Newsroom















Tuesday - June 17th
         The Newsroom has been cranking out broadcast after broadcast, along with publishing numerous copies of "The Daily Feed."  As a teacher, I have become much more of a support crutch than someone who is in control of the management of a classroom.  These students have taken the lead in every aspect of their education.  They have been able to set strict guidelines and clear deadlines to meet each and every day.  They stick to their agendas and make sure that each student has an important role in the completion of their tasks.  It really is a true team effort, led by Rylie Gray, as the editor in chief.  The Common Core standards are just a small part of what is happening in this classroom, err.. I mean Newsroom.  Keep posted for all the newest broadcasts and online papers each day.  The countdown is nearing and it will have to come to an unfortunate end, but I can say with a clear conscience that these students have exceeded my expectations, but most importantly, their own. 
Wednesday - June 11th
         Do you know what today is?  Hey, do you know what today is?  Does anybody know what today is?  Hard at work again.  The newsroom pounded the hallways for the latest breaking news in the corporation battles for top robot.  The deadline is looming close for our major competitors.  Our crew will be there every minute of every day.
         This group of students  has turned into a bunch of career professionals, with responsibilities, right in front of my eyes.  They are solving their own problems, whether it be an editing issue with SONY Vegas and they need tech support, or if a bill needs to get paid and they need to put pressure on the accountants.  All types of real-world issues are being thrown their way and they handle it using their new found social skills.  They have turned into the complete package.  Some of these guys could walk into a professional setting and actually fit in the work environment.
Tuesday - June 10th
         The News Crew is back on track after hosting the corporate media specialists for the creation of commercials.  The groups were able to produce their work right on cue, and have once again met the deadlines.  
         Enough can't be said said about this wonderful group of workers.  They enjoy their jobs and some have even chosen journalism as a career path for the future.
 Monday - June 9th
         Welcome back folks!! The newsroom is back in action after taking Friday "off-the air" to complete corporate commercials.  The tech crew is now finishing the editing process where they add background images and music.  The entire process is a wonderful thing to watch.  This is college level training being completed by 6th grade students.
         The journalists were pounding the rooms for new stories.  They discovered that Mondays are the worst days to get a story, due to everyone being in slow motion and tired from the weekend.  The photographers collected quality shots today for the "Daily Feed."  We have new advertisements in the paper as well.
         The "Morning Rooster" crew is cranking out a new show and Rylie Gray is setting up times to schedule in the CEOs for their final shareholder presentation, to be aired on "Robo-Radio."  Tarbell's Touch Sensor has been getting quite a few compliments on the content and biased views of the project.  Nice job Libbie.  We are also now collecting money from the corporations for their advertisements and commercials.  The employees can now get paid for all of their hard work.
         Real world problems are happening in the Newsroom, each and everyday.  Deadlines, bills, personnel issues are just some of the issues being handled by our students, but they are battle-hardened and ready to go on.
 Friday - June 6th
         I apologize for not posting on Thursday, but I was out of school for the day.  Today is the second round of commercials for the Newsroom.  On the this day the room is hectic.  Each corporation has a thirty minute window in which to record their ad, edit the piece and make arrangements for images and music.  I am very impressed with the professionalism shown by these students.
         The newspaper has already been published for today and many bills have been published, charged and uploaded.  The room is running like a well-oiled machine, and the kids are doing it all.  It takes collaboration and teamwork to get these kind of results and I couldn't be more proud of all of them.  keep up the good work.
Wednesday - June 4th
        The journalists met quickly to discuss their progress on completing the required journal entries.  They discovered that some students were not keeping up with the expectations.  Our editor-in-chief explained the importance of completing tasks and meeting deadlines.  She also explained how teamwork takes every member in order for it to work.  Nice job Rylie Gray.
        The Newsroom then went through the agenda for the day.  They felt that everyone should be teamed up and out getting stories.  The groups are now beginning to get better information and have learned how to ask the right questions to pull out details that were missed in previous visits.  They will then partner up to write the stories.  It has now become a competition to get the stories into the paper.  Everyone wants to be on the front page.
        The broadcast crew has been upgrading their work constantly and seem to be putting out more professional shows each and every time.  The "Robo-Radio" talk show has also had its first edition put out for the public to see.  Many more will follow, starting today.  Tarbell's Touch Sensor has also been getting great feedback from the groups of viewers out there.  Nice work Newsroom.
Tuesday - June 3rd
       The Newsroom is back at it this week as the journalists are out getting the newest stories to update "The Daily Feed."  The group has been busy setting up commercials for the major corporations, along with editing using the SONY Vegas system.  They were also responsible for providing sound tracks to the advertisements.
        Yesterday, we were treated to a day at Clarkson University, filled with wonderful learning opportunities.  The groups were given a quick campus tour along with a chance to see an actual "AgBot." Students asked many wonderful questions and the staff there were top-notch.  Thanks to Clarkson for opening their doors and allowing our students an opportunity to see one of the finest academic institutions in the country.
       Now, back to the show.  Keep an eye out for "Morning Rooster" and an ear out for "Robo-Radio" as the journalists crank out the newest information for the masses of viewers/listeners.
Thursday - May 29th - 
       The team was able to produce yet another amazing edition of the "The Daily Feed."  Libbie Tarbell wrote a wonderful blog regarding hard work and dedications.  Rylie Gray interviewed all eight CEOs from the major corporations about their financial status, research/development, and future plans.
       Tim Cook and his editing team were able to add images and sound to each of the corporate commercials.  The work they are creating is absolutely amazing.  Carli Cartier, and the journalists, were able to produce another amazing paper with little time in the day.
        Deadlines are being met and pressure is being handled.  Outstanding work!! 
Wednesday - May 28th - 
       Wow!!  The journalists have now produced (2) editions of "The Daily Feed", and (2) official news broadcasts of "The Morning Rooster."  "Tarbell's Touch Sensor" has published two opinionated articles as well.  The group is meeting their lofty expectations each day, only with light facilitation from their teacher.
       Today will prove to be a challenge for the newsroom as they must produce (8) commercials, one from each corporation competing in the challenge.  The VEGAS crew must record the ad space, then integrate sound and imagery to enhance the advertisement.  The group must work side by side with the marketing specialist from each corporation.
       Rylie Gray, the Robo Radio Talk Show Host, began her first recordings of the new season.  Today, she sat down with the CEOs from each of the (8) major corporations.  Rylie asked many tough questions in order to get as much information as possible about the secretive research going on behind closed doors.
       Stay tuned in to find out everything going on in the corporate battles.  
Tuesday - May 27th - 
       The Newsroom is back in action.  On Friday, we published our first edition of "The Daily Feed."  The broadcasters were also able to edit, revise and post their first practice broadcast, which can be seen by clicking on the "Morning Rooster" page.  "Tarbell's Touch Sensor" blog was also introduced on Friday as well.  Wonderful work is being produced by this group!!
        Editor-in-Chief, Rylie Gray, should be given tremendous credit for inspiring her team to produce fantastic results in such short periods of time.  There is a ton of work that is completed behind the scenes to ensure that the media is delivered professionally, and effectively.
        Today, the group was given a scheduled agenda to follow, to allow for a more efficiently run newsroom.  It is amazing to watch students realize that something s not working, and that there needs to be a change.  Then to watch them make that change is awesome. 
       
Friday - May 23rd - 
       Performance Day!!  The News Room has been given a deadline of today to produce: 
                   1 - A live 5 minute news broadcast - The Morning Rooster
                   2 - A four page newspaper - The Daily Feed
                   3 - An opinionated Blog Post - Tarbell's Touch Sensor
       The group is also finishing up on our company logo, name, and slogan.  You will soon be able to view our employee list as well.  Hopefully the money starts to roll in with our advertisement purchases.  We will use that money to purchase more equipment and add space to our newspaper,  

Thursday - May 22nd - 
       The News Room met for their early morning agenda meeting and got right to work.  Stories were collected from our journalists and approved by the "fact-checking" crew. They then went to work at the old keyboard and pounded out their stories for the "Daily Feed."  
        The broadcast crew worked diligently on their first production, as well as their first time using the SONY VEGAS editing system.  Of course they ran into some issues along the way and had to get Mr. Kerr back.  One thing is for sure, they were persistent and never gave up on the project.  Having deadlines and setting high expectations forces students to perform at the highest level. 
         The media specialists worked on creating an advertisement price list for the corporations to buy space on our sites.  They also created a billing statement to use in order to process payments from the corporations when they purchase our spaces, or as they say in the marketing world "real-estate."
             
Wednesday - May 21st -
       Today the employees were visited by a very special guest.  Mr. Kevin Kerr, technology guru, instructed our SONY VEGAS technicians on the finer points of the editing system.  Students took notes feverishly, while Mr. Kerr guided them through the process of editing a broadcast.  They learned how to add music, backgrounds and video images.  He also covered how to display rolling credits and set up commercial spaces to provide income to "The Morning Rooster."  Thank you Mr. Kerr for your time and expertise.


Tuesday - May 20th -
       The Newsroom was able to meet early in the morning and get the ball rolling in a positive manner. Today, the journalists broke down the key components that they would like to have in "The Daily Feed": (3) national news article about robotics, agriculture and the combination of both; (4) local stories centered around the major corporations and their progress; (1) local weather report; (4) advertisements from the marketing departments to promote their product; and finally, (4) photos of our corporations hard at work.  They decided upon a table of contents, a logo, and job assignments for each employee.
        The Newsroom "fleshed out" how the "Robo-Radio Talk Show" would run, defined the expectations for the blog site "Tarbell's Touch Sensor", and are now in the process of laying out the template for "The Morning Rooster." 
        Our Editor-In-Chief, Rylie Gray, has made the decision to have the group practice creating a mock newspaper.  The journalists are out gathering stories and photographs to try out the Microsoft Publisher template.  We also have researchers digging up  national stories to place in the paper.  As always, they must break the storied down and paraphrase, not plagiarize the work of another journalist.  The journalists are being managed for time and precision.  Hopefully, we will be able to revise, edit and fact check buy the end of the day.
        We are also expecting the arrival of a special guest, Kevin Kerr, to our newsroom this afternoon.  Mr. Kerr will be training our employees on the Sony Vegas Recording System, as well as providing a tutorial on how to create and stream a radio talk show.  The journalists are extremely excited about this professional development session.

Monday - May 19th -
      The students were awarded their positions today during our competition kickoff.  Eight corporations were created to develop an agricultural robot that will be marketed to farmers and possibly garner investors from Clarkson University.
      Our Newsroom was created as a separate entity from the major corporations.  We will be delivering up-to-date stories and coverage from every aspect of the competition.  The students have created four methods to deliver the information to the masses.  
              - Newspaper- "The Daily Feed"
              - Radio Talk Show - "Robo Radio"
              - News Broadcast - "The Morning Rooster"
              - Blogging Site - "Tarbell's Touch Sensor"
       The Newsroom also created their driving question, which is the essential piece in a project based learning environment: "How will the newsroom deliver information, about the corporation challenge, to the masses?"  From this question, the group then began to formulate a "Needs to Know" list in order to effectively implement their ideas for delivery.

       

Description:  Do you enjoy being in front of a camera?  Do you love the adrenaline rush you get from the pressure of deadlines?  Can you ask the tough questions to get to the bottom of a story?  Do you strive for a fast-paced work environment?   Well, the Agbotics Newsroom may just be your media oasis!!  If you are selected as a candidate for the Newsroom, there will be many exciting expectations that must be tackled daily: 1. Creating a News Broadcast on a daily basis, 2. Putting out an Information Based Newspaper encompassing the Agricultural Robotics Theme, 3. Interviewing the top executives and think-tanks from the eight major corporations, 4. Providing a daily radio-based talk show centered around research and development in the agricultural field, 5. Plugging the major corporations’ advertisements at the graphic design level, and finally 6. Providing coverage of the final presentations to the investors at the end of the project.  Does this sound like your “cup of tea?”  If so, the AgBotics newsroom has a spot for you, but only if you are one of the lucky candidates selected. 
Employment Opportunities:
Editor-in-Chief
Journalists
Reporters
Photographers
Camera Operation Specialists
Sound and Lighting Technicians
SONY Vegas Editing Engineers
Editing Room Staff
Fact Checker/Revision Specialist
Graphic Designers
Television Broadcasters
Talk Show Hosts
Requirements:

Must be able to work in a fast paced environment, be able to meet stringent deadlines, have strong interpersonal skills, be comfortable in front of a camera, strong writing skills are a must, be able to multi-task, possess strong teamwork skills, be able to handle constructive criticism, organize and process information at a fast pace, possess strong computer skills, be proficient in: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, SONY Vegas Editing system, and Adobe Graphic Design.

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