From Headlines to Highlights: Empowering Young Broadcasters Through Tech

Outline

Content & Engagement
•  Welcome & Overview (continuous, as attendees arrive):
•  Students briefly introduce the project: a 5th grade–produced monthly video news program.
•  Poster visuals highlight the workflow (planning → scripting → filming → editing → publishing).
•  Live Demonstration (ongoing):
•  Students show the video creation process in real time using a high-quality document camera instead of a traditional video camera.
•  Attendees can watch how anchors and reporters read from scripts, use pacing cues, and collaborate behind the scenes.
•  Interactive Participation (1–2 minutes per attendee):
•  Attendees are invited to step into the role of anchor or reporter, reading from the student-prepared scripts under the document camera.
•  Students guide them through the process, modeling how they coach one another during production.

Time
•  Poster sessions are drop-in, so timing is flexible. Each attendee’s experience lasts 3–5 minutes, but the full cycle of content is available throughout the session.

Outcomes

After this session, participants will be able to plan and organize a student-led video news program, choose and use digital tools that support student creativity, and adapt ready-to-use templates and examples for their own schools. They will also learn ways to guide elementary students in different roles—such as anchors, reporters, and editors—so that every child can contribute. Because this is a poster session, attendees will leave with easy-to-follow visuals, practical resources, and ideas they can take back and use right away.

Supporting research

1. Norton, P., & Hathaway, D. (2010). Video Production as an Instructional Strategy: Content Learning and Teacher Practice. CITE Journal.
https://citejournal.org/volume-10/issue-1-10/current-practice/video-production-as-an-instructional-strategy-content-learning-and-teacher-practice/

– Demonstrates how video production supports content learning, motivation, and media literacy.

2. Solé-Llussà, A., Aguilar, D., & Ibáñez, M. (2022). The Effect of an Instructional Intervention Based on the Use of Video-Worked Examples to Promote Elementary Students’ Science Process Skills. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1345878.pdf
– Shows how video-based learning improves elementary students’ inquiry and communication skills.

3. ISTE Standards for Students – Creative Communicator (Standard 6).
https://iste.web.unc.edu/iste-student-standards/standard-6-creative-communicator/
– The official ISTE standard your session aligns with.

4. ISTE Blog – Standards Spotlight: Innovative Approaches Inspire Students to Be Creative Communicators.
https://iste.org/blog/standards-spotlight-innovative-approaches-inspire-students-to-be-creative-communicators
Practical examples of students using digital tools to communicate clearly and creatively.

5. REL Pacific (2025). Including Voice in Education: Empowering Student Voice in School Design.
https://ies.ed.gov/rel-pacific/2025/01/infographic-6
– Research on the power of student voice in shaping learning environments.