EDUCATIONAL FOCUS
Mission
Our
mission is to use interactive radio and related technologies to
foster understanding among children from diverse backgrounds and
empower them to consider different perspectives and examine the
impact of choices before acting.
Van
Go Radio provides a unique opportunity for children around the
country to discuss age appropriate dilemmas depicted in radio
skits. Our live interactive radio format encourages children to
listen carefully to one another and to express varied points of
view respectfully. Discussion on the air and via our website sparks
understanding as children discover what they have in common with
others as well as the value in exploring differences. By giving
children the opportunity to communicate in a public forum and
think together about how words and actions might affect others,
we believe that we not only serve our mission, but also:
•Encourage creative problem solving among peers
•Foster confidence and self esteem
•Promote civil behavior
•Help children create peaceful solutions to problems
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Expected
Outcomes
Our radio skits,
discussions, and program materials all work towards the following
learning outcomes.
By participating in the Van Go Project, students will increase
their ability to:
1. Effectively express ideas in public forums by:
a) sharing ideas and opinions aloud on the air, in the
classroom, and on the Van Go website
b) articulating ideas and opinions clearly and succinctly, orally
and in writing
c) using respectful, non-judgmental language when responding to
others’ ideas/opinions/ comments
2. Identify and describe different ways to think about
the same problem/dilemma
3. Compare potential solutions to a problem/dilemma and
explain how the various solutions may affect the people involved
and why some solutions may be preferable to others
4. Demonstrate empathy for others by:
a) explaining why various characters in a drama may have acted
the way they did
b) explaining what it might feel like to be various characters
in a drama
Additionally, Van Go Radio addresses Language Arts, Health, and
Instructional Technology Learning Standards. Following is a list
of Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks addressed by Van Go Radio.
Educators outside Massachusetts will find similar corresponding
standards within their states’ curriculum frameworks.
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Massachusetts
Curriculum Frameworks Learning Standards Addressed
The
Van Go Radio Project addresses the following Health
Learning Standards:
Learning
Standard 1, #11
“Students will describe effective communication skills
for resolving potentially violent conflicts.”
Learning Standard 3, # 6
“Students will observe and describe how peer pressure
affects health-related behaviors.”
Learning Standard 5, # 6
“Students will identify ways to gain support from others
in changing problem behaviors and maintaining healthful behaviors.”
Learning Standard 6, #4
“Students will identify barriers to and supports for
making health-enhancing decisions.”
Learning Standard 6, #5
“Students will develop proactive strategies for managing
peer pressure.”
Learning Standard 7, #7
“Students will identify and demonstrate strategies for
resolving conflict and building positive relationships.”
Language
Arts Learning Standards Addressed
in Classroom and Broadcast Discussions:
Learning Standard 1
“Students will use agreed upon rules for informal and
formal discussions in small and large groups.”
Learning Standard 2
“Students will pose questions, listen to the ideas of
others, and contribute their own information or ideas in group
discussions and interviews in order to acquire new knowledge.”
Learning Standard 3
“Students will make oral presentations that demonstrate
appropriate consideration of audience, purpose, and the information
to be conveyed.”
Learning Standard 9
“Students will identify basic facts and essential ideas
in what they have heard, read, or viewed.”
Language
Arts Learning Standards Addressed
Via Suggested Follow-up Activities:
Learning Standard 10
“Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge
of the characteristics of different genres.”
Learning Standard 15
“Students will identify and analyze how an author’s
choice of words appeals to the senses, creates imagery, suggests
mood, and sets tone.”
Learning Standard 18
“Students will plan and present effective dramatic readings,
recitations, and performances that demonstrate consideration of
audience and purpose.”
Learning Standard 21
“Students will select and use appropriate genre, modes
of reasoning, and speaking styles when writing for different audiences
and rhetorical purposes.”
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ASAP
DETAILS
The
following details are critical in helping your students participate
maximally during web casts.
1.
Permission Slips
Please distribute
“Program Announcements and Permission Slips” (copies
provided in your Teacher's Guide) to your students as soon as
possible. Students must have a signed permission slip on file
in order to speak on the air.
2.
Equipment
•COMPUTER
WITH INTERNET CONNECTION:
Follow
these steps to test your computer and Internet connection.
• Log on to the Van Go Radio website. www.vangoradio.org
• Click on the “LISTEN TO VAN GO RADIO”
button at the top right on the home page. Then click on the link
“Click here to listen to Van Go Radio live!”
Please
allow a couple of minutes for the connection to complete.
If you can't hear a live web cast, check the volume controls
on your computer, or you may need to download one of the audio
plugins (links provided).
NOTE:
Testing the listen live feature when Van Go Radio is not on
the air will connect you to whatever web cast is live at that
moment on the Talking Information Channel.
•
Make
sure the computer can be heard well throughout the room.
• You
may hear the program better with external speakers.
•You may need to plan alternate seating so everyone can hear.
This might include grouping children around several computers.
• There is a time delay on Internet
radio. The student on the telephone will be listening
to Van Go Radio in "real" time. The students listening
via the Internet will hear the program in "delayed" time.
• Place
the student on the phone as far away from the computer speakers
as possible to avoid confusion with the time delay.
• Have a student listening on the telephone at all times during
the show. (See the LOGISTICS section of Technical Set-Up For Broadcasts.)
Prior
to the first live web cast we will contact you to discuss how to
avoid confusion about the time delay.
•PHONE:
• Make
arrangements to use a corded telephone that allows you to make
calls out of the school.
• If a corded phone is not available or will not work with
your logistics, you may plan to use a cell phone. If so, well
before the first live web cast, test for a strong signal and clear
reception in the exact location the phone will be used during
the show.
3.
Technical Set-up for Broadcasts
Review the
“Technical Set-Up For Broadcasts” information below
—“Logistics”, “Phone Connection”,
and “Organizing Students for Maximal Participation.”
Plan the optimal logistics for your students, space and equipment.
Help
Available!
Clear Internet
radio sound and a good phone connection are critical! When testing
your equipment, should you have any trouble with the computer
access via the “Listen Live” feature, with phone reception,
or for additional “Technical Set-Up, Logistics” ideas,
please call 1-617-524-4946, for help. Enlisting
assistance well before the series begins will help prevent problems.
SYNCHRONOUS
and ASYNCHRONOUS DISCUSSIONS
We
encourage you to have students join our “synchronous”
and “asynchronous” discussions. This interactive feature
offers students additional opportunities for sharing their ideas
during each web cast and between shows. Here’s an overview.
When your class is on the air, in addition to talking live, students
can also participate in the discussion via email during the web
cast (“synchronous” discussion). The co-hosts will
read some of the emailed contributions on the air. Within a day
or two of the live web cast, we will post all emailed comments
to the “Continue the Conversation” section of the
Student Corner page on the Van Go Radio website.
* Please note that
Van Go staff will review all written comments and reserve the
right to omit comments judged inappropriate.
Visiting “Continue the Conversation” between web casts,
students may read all the comments emailed during the web cast
and respond to additional questions we will post there (“asynchronous”
discussion). Van Go staff will post all new student comments and
continue facilitating discussion. We hope your students will keep
the conversation going by emailing Van Go Radio between web casts.
These “synchronous” and “asynchronous discussions”
give more children the opportunity to participate and share their
views in a public forum.
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Synchronous
Discussion
SET
UP:
• You will need at least one additional computer with
an Internet connection and an email account. Be sure to check
that you can send an email from the school computer(s) that
you will be using during the web cast. (We have found that many
schools need to use an adult’s email account.)
•
You may use as many computers as are available to you for the
synchronous discussion. Some sites participate from their technology
rooms during the web cast. The more computer stations you set
up, the more children will be able to participate. It is helpful
to arrange for an adult (e.g. parent, volunteer, classroom aide)
to be available to help the children at the computer. You may
wish to have “designated typists” (students who
keyboard well) and have slower typists dictate responses to
them.
•
Before the program begins, connect the second computer (or additional
computers) to the email account you will be using.
DURING
THE BROADCAST:
•
Type the email address contact@vangoradio.org
in the "To" line. Type your school's name and town
in the "Subject" line.
• When a student has a comment they want to contribute
to the conversation, they can type a message and hit “send.”
Please remind students to identify themselves by first name
only.
•
As soon as the message has been sent, click "compose email"
and fill in the "To" and "Subject" lines
as outlined above. You may want to have several new message
windows open with the “To” and “Subject”
lines already filled in.
•
We will receive these messages in our studio during the live
radio web cast. Hosts will read some email comments during the
discussion, or read several of the comments before the discussion
break.
A
DAY OR TWO AFTER THE SHOW:
•
Students will be able to read all the emailed comments by clicking
on “Student Corner”
on the Van Go Radio website home page, and scrolling down to
“Continue the Conversation.”
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Asynchronous
Discussion (Emailing
Between Broadcasts)
This
discussion feature, "Continue
the Converstion" will happen between web
casts. The process for sending comments will be the same as for
the synchronous discussion.
•
Using a computer(s) with an Internet connection and an email
account, students wishing to continue discussing the radio skit
between web casts may send an email to: contact@vangoradio.org.
Please remind students to identify themselves
by first name only and to include their school name and town
in the email.
•
You may want to post the Van Go Radio website and email address
in the classroom so that students can "Continue
the Conversation" from home.
• You may want to have your students read "Continue
the Conversation" during the week to see
how their peers have responded and to check for new conversation
prompts.
• Van Go staff will read these email comments and post
them on the “Continue the
Conversation.” section of the "Student
Corner" page on the Van Go Radio website.
Students from all participating schools may then view comments
by clicking on “Student Corner” on the Van Go Radio
website home page, and scrolling down to “Continue the
Conversation.” Van Go Radio staff will continue monitoring
and posting student comments and will interject questions to
facilitate further thought. It is our hope that this opportunity
for additional discussion will help children broaden their thinking.
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PREPARATION
FOR LIVE WEB CASTS
Technical
Set-Up for Web Casts
LOGISTICS
•
Double check the “Listen Live” feature on the Van
Go Radio website home page to make sure the connection is working.
(See page one of “ASAP Details” for reminders of
how to do this.)
• Make sure
the computer volume is loud enough for all to hear and the phone
is far enough away from the computer so a child listening on
the phone will not be confused by simultaneously hearing “real”
time over the phone and “delayed” time via the Internet.
(You will have determined computer and phone placement previously,
as per ASAP details.)
• Arrange
students so they can hear the broadcast via the Internet and
get to the phone quickly.
• Have a
student listening to the program in “real” time
through the telephone receiver throughout the web cast.
•
Begin the web cast with a designated child listening to the
program in “real” time through the telephone receiver.
Remember that the child on the phone will hear the live program
before it is heard via the Internet.
• This child continues listening on the phone until
called upon to speak on air.
• When this child finishes speaking on air, he or she
should immediately pass the phone to the next child who then
begins listening in “real” time until asked to
speak on air.
• After speaking, the second child should pass the phone
to the next child.
• Continue this process throughout the entire web cast.
•
Demonstrate/explain how a student speaking on
the phone should:
•
Listen and respond to what’s heard over the phone vs.
what’s heard via the Internet. (Remember, the child on
the phone is hearing the program in “real” time
through the telephone receiver.)
• Speak loudly, clearly, and directly into the phone receiver.
•If
possible during the web cast, have an adult (teacher, aide,
volunteer) near the phone, available to communicate with the
web cast producer if a problem arises.
PHONE
CONNECTION
For
the 1:00 pm EST web cast:
Call the toll-free telephone number listed in your Teacher's
Guide at 12:55 pm EST to get and maintain a connection
for the rest of the program. You will remain on the line (though
not yet “live” on air) until the show begins at 1:00
pm EST. Your phone line will not be “live” on air
all the time, only when your students are asked to respond.
For
the 1:30 pm EST web cast:
Call the
toll-free telephone number listed in your Teacher's Guide
at 1:30 pm EST to get and maintain a connection for
the rest of the program. Please remember that clocks
may vary slightly. If you get a busy signal, keep trying. As
soon as the first show participants hang up, you will be connected.
You will remain on the line (though not yet “live”
on air) until the show begins at 1:30 pm EST. Your phone line
will not be “live” on air all the time, only when
your students are asked to respond.
NOTE:
Sometimes we get disconnected - nobody's fault, it just happens.
If this occurs, just call back quickly to reconnect and continue
participating in the broadcast.
ORGANIZING
STUDENTS FOR MAXIMAL PARTICIPATION
There are many
ways to organize a class so that as many children as possible
participate. Below are a few of the successful ideas teachers
have shared with Van Go Radio staff. We welcome new ideas you
may develop.
•
Assign specific children to speak ahead of time and have them
sit together (on the floor, at a table). Have a second group
of assigned “speakers” trade places with them during
the brief break. Assign different children as “speakers”
for each live web cast.
•
Assign some children to sit near an additional computer(s) and
email their ideas during the web cast (synchronous discussion).
Assign a second group of students to email ideas during the
second discussion segment. Have slower typists dictate responses
to “designated typists” (students who keyboard well
or adults).
•
Divide the class into three groups and assign lead responsibility
for the on-air discussion for a specific web cast.
•
Encourage students to work on the Idea Chart, either individually
or in small groups, as they listen to the web cast. Students'
charts might then be used as a tool to take to the phone or
computer or to further discussion later in the classroom or
via "Continue the Conversation" on the website.
•
For larger classes, try dividing children into four to six groups.
Each group chooses two people to be their spokespersons each week,
selecting two different children every week. Each group sits together
and sends up their appointed “speakers” to the phone
when directed by teacher. (This system encourages discussion among
groups and gives many children a chance to speak on air during
the three week series.
To
help encourage optimal participation, we ask that you prepare
your students by previewing each week’s pre-recorded radio
skit and the general web cast format.
PREVIEW
THE SKIT:
We have found
children have an easier time sharing their ideas on air if they
have previewed each week’s radio skit ahead of time. We
will send you a CD of the radio skits with the Teacher's Guide.
Written scripts and information about the on air discussion
format follow. Please use the materials in whatever way you
wish to prepare students. Here are just a few ideas from previous
Van Go participants to help you get started.
• Have
your class listen to the CD of the skit or read the scripts
aloud and have a class discussion about the problem(s). Students
may find the idea chart (or something similar) helpful as they
listen and discuss.
•
Create a visual aid (sketch, chart, or map) that shows the relationship
among characters in the radio skit. Children might brainstorm
ways to remember character names and relationships. Posting this
visual aid during web casts can be very helpful.
•
Have your class split into small groups, in which each small group
reads the scripts aloud (different children read different parts)
and discusses the situation, sharing later with the whole class.
•
Ask your students to read the script for homework and write suggestions
about what various characters could do differently. Have a class
discussion about how different actions/words from some characters
might impact other characters.
•
Help students develop key words for some of the ideas they discuss
(e.g. “be a leader,” “prejudice,” “take
a chance”). Discuss individual characters and help students
develop a list of key descriptors for each one.
•
Divide the class into three groups and give each group “lead
responsibility” for one script. Have each group spend extra
time discussing and preparing for its turn in the lead. (See the
third bullet under “Organizing Students for Maximal Participation,”
in the Technical Set-Up Section of ASAP Details.)
PREVIEW
THE WEB CAST FORMAT:
Before the
first web cast please help your students learn about the web
cast format and procedure.
