information relevant to your stated topic NOT FOUND
6) it must be certifiably "school appropriate" enough with the "suck" word already!

Monday April 13th: three days left!

Greetings, traffic dodgers:



OK, the posting pretty much says it all: this is our last week before vacation, and you have thre class days before our last day. I don't count the last day, because



A) that is the day I absolutely MUST get all your shows up online and


B) let's get real: it's pretty hard to motivate ANY student to get much done the day before a vacation. Even students as dedicated as yourself.



So, it being the last week, I feel I ought to re-iterate the MINIMUM requirements for this particular broadcast:



0) you must have posted both a topic and a topic outline to our Google group

1) it must be at least twenty minutes long

2) it must have a brand new theme song, not more than one minute in length

3) it must include audible input from all team members

4) it must include either bumper music or special effects sounds in at least two points in the broadcast

5) it must make reference to at least one website that contains information relevant to your stated topic

6) it must be certifiably "school appropriate"



OK, that's it. Let's get going! and make sure when you upload your files to Box.net that you email me and tell me what the file name is called



Cheers,

Mr. L

Tuesday, April 7: a new way to get stuff to Mr. LaRue

Greetings, loud and nosiy radio people!

Today, you are going to do two things:

A) continue working towards completing your first April broadcast. Remember, we have only five class days left after today: that should be plenty of time, but its not unlimited. And no, I'm NOT counting the last day before the April vacation in my day count: I'm zany and crazy, but not stupidly optimistic

B) As you complete work on your shows, you may notice that many of your files are just simply too darned big to be uploaded to Box.net; nor can you effectively send them by Gmail. What I would like you all to try is uploading them to a shared folder that I have setup for you at divshare.com; here is the address:

http://www.divshare.com/folder/528547-c62

If this works, and your teams want to have their own folders, I can probably set them up for you without too much trouble. It looks like Divshare allows much bigger file uploads, which will help us all out a lot, I think

Cheers,
Mr. L

PS: Please remember that if you're a junior, you are not coming back here after 3rd lunch: you're going to a junior class meeting. Those of you who are still here, we will be sharing the room with Mr. Collins and his students, as there should be more than enough room. Just a little FYI

Tuesday March 31: swingin' into Spring!

Greetings, HKTD inhabitants!


It's getting warmer, and before you know it, we'll be looking at another vacation week. Long before that happens, we need to have another broadcast wrapped up and online. In keeping with it being spring, your topics this time around need to have SOMETHING to do with things that happen in spring: could be "spring training" for the Red Sox, could be the Marshmallow Peeps people get for Easter, could be the final wrapup of "March Madness", could be a new concert tour thats starting or a new CD released just in time for this wonderful season.

Whatever it is, your team needs to do the following:

1) make a group posting that includes a topic chosen and a seven point outline

2) include in that group posting at least two websites that will be referred to during your broadcast (you know, where people can find out more the topic)

3) come up with a trailer description: a one paragraph three complete sentence affair describing your......

4) trailer, which should be about a minute or two long. the trailer should be meant to grab as much attention as possible. You each need to record one of these today

5) secure at least one or two interviews with people knowledgeable on your topic

6) update your theme song -- thats how WE do spring cleaning. It shouldn't be any longer than a minute, and you need to get some new elements into it.

Additionally, if your team still needs to do some last minute work on your previous broadcast, you have TODAY

cheers,
Mr. L

Friday March 27th: last call for your final March shows!

It is what it is gentlemen: Before you leave this room, I will need you to finish up whatever else you feel needs to be done for your shows to meet the criterion of a completed show. You have the lunch block to do it, and your upcoming grades are going to be at least partly based on it.



THERE IS TO BE NO GAME PLAYING BY ANYONE BEFORE LUNCH.



If you're satisfied with what you have, then please send me an email saying so, and tell me which team you are writing for. I will base your grade on what I have.



Next week, we start on our first April broadcasts.



Cheers,

Mr. L

Tuesday March 24: where your teams need to be!

Greetings, fellow noisemakers!



OK, so we've got a pretty good start on your next shows for March. Here is what each team should have by this point in the process:



A) a specific topic and a topic outline consisting of at least 5 to 7 points posted as a Google group discussion posting



B) a brief trailer - about 2 to 3 minutes worth of material -- named after your team plus something that tells me its part of your upcoming broadcast



C) a brief description of that trailer, posted to the Google group as a discussion



D) some sort of audio content downloaded from Youtube using the method I demonstrated to you yesterday. EACH TEAM MEMBER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR UPLOADING ME AT LEAST ONE XAMPLE OF THIS



E) a rough draft of your show so far, in mp3 format, at least several minutes so far. This must be uploaded to me, and clearly labeled so that I know what it is and who owns it.



Any parts of this that you are missing need to be done TODAY. No more waiting on this.



If you are caught up with this, you are free to proceed with the other elements of your new show, whatever they may be, whether its conducting another interview, getting new special effects or TV/movie clips, getting time in the production studio next door, working with Audtion putting your show together here in 323, etc etc etc.....whatever it is, get to it!



Make sure to mupload whatever you have BEFORE the end of the class



Cheers,

Mr. L

Monday March 23: adding yet MORE resources to your shows!

greetings, Traffic Dodgers!



Thus far, most teams are off to a good start creating your second show for the month of March. Most of you have chosen a topic and posted it, along with some sort of rough outline to our Discussion group. Most of you have created a "trailer" as sort of sneak preview of what's coming up for your broadcasts. Most of you have also created a brief description to go with this trailer And of course, by now almost all of you have conducted interviews with people who are outside of this class, as part of our ongoing effort to create greater student involvement with what we are doing. This has added some new qualities to your broadcasts, and now it is time to take another important step.



Oftentimes, broadcasts in the real world will use footage gotten through outside sources. One way that you can access material that could be of use to is on YouTube. Contrary to accepted thought, YouTube is not all fun and games: there are often serious issues discussed. For example, I did a little digging about the dictator of Zimbabwe, a man named Robert Mugabe. (One of the teams in this class just did a broadcast on this very topic). I found a very interesting video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdWKzUOTw0s



OK, so maybe you're thinking: "great Mr. L, but that's a video: what's that got to do with an audio broadcast? Well, as luck or fate would have it, one of your classmates in the other Radio class put me wise to a great little site called Listen to YouTube, found here

http://www.listentoyoutube.com/



This site allows you to input the address of a YouTube broadcast, and then launch a process which extracts the audio from the video, after which you can click on a link named
"download MP3" When you click on that link, you can start downloading the mp3, AFTER YOU RENAME IT (of course)



Here is a link to the audio I extracted:

http://www.box.net/shared/mychs8yo8y



And here is what I want you to do:



A) Using the website listed above, extract the audio from at least one YouTube video per team member. The video must have direct relevance to your current project; for example, if you're doing a broadcast about "March madness", it would probably be easy to find soem videos about that on YouTube.



B) Include at least one of these audio extracts in your upcoming broadcast. Please identify it as such in your broadcast, so people will understand what it is, and state that you got it from a Youtube video. You also need to include the source for this video; in the example I found, it was "sky news". You will find this in a link at the right hand side of the YouTube webpage you're using.



C) upload your new improved broadcast to me by the end of class.



When this task is completed, you may then tend to other aspects of working on your broadcast, including any assignments you currently owe to me. Remember, grades are coming due soon!



Cheers,

Mr. L

Friday March 20: first Day of Spring!

And yup, its warm as ever here in 323! Anyway, here is what you need to do today:

A) if you haven't already done so, your team needs to hand in a short "trailer" no more than 2 to 3 minutes long of either your upcoming show or the one you just completed

B) All teams need to create a short one paragraph description of what is in this trailer. Please post it on our Google group; be sure to identify your team by name in the heading

C) continue working on your new March production. Hand in whatever you have at the end of the period

Cheers,

Mr. L

Wed March 18: making a trailer

Greetings, Traffic Dodgers!

Today, you are going to continue with your new March projects by creating what is known in the industry as a "trailer". Just like a movie trailer is created so as to get people to come see the actual movie, your trailer is going to be made to get people interested in listening to your broadcasts. In this case, our trailers will be hosted on another production inside this school.

Here is what your trailers will need to have:

A) an on air Identifier at the very begininning

B) roughly 2 or 3 minutes of actual broadcasting

C) Some kind of "hook"; something that will get people interested in your show. What that will be is entirely upto you, but please remember

D) all material MUST be school appropriate

While we're on the topic, your first March shows are up on the website. Some of them had to be "edited" by me for appropriate content, and this lost your teams points in your overall score. Henceforth, let's try to do a little better job of that on your own, m'OK?

Cheers,
Mr. L

Tues March 17th: lather, rinse, repeat

Greetings, HKTD!

Today, while I'm doing final reviews of your shows to make sure they aint no cuss words, prepatory to uploading them, you guys will be repeating the process we just performed to make the current shows.

New topic, new voices, new outlines posted to the discussion group: you heard the man, you know the drill, so let's get moving already!

Cheers,
Mr. L

PS by the end of the week, I hope to be able to embark you on something new, a technique I learned during my professional development day. And you thought that WE took a day off last Friday --- not so, my fellow noise makers :-)

Wed March 11: see yesterday's posting and make sure you're show is done!

That's all I'm looking for. Take your time and get it done right Mr. L

PS When it IS done, please upload it to Box.net and shoot me an email saying that you did so. Please identify your group in the subject line of this email

Tuesday March 10: A TO DO list for each team

OK guys, time to get this done and get your shows in shape so that they can be uploaded and enjoyed by all the world. Here is what each show needs to have:

1) Each show needs to be at least 20 minutes long
2) each show must include AUDIBLE input from every team member. In other words, I need to be able to hear everyone
3) each show must start with either your teams theme song, or an on air identifier that states the team members names and the name of your show
4) either way, your show must have both your theme song AND your on air identifier
5) each show must include at least some material from each of the interviews conducted by team members.
6) All team members must have interviewed someone at some point from outside this class
7) I must have a digital copy of this interview on hand
8)YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PUT IN THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW, AND ACTUALLY, I AM COMPLETELY AGAINST THAT WHOLE IDEA ANYWAY
9) When you when get to the part of your broadcast where you are going to use some piece of an interview, you should introduce this material by stating what it is. You could say something like "I interviewed an expert on the topic of [your topic here], and this is what he had to say on the subject..." then play a piece of the interview
10) the show must have at least three identifiable segments connected together by either a snippet of "bumper music", a special effect sound, or an audio quote from a movie or TV show.
11) all material must be intelligible to my hearing. I know I'm old, but I'm not THAT deaf yet.
12) ALL MATERIAL MUST BE SCHOOL APPROPRIATE.OK, that's it, that's what you need to have. Please review the show you have so far, and put together all the pieces you don't already have in it. If you have any technical difficulties, please let me know.

Cheers,
Mr. L

Friday March 6: time's up, and I need a rough draft for your shows!

OK gents this is it. I have a CD burned with all the material from the other Radio class. Now I need to compile one for this class. I will need two items for each group/members of that group:

A) I need a rough draft of your show so far. Does it have akll your interview material? All your audio clips, special effects, theme song, on air identifier? NO? Well, you need to get me WHATEVER you have

B) Each of you also owes me an interview. If you haven't already gotten one, and can get one today, please do so.

OK, you've got the lunch block. Make good use of it

NO GAME PLAYING OF ANY KIND UNTIL I HAVE WHAT YOU OWE!!!!

Mr. L

Thurs March 5: we are running out of week!

So please refer to day before yesterday's post. THAT is what you need to be doing.

Just so it's understood, my intention is to be able to have a "rough draft" your complete shows in my possession BEFORE this weekend, so I can listen to them, then make suggestions for any last changes, then you do that AND add in any last minute changes of your own. I want these broadcasts to be up early next week, so that we can start in on some new material

keepin' it fre$h,
Mr. L

Tues March 3: getting interviews, continuing with your first March shows

Greetings, followers of Helen!
Today, each of your teams need to be doing all four of the following:

A) gaining and conducting interviews with the people of your choosing. Remember to ask politely, and if it cannot be done today, make sure to get a SPECIFIC DATE nailed down.

B) you also need to be creating your own material in the production studios next door. You know, all the usual stuff you would doing on your own ANYWAY, even before bringing in anyone else from the outside.

C) Also, all the usual types of activities you would do in creating a broadcast, including any all special effects, on air identifiers, audio quotes, content you yourselves have created etc etc

D) BEFORE THE CLASS ENDS, upload to Box.net whatever kind of show you've got put together so far. I don't care how pieces its missing. Consider it a "rough draft" of sorts. Be sure to label it after your team name, plus the phrase "rough draft March 3"

OK, you know what's gotta get done. Let's get going on it!

"vegetarians...if you cook 'em right, they're delicious!"

Mr. L

fri feb 27: starting your next shows, part two

OK, now for the second half:

In the past, you all have had some experience interviewing each other. Now I am going to unleash you on an unsuspecting high school...muahwaahahahahahaha!!! Here's what I want EACH of you to do:

A) pick out at least one person in this school who you feel is knowledgeable enough about the topic for your next show that you could ask them questions about it. It could be a student, it could be a teacher, it could be a coach or heck, even a guidance counselor. If they're a person and they're in this building, they are fair game.

B) set up a list of at least eight good questions

C) make a post on our Google group with a subject header that includes your name, plus the phrase "who I will interview, what I will ask them". Include the name of the person and the eight questions you are thinking of asking them.

OK, now for the tricky part: getting to ask the questions. It might be difficult to get people up to our studios, and the hand held digital recorders we have on hand are bloody awful. I will work on my end to try and get some hand held devices that work which you can borrow. For your pat, you need to talk to the person you have in mind to interview, and see if it would be possible to get them here. One way or the other, we need to get this figured out.

So let's get going!

Mr. L

fri feb 27: Finishing your theme songs, and starting your next show, part one

Allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll righty then!, we've got tons to do today, so let's get right to it:

A) You need to finish up your theme songs, and get them uploaded to our folder on Box.net. Make sure the file is named after your group, plus the phrase "theme song". It must be in mp3 format, and it needs to be school appropriate.

(So far, only one team has actually done so; that would be Zach and Graham. The rest of you either haven't gotten that far yet, or you've uploaded session files, which are NOT acceptable; I need the actual MP3 "mixdowns")

B) While one part of your team is doing that, the other part needs to start jotting down some basic possible ideas for your first show in March. Whatever you plan on doing, make sure you go along with the following:

1) it needs to be school appropriate
2) it should be CURRENT; ie, either about something that just happened a little while ago or is about to happen. This will fit in with the other part of today's assignment, which I will roll out as you finish up the first half
3) your team must come up with roughly 3 to 5 different possible topics. The topics must be specific. "Sports" is not an acceptable topic; "the Red Sox have started up spring training down in Florida, lets talk about their prospects for this year" is a little more on the money.
4) these topics must be posted on our Google group by just one member of your group. The subject line must include your team name plus the phrase "first March topics"

OK, when you're done, I will post the second half of today's assignment.

Mr. L

Tues Feb 24, theme songs, part two

OK, now that you've looked at the theme song of a professional radio personality (the definition being a guy who makes a crapload of money being on the radio) it's time for you guys to make a theme song of your own. Your group's theme song will have to include the following:

A) some sort of voiceover from at least one member of your team

B) at least three different special effects sounds (use the ones you've collected, or go get some more)

C) some sort of slogan during the voiceover

D) at least two audio quotes (again, you can use the ones you've already got or get new material)

E) some sort of background music (like a back beat, could be anything really, as long as its instrumental)

F) Make it sound cool. I know this is purely a matter of taste, but if it sounds godawful, I'm going to tell you as much.

G) ALL MATERIAL MUST BE SCHOOL APPROPRIATE

Everyone needs to be working on this, without exception. Please upload your first draft of your new theme song before the end of the class to our shared folder on Box.net. Name the file after your team name. Make sure it has been exported as an mp3.

"vegetarians....if you cook 'em right, they're delicious!"
Mr. L

Tues Feb 24: theme songs, part one

Greetings HKTD residents!

Most of you have created a show for February. Soon, you will be working on your first shows for March. As part of that effort, what you are going to do now is work towards building a theme song which will be played at the beginning of your show.

To do this, I believe that it is useful to listen to what a professional does when he creates a theme song. I have put a copy of this theme song in our shared folder on Box.net. Its called "theGlennBeckThemeSong" Here's what I want each of you to do with it:

A) download it and listen to it

B) listen to it again, and try to imagine that you have to re-create this theme song. How many elements are in this theme song? Does it have any special effects sounds in it? Does it have audio quotes from movies or speeches? Does it have a musical backbeat? Does it have any special quotes or slogans?

C) Imagine you were trying to re-build this theme song from scratch in Adobe Audition. How many different tracks do you think you would need? How would you layout all the different sounds?

D) Now that you've thought about it, you will need to create a discussion post on our Google group detailing your thoughts. Label it "Beck theme song", and in the body of your post, list the following:

1) list all the different elements in the theme song, and describe each one. Say whether its an audio quote, or a special effect, or a voiceover, or some background music. If you know where it comes from, by all means, show off your knowledge.

2) describe about how many tracks you would need in Adobe to re-create this theme song, and describe why.

3) List any opinions you have about this theme song, and explain why you think and feel as you do.

THIS IS AN ASSIGNMENT FOR EACH OF YOU, NOT A GROUP ASSIGNMENT

Cheers,
Mr. L

Friday the 13th: time to rev up the chainsaws!

No seriously, its time to get your feb shows to me in mp3 format, following the guidelines I gave the other day. I need to upload them to a site called DivShare, so that I can stream them off of our website. I will email you the website address where you will be able to access it, and I must insist that you listen over the vacation at least once to make sure your broadcasts are actually working

Cheers,
Mr. L

Wed Feb 11: three classes left: here is what you need to do!

By now, each team has been in the production studio next door several times. Your latest assignment today involved you making an "informational segment" where you talk about websites that have to do with your topic.





Now its time to get serious about finishing your first radio shows, so that I can get them on the air before we leave this Friday. Here is what each show MUST include:



A) each show must be at least fifteen minutes in length


B) Each show should be divided up into at least three segments of at least five minutes length for each one


C) each team member must be included in the show's output, meaning you either talk or sing or play an instrument or make something else happen that I can HEAR


D) at least one of those segments must be the "info segment" mentioned in a previous blog post


E) The first segment must be preceded by some sort of "on air identifier", meaning everyone says who they are, and what team's broadcast I'm listening to, ie, say the name of your team


F) the other segments must be "joined up" by some sort of audio device such as "bumper music", or a sound effect, or some sort of audio quote from a movie or TV show


You will need to get this final mix uploaded to me at Box.net, so that I may have it ready to be listened to outside of this building BEFORE the february vacation. Naturally, ALL MATERIAL MUST BE SCHOOL APPROPRIATE


cheers,
Mr. L

Wed feb 11: a virtual goldmine of info!

Greetings, Traffic Dodgers!

Going along with the objective of each and every team having a radio show ready to go "on the air" before we break for the February vacation, one of the steps you are going to take is for each team to record a five minute "information segment". This info-segment will have to have all of the following characteristics:

A) The information you are trying to give people must be directly related to the "new show topics" you began last week

B) Each point in the outline you just created for your new shows must be included in this info-segment

C) All the information you talk about must be available online

D) You must list the website address as part of this five minute segment.

In other words, you're going to talk about useful websites that have to do with your topic for at least five minutes. EVERYONE IN THE GROUP MUST DO SOME OF THE TALKING.

Before you do this, you must create a discussion posting on our Google group, one per team. The discussion posting must list all the website addresses you will be mentioning in the course of this 5 minute info segment. Please include the term "info websites" plus the name of all team members in the subject heading

OK, let's get going!
Mr. L

PS "If vegetarians et vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?"

Mon feb 9: here is TODAY's assignment

Greetings, Traffic dodgers!





Today, you will need to complete three basic tasks:





A) You will need to flesh out the ideas you had for future shows, which you posted just yesterday on our Google group. You will need to build an outline for each of these ideas, by writing up at least six major points you want to make about each idea. Each major point should consist of at least two complete sentences, which explain what you are going to say.





B) Locate some alternatives to "bumper music". One good way of doing is by using audio files that are direct quotes from movies or TV shows. Here are some good places to find them; please gather at least eleven of them, ONLY IN MP3 FORMAT:





http://www.moviewavs.com/


http://www.moviewavs.com/Movies.html


http://www.moviesoundscentral.com/


http://www.moviedoo.com/





C) finish up anything you haven't been able to finish during the past week (see previous posting!)





Cheers,


Mr. L

Friday Feb 6: before we begin!

Gentlemen,



As promised, I am letting you know exactly where you stand regarding assignments owed:


TEAM LOGO the only team which has one is Zach and Graham. Sorry Nick, but Rocawear is not original with you. EVERYONE ELSE, please get this uploaded NOW


SouthPark Avatars I have found these only for the following people:
Nick
Zach
Andrew
Alex


I know I have seen more than this so PLEASE UPLOAD THEM TO BOX.NET NOW
(Matt I will explain this assignment to you soon)


Interview done and uploaded I have questions from everyone, so I am waiting for the mp3 files of the actual interviews. Here's the people who got this too me:
Graham
Zach
Devin
Chris
Alex


Nick and Andrew I also have yours, but please from now on, upload them to Box.net, dont email them. The rest of you, please get these done. NOW


SEVEN special effects sounds I only have them from Zach and Graham, and one from Matt. If you have them, upload them to Box.net; and make sure I know they are yours!
If you don't have them, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR?


NEXT SHOW IDEA I only have postings for this from Zach and Graham. THE REST OF YOU NEED TO DO THIS NOW


Until I am satisfied that EVERYONE is caught up, there will be no game playing of any kind, either online or with a handheld. I would hate to start handing out detentions to people, removing anyone from class, or calling your momma on you, but i absolutely wil if that is what it takes to motivate you.


let's do it, let's get it done!

Mr. L

Wed Feb 4, part One: interviewing and gathering raw materials

Greetings, disciples of the great Keller!

All of you, it would seem, have set up shop on Box.net, and can upload files there, no questions asked. Here is what you need to do today:

A) Interviews All of you will have to conduct yours today. If you cannot agree on who goes first, I will set up a "batting order" for you.

Please make sure to export your interview as an mp3, then upload it to our folder on Box.net. Make sure you name it after yourself, plus the word "interviews"
EACH ONE OF YOU IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONDUCTING AN INTERVIEW, AND GETTING THAT MP3 FILE TO ME

B) Raw Materials While you are waiting to go next door, and after you get back, you will need to gather some "raw material" for the next show you wish to record. This raw material includes the following:

1) ideas of WHAT you're going to talk about. For example, if you have a show that's mostly about sports, you might want to look up some sporting events that will be happening in the next week or so. That way, you can be ready to talk about it at about the same time it takes place. Ditto for music: if a group you like is touring, you could find out about them, play some of their music, etc etc. Whatever you choose to do, you need to list at least three ideas in a group discussion post; each idea must be writeen out in the form of at least two - four complete sentences. Please label this post with your name, plus the phrase "future ideas, feb 4"

2) This semester, we will be able to create shows that are MUCH longer than the typical 5 minutes we ended up doing last semester. This being the case, you will need to have some files of bumper music setup. "Bumper music" is simply a short clip of a song, maybe about 5 to 20 seconds long, that connects one segment of your show to the next.

Extracting bumper music is pretty simple, and can be done quite easily in Adobe Audition.. If you need help, I will show you how. Please be sure to upload all such files to our folder on Box.net; three or four should do for today

3) at least seven special effects noises -- besides employing "bumper music" in your shows, you will also want to -- at times-- have some sound handy to emphasize some particular point in some particular way. For instance, if you're talking about something you find disgusting, you might want to have a sound file on hand of someone throwing up; to emphasize fright, you can have a file of someone screaming. Adobe Audition allows you to place this sound on a different track from the other parts of your show, and place it at just the right point for maximum effect.

A good site to start looking for these sounds can be found here:

http://www.meanrabbit.com/wavhtml/wavepage.htm

HOWEVER, I will consider awarding extra credit for anyoner who finds another good website source for special effects sounds; just post a discussion listing the website address and the sounds you found there. Please label this posting after your name plus "new sfx website"

OK, enough talking: let's start doing!

Cheers,
Mr. L

Tues, Feb 3: Interviewing and uploading #3

OK radio gents, for your last trick of the day, I will need to interview each other. To properly complete this assignment, you will need to do the following:



A) make a post in our discussion group. The subject line should have your first and last name, plus the phrase "my questions" The body will include a list of at least 8 questions, each one in the form of a complete sentence. You must also indicate who you are interviewing.



Please take this seriously gentlemen: there will be assignments later on this month that will be much easier if you do. And besides, I am grading EVERYTHING. I don't ask you to do it for no reason after all.



B) You will need to conduct the interview next door, using the production studio equipment. Please save your session file using YOUR first and last name. Remember when you are done to EXPORT this session file as an mp3 file, also named after yourself.



C) Lastly, send me the file through our shared folder at Box.net.

Again, let me know of any difficulties you have in using this shared folder



Cheers,
Mr. L



PS I am aware that some of you still owe assignments from previous classes. Yes, you still have to do them. Yes I will extra time at the end of the week for you to do so.

Tues Feb 3: BOX.NET! #2

OK fellow broadcasters!



For your next trick, you will respond to the invite I have sent out to all of you for a shared folder on Box.net. This shared folder is a place where you can upload and download files, and it helps you to avoid all the problems associated with the school's H drive, which often cannot seem to work properly, esp. with the files we create in the production studios next door.



Please let me know if you have any difficulties with this. Also, if you could do a "test run" on your ability to upload and download files using this folder, that would be good thing, and yes, I'm telling you to do it. NOW.



the faster we go, the rounder we get,

Mr. L

Tues Feb 3: What's in a name? #1

Period 5 RADIO -- the winner is...
OK, so here's how the voting worked: each number 1 vote got 3 points, each number 2 got 2 points and each number 3 got 1 point. Then I added up the points to see what the results were. Here is what I got from you guys:

1. Sweeny's House
2. Hellen Keller Traffic Dodgers
3. Purple City

1. Helen Kellers Trafic Dodgers
2. Shake n Bake
3. Sweenys house

1. Sweeny's House
2. Helen Kellers Trafic Dodgers
3. Shake n Bake

1. Helen Keller's Traffic Dodgers
2. RadioActiv
3. Purple City

1.Sweenys house
2.RadioAktiv
3. Shake n Bake

1. Helen Kellers Trafic Dodgers
2. One Size Fits Most
3. Sweenys house

1. The Noisemakers
2. Helen Kellers Traffic Dodgers
3. Shake n Bake

1. Sweenys house
2. Shake n Bake
3. The Noisemakers

and here is how it added up:

Sweenys House ----------------> 3 + 1 + 3 + 3 + 1 + 3 = 14
Helen Kellers Traffic Dodgers --> 2 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 3 + 2 = 15
Purple City -------------------------------------> 1 + 1 = 2
Shake and Bake ---------------------> 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 7
RadioActiv -------------------------------------> 2 + 2 = 4
One Size Fits Most -------------------------------------> 2
The Noisemakers -------------------------------> 3 + 1 = 4

So it seems that "Hellen Keller's Traffic Dodgers" is the winner by one vote. Now in the spirit of electoral fairness, I am granting you the opportunity to either support this result, or to challenge it since it is so close. To do this, please do the following:

A) please make a discussion post with the subject line being your name plus the phrase "my vote counts"

B) in the body of this posting, please indicate whether you are willing to stand by the decision reached, or, if you oppose it, please indicate the reason or reasons. I am willing to listen to all arguements pro and con, but you must stand up and be counted.

Once this is settled, we will move on to the next assignment of the day.

the faster we go, the rounder we get!
Mr. L

Mon Feb 2, part three: logos and avatars

Howdy howdy howdy once again!



The first thing you did today involved picking a name for our class. You've already picked out team names, soooooooooo....


while you're waiting for your turn to go next door to the production studio, the next thing to do is to create a LOGO, an image that "looks like" your radio show. More importantly, your logo, your symbol, has to be something simple and memorable; it needs to STAND OUT.


I don't care HOW you create this logo, just make sure that it is "school appropriate" and send it to me by email attachment. Please put all your team members names in the Subject line, as wellas your team name, plus the words "our logo"



Also, while you're hashing out just what your symbol is going to look like, you also need to create an avatar, a symbol that stands for each team member. An easy place to do that is located here:



http://www.sp-studio.de/



It allows you to make a cartoon character of yourself. Please take some time and do this, and then make sure to save the file and send it to me by email attachment. Make sure the Subject line has your name plus the words "South Park character"



At some point, these images will go up on our new and improved website, so make them look good, m'OK?



Cheers,

Mr. L

Mon Feb. 2, part two: topics and recording

OK, now that you've posted your "top three choices" for our class name, your next assignment is pretty simple, and it breaks down into three parts:

A) get together by teams and come up with a topic for a test broadcast. It can be anything as long as it is school appropriate. (btw, not all teams have names yet; that needs to get fixed, tutto pronto)

B) Have one member of your team do a write up of this topic in your discussion group. A paragraph of at least two to three complete sentences will suffice.

C) By teams, go next door to the production room and start recording. I would like to emphasize that those of you who have not taken this class before should get as much time as possible actually working with the equipment next door, under the guidance of those who HAVE done this before.Please remember to email the exported mp3 files to me as attachments

cheers,
Mr. L

Monday February 2: FIRST VOTE

Greetings fellow noisemakers! The first order of business is pretty simple: I've compiled a list of several of the best possible names for your class and its various radio programs. I had input from my wife, my kids, Bam the cat and Meladie our coyote dog.



Here are the list of semi-finalists:


The Noisemakers
Helen Kellers Trafic Dodgers
RadioAktiv
Purple City
Pound Foolish
One Size Fits Most
Sweenys house
Cause Without a Rebel
Shake n Bake


What I need you to do is to make a discussion post on our "Manhattan Project" group. In this post, please type in your top three choices, with the numbers 1 2 or 3 next to each one to show your order of preference. If you could, include a brief sentence or two explaining your choice, as that would be very helpful.


Btw, you are NOT allowed to vote for your own choice three times in a row.... 'nuff said!


Please remember two things:
A) some of the names didn't make the list because you decided to name your team with it, so I figured, why duplicate things?


B) Be nice in your comments. We will be together in this class all year, and besides, it costs nothing to be polite.


OK, once those are posted, you guys will go on to your next assignment for the day, and I will try and tally the votes and declare a winner.


Cheers,
Mr. L

Thurs Jan 29: last part of a very busy day!

OK, last part of a very busy day!

Now that your teams are all setup, it's time get started! There are two things you need to be doing:

A) getting next door and making some test broadcasts. Some of you have worked together before; some of you have not. Some of you were here just last semester; some of you haven't done this since last year; some of you have never done it. Wherever you're at, there's no substitute for doing

Please make sure that you export your test files as mp3s, and email them to me as attachments. MAKE SURE THE FILENAMES INCLUDE YOUR NAMES! Do NOT make me guess, or I will just delete 'em and you get to do it all over again

B) work here in this lab gathering material you could use: loops, song files to use in creating "bumper music", sound effects (the "Mean Rabbit" website has bunches of them and free too) etc etc.

btw, if there is something you need my help with, by all means, shoot me an email. This is esp. true if for example you've got Ipod files that are m4a and you need them converted to mp3; I can do that right here at my desk.

Just a little FYI.

cheers,
Mr. L

Thurs Jan 29 Part the Third: setting up radio teams

OK, now that we are on our way to having a name for this class as a group, now it's time for you to set up as teams and set up names for your own team's radio program. since this class is smaller than last semester's, no team can be bigger than two people. If you prefer to work on your own, that will only do if a) no one is left out who would prefer to work in a team and b) we don't end up with ten or twelve different radio programs, which would take up way too much studio time.
So, set up your teams, and then one member of your team must make a discussion posting detailing who is in your team and what your team is calling itself, which btw needs to be something that's school appropriate, with a pref for creativity. The subject of your post should list both your names and the words "our team"
The body of your post should list what you want to call your program
Cheers

Thurs Jan 29 Part the Second: name calling

OK people, the next oder of busniess is name calling. And no, I don't mean the taunting, "you're ugly and your momma dresses you funny" kind of name calling. What we need is a group name for the radio shows included within this class. Last semester, I named both groups; one was called "Dissonant Disturbances", while the other was called the "Noise Aquarium".

Seeing as you guys are second level, I think it should be up to you to come up with a name. Here's what you need to do:

A) make another discussion post on our Google group and label it with your name plus the phrase "name calling"

B) in the body of the post, include at least three different possible names for this class and its radio shows as a group

C) give it a few minutes, then make a school appropriate, useful constructive comment on everyone else's ideas for a name

I will take everything into consideration, and try to trim down the choices to say maybe two or three possibles. Next time, we will vote on it and see where we go from there.

Cheers,
Mr. L

Thurs Jan 29, Part The First: Five things I would klike to try in this class

hey there loud Radio People!

The day before yesterday, we got set up with gmail accounts, the address of this blog, and getting you all invited to our Google discussion group, where you made your first brief postings. However, as far as I can tell not everyone has a gmail account; here are the people who still need to get one:

Adam C.

Graham E.

Chris R.

Andrew P.

Alex S. (whoops, no, I got your new one--thanks!)

Nick E.



Please understand if this list is incomplete or incorrect in some way. If you have a gmail account and I missed you, please let me know ASAP so we can get that fixed up


The first order of business for TODAY is to get an idea of at least some of the things you would like to accomplish as a member of this class. It is MY class, and naturally there's stuff that I will insist on you doing. However, it is also YOUR class, and it needs your input. So here is what you need to do:

log onto our discussion group, and make a new post. Label it with your name, plus the phrase "wish list"
In the body of this discussion, please list at least five things you want to be able to accomplish in this class that you have not done before, or at least, you haven't done them in this class. Describe each goal using at least two complete sentences.

When everyone is done, we will move onto the contest

cheers,
Mr. L

your first Google Group Post -- Manhattan Project

Once you have a gmail account set up, and have sent me your email address, I will begin inviting people to our Google group, which is called "The Manhattan Project". Your invite should arrive in your gmail inbox; respond to it to join this discussion group.



From then on, whenever you need to make a post on this group of ours, all you have to do is sign into your email, click on the MORE link at the top of this page, then click on "Groups".



This will bring you to the list of groups of which you are a member, including the Manhattan Project. Click on that link, and then on the next page, click on the "Discussions" link.



There should be a button that says "New Post". Pleae click on it, and then type in a brief test message. Make sure your name is in the Subject line first, so I don't have to guess who you are!



Cheers,

Mr. L

Greetings Period 5 Radio Chilluns! Monday January 26

If you are reading these words, then you must be part of Radio Production, Level Two. Some of you I already know; some of you I am meeting here today for the very first time. Whether I've met you or not, here are some assumptions that I'm making about you:

A) You are here because you want to be, not because you were placed here by your mom or your guidance counselor.

B) You like some aspect of radio broadcasting and probably enjoy the sound of your own voice

C) You are at least slightly familar with how a computer works. At the very least, you have a gmail account, and you now know the address of this blog.

OK, we have other stuff to do right now, but I will leave you with two parting thoughts:

1) Every day, there will be some sort of instructions listed here that will tell you the important parts of whatever it is we are doing that day.

2) Oftentimes, you will be instructed to send me something by email, or post something in a Google group discussion. Let's start with you sending me something by email right now. Please copy and paste the words you see below into an email addressed to me at mrlarue2009@gmail.com Make sure your name and the phrase "period 5 radio" are in the subject line.

The Words:
and all shall cry beware! beware!
his flashing eyes his floating hair
weave a circle 'round him thrice
and close your eyes with holy dread
for he on honeydew hath fed
and drunk the milk of Paradise