In this episode of the Rosa Media Productions Webcast, I interview principal Brian Kissell. Brian leads Ada Harris Elementary in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California. He shares his thoughts as an administrator on successes and lessons around implementing a video broadcast Ada Harris Student News (AHSN) on his campus and on how having a broadcast has impacted their school.
In part 1, Brian answers the following questions:
- As a principal, why were you interested in having a video broadcast system?
- Has AHSN met those goals?
- What were the keys to that success?
- What were some areas where the system fell short?
- What are some of the upgrades you’ve made to the system since I set it up?
- This system cost your school about $7,000 altogether for the equipment and set up. Do you feel it was worth that investment? Why or why not?
In part 2, Brian answers the following questions:
- How has AHSN affected your school and community?
- If you were to do it over again from the beginning, what would you do differently?
- What is next for AHSN?
- What would you tell a principal or district administrator who is considering investing in an online video broadcast system?
You can follow Brian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brian_Kissell or visit the Ada Harris School website at http://www.cardiffschools.com
BACKGROUND OF THE SHOW
The Rosa Media Productions Webcast is a proof of concept project I launched when I wanted to determine the business value of a webcast using entry level equipment. I have a background in elementary education and had experience making videos and putting together on-campus broadcast systems on the cheap. When a new school client asked me to set up a broadcast studio that would use the Internet as its distribution system, allow for multiple camera capture/switching, and not break the bank. I put together this system based around Telestream’s Wirecast virtual switching software. Ada Harris Student News (grades 3-6) under the leadership of Mark Grisafe has gone on to knock it out of the park with their system.
I soon began to dream up other uses for the set-up ranging from an inexpensive way to throw together email marketing videos to a way to capture and live edit a low cost instructional course; from an entry-level seminar archiving tool to an entrepreneurial online video show.
I put together my own system and now have started this show as a proof of concept. I’m actually much more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it making most of my money producing videos for and about clients. Even when I was running a daily broadcast in my former career as a tech teacher, I tried to keep the live editing to a minimum. I’d rather knock off the rough edges in the editing room. However, having an opportunity to edit and host a video show is an excellent opportunity to grow my skill set and put the system through its paces.
I’ll be trying to give my own critique of my shows in the comments on my website. I welcome your input and questions. Hopefully over time we’ll see improvement in my abilities and the quality of the show.
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Content-wise: I like what Brian had to say. Me taking the time to restate some of his important points is a good practice. Unfortunately, I kind of went on a rabbit trail while I was summarizing Brian’s idea. I need to stay focused.
Brian gave me a great endorsement here. (Thank you, Brian!) It is a great feeling for me to be welcome back to a client where I’ve done work in past. Brian impressed me as a good leader to work for when I was setting up their studio. This interview confirmed that image in my mind.
Technically-speaking: I got some new LED fresnel lights recently and just had to try some accent lighting on this episode… I didn’t realize that bright red was going to end up looking pink! Live and learn. 🙂
I am very happy with the performance of the Skype connection on this call. It is the first time I’ve done a Rosa Media Productions Webcast interview with no significant lags. I’m guessing this is because of the fast Internet uplink at Brian’s school site.