Participate and share: Poster 
Project Based Learning (PBL) is defined by the Buck Institute for Education as a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem or challenge. Key elements of PBL include challenging problems, extended inquiry, student voice and choice, reflection, critique and revision, and, most importantly, an authentic product presented to a real-world audience. The authentic product presented to a real-world audience is what distinguishes project-based learning from other teaching strategies but it is often the most difficult aspect of PBL to implement.
Creating an authentic product for a real-world audience is unique because the student is not producing something to please his or her teacher, but to impress his or her peers. It creates not only an external motivator—the need to produce for an audience—but is also internally motivating, because students want to put their best foot forward and are driven to succeed on something they know is important to others.
The challenge is that project-based learning assignments are difficult to administer on a consistent basis in the regular classroom setting. Some subjects can feature a special night for students to show off their work, but consistently implementing this across every subject area multiple times can become artificial.
Forming the Frisch News Network, a student-driven news crew is real-world project-based learning at its best. The excitement connected to our newscast has been infectious. This has been complemented by students gaining various 21st-century skills without their even realizing it.
Students created a fast moving video montage and composed original music for the show open, the show close and credits. They also created over the shoulder box graphics and news tickers to give the newscast an authentic feel as well as an original Frisch News Network logo. They used green screen technology, creative editing, bluetooth microphones, and Ring lighting to create a professional newscast look. The newscast has been nationally recognized through winning first prize first place in the 2022 Jewish Scholastic Journalism Awards for Video or Podcasting for our Chanukah Newscast! You can view a picture here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ha5ps12BMgKj5giq7
Students created new social media platforms on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/frischnewsnetwork/) to generate buzz about upcoming stories and posted newscasts on the Frisch News Network YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcHDfM58g6x4D5rxXXXJVVQ
What has made this such a powerful project-based learning experience is the authentic product, the newscast broadcast, which students are producing to a real public audience. They want their production to be the highest quality possible and are innately motivated to do their best work, and then reflect and revise to enhance their product.
The Poster Session will feature artifacts from the Frisch News Network including cameras, microphones, greenscreens, tripods, lighting, and computers used by the news crew. Participants will see the process of how a professional quality newscast is created and broadcast on YouTube and other online video platforms. They will experience a detailed how-to guide for starting similar clubs in their school and using them as an educational vehicle for project-based learning in which students create authentic products for a public audience. They will speak to the faculty advisors and hear from various students as they describe how the club has taught them to work collaboratively as a team, communicate creatively using a variety of digital tools, and interact ethically and effectively on popular social media platforms.
Buck Institute’s Gold Standard PBL: http://www.bie.org/blog/gold_standard_pbl_essential_project_design_elements
Edutopia: Small Screen, Big Success: Creating a Student-Produced Television Program http://www.edutopia.org/studenttelevision
Edutopia: Student Broadcasters: Feature Stories Reflect Local and Global Awareness http://www.edutopia.org/feature-stories
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