After the session today by Dave Seibert, Senior Multimedia Producer at the AZ Republic, my head is spinning about the type of equipment I already have and what I want versus need. The point that came across numerous times in his presentation was that basic point and shoot cameras are just fine to use for multimedia journalism. This year alone we went through five cameras that were basic point and shoot cameras and I can not get them replaced nor have funding sadly to fix them. So now I am stuck with the question of what basic good equipment could I get that could last a couple of years through students and the needs of technology. I like the idea of using the iPhone to take photos but we can not bring our own devices to school. We do have a mobile iPod cart that I might be able to use beyond just its recording capabilities like Stan mentioned. Perhaps mobile devices for ease of use is where I need to go.
Another idea is to look for funding methods to support getting a bit better equipment that can last through the classes who use and abuse it each year. I did a little research on grants available for technology funding and found http://www.techlearning.com/portals/0/Dell_Grants_Calendar_2012-13.pdf perhaps that will be my next step-writing grants to get equipment in my students hands.
Heather,
ReplyDeleteMaybe have your students' first project be on the subject of the First Amendment and you could get one of Mr. Paulson's grants of $500 for seed money. (...and instead of just iPods...go big...try to get iPads! Your program would be the envy of everybody else at your school. Debbie
Heather,
ReplyDeleteFor a source of funding, check out www.donorschoose.org. It's a website that matches teachers seeking grants with donors willing to fund them. The teacher has to complete a brief description of his/her grant request. Poor schools seem to be quite compelling for donors, but then again I've known affluent schools to fare quite well on the site as well. On the JEA listserv, other journalism advisers have reported getting cameras, scanners, voice recorders, video camcorders, & other technology-related items funded through the site. I just checked it out, and it says just this past week, 2,453 donors helped 97,284 students.
Good luck!
Maya