TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 1 Running Head: PARTICIPATION IN DAILY ANNOUNCEMENTS INTERNAL RATINGS DATA TO MEASURE CLASSROOM PARTICIPATION IN VIEWING THE DAILY LIVE TELEVISION ANNOUNCEMENTS PRODUCED AND DELIVERED BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS By Justin Ford Submitted to The Faculty of the Educational Specialist Program Northwest Missouri State University Department of Educational Leadership College of Education and Human Services Maryville, MO 64468 Field Study Committee Members Dr. Phil Messner Submitted in Fulfillment for the Requirements for 61-724 Field Study Fall 2012
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 5 LIST OF TABLES..6 LIST OF FIGURES.6-7 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY 8 Background, Issues and Concerns Practice under Investigation and/or Policy to be Informed by Study Statement of the Problem Purpose of the Study Research Questions Null Hypothesis Anticipated Benefits of the Study Limitations and Delimitations Definition of Terms Summary
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 3 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE.13 Freedom of the Press Student Voice Extra-curricular ties to Academics Social Media and Online Resources Common Core: College and Career Readiness Television Ratings CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 17 Field Study Methods Research Design Study Group Description Data Collection Methods and Instrumentation (Chi-Square, Email data, force field analysis) Statistical Data Analysis
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 4 CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA..20 Presentation of the Data Analysis CHAPTER FIVE: OVERVIEW, FINDINGS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 34 Discussion of Findings Conclusions Recommendations REFERENCES..41
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 5 ABSTRACT The Park Hill School District launched the Broadcast Journalism program at both Park Hill and Park Hill South High Schools in 2007-2008 in order to provide the opportunity for students to learn and grow in the area of multi-media. Broadcast journalism also served as a classroom resource for the school providing daily announcements in the form of live television which is produced and delivered by students for students. This would replace the previous form of an Administrator reading announcements over the intercom. The following study was conducted to provide numbers to show classroom participation level in viewership of daily television announcements. Using Chi-Square, this study will determine the level of participation at both schools and determine what factor different variables play at each school. The ultimate goal is 100 percent classroom participation in daily announcements. This study will provide data that can be used to determine the appropriate steps in the future to achieve 100 percent classroom participation.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 6 LIST OF TABLES Table 4-1: Percentage of Classroom Viewership Based on non-experimental environmental survey... 20 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4-1: Bar Graph Comparison of percentage of classroom viewership from non-experimental environmental survey. 21 Figure 4-2 Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Analysis for Park Hill South s non-experimental environmental survey results for Thur. Nov. 1, 2012.22 Figure 4-3 Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Analysis for Park Hill s non-experimental environmental survey results for Thur. Nov. 1, 2012.23 Figure 4-4 Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Analysis for Park Hill South s non-experimental environmental survey results for Thur. Nov. 8, 2012.24 Figure 4-5 Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Analysis for Park Hill s non-experimental environmental survey results for Thur. Nov. 8, 2012.25 Figure 4-6 Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Analysis for Park Hill South s non-experimental environmental survey results for Thur. Nov. 15, 2012.26 Figure 4-7 Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Analysis for Park Hill s non-experimental environmental survey results for Thur. Nov. 15, 2012.27 Figure 4-8 Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Analysis for Park Hill South s non-experimental environmental survey results for Thur. Nov. 22, 2012.28 Figure 4-9 Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Analysis for Park Hill s non-experimental environmental survey results for Thur. Nov. 22, 2012 29 Figure 4-10 Bar graph Comparison to Student Survey for Question 1: How often did you watch the daily announcements?...30
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 7 Figure 4-11 Bar graph Comparison to Student Survey for Question 2: When does your teacher typically display the announcements?...31 Figure 4-12 Bar graph Comparison to Student Survey for Question 3: What was the most common reason for missing the announcements?...32
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 8 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY Background, issues and concerns. The students and staff rely on daily television announcements in order to both communicate and receive announcements that are important for the student body. As Broadcast Instructor at both Park Hill and Park Hill South, I am concerned that students are missing important information by missing daily announcements. Lack of information leads to lack of participation and opportunity for the students at Park Hill and Park Hill South. It also leads to a missed opportunity for staff members to be able to communicate their announcement effectively to the student body. An underlying concern is the potential lack of student involvement that takes place due to a lack of participation in this all-school function. A disconnect is created between the student body and the school itself. Classrooms are not receiving announcements due to environmental restraints, technical issues, and making the choice simply not to participate in watching the daily announcements. The first hurdle is environmental restraints that take place within the high school building. The two high schools, Park Hill South and Park Hill have distinct differences in the time, place, and format in which the announcements are carried out. Park Hill South announcements take place in the morning for the last six minutes of 1 st block. South is able to communicate announcements to students early so they can plan ahead for the rest of the day s activities. South has an announcements bell that rings throughout the building to serve as a signal for teachers to turn on the
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 9 announcements. South s TV studio is located in the building at a central location. Park Hill announcements take place in the afternoon for the last six minutes of the school day (4 th block). Park Hill does not use an announcements bell to remind classrooms to tune into afternoon TV announcements. Park Hill does have an announcements bell for its intercom announcements in the morning. Park Hill s TV studio not located in the building. It is located across the parking lot in the central office building. The format is similar at each high school. High school students produce and anchor the announcements as a daily live newscast. Newscasts contain everything from club and sports announcements to academic achievements to in depth features on students and staff. South s morning announcements are able to provide information to the student body which allows them to move forward in planning for the rest of the day and evening. However, it is unable to provide the last minute cancellations and changes that take place with after school activities. Park Hill s afternoon announcements repeat many of the same announcements provided on the intercom at the beginning of the day. However, Park Hill s newscasts provide breaking news and cancellations at the end of the day that classrooms would not be able to otherwise receive. The second hurdle is technology. TV announcements rely on technology at its core. In its nature, technology fails from time to time. Classrooms in both buildings access the daily announcements via live streaming on the local Park Hill intranet. The announcements are streamed live through a system called Vbrick. Teachers simply go to the Vbrick site by typing TV and ENTER in their browser or by going to http://tv/multicasts4.aspx. This specific link only works within the district intranet.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 10 One cannot access it live via their internet from home. However, at times, the Vbrick system is down. Sometimes the system does not function in one classroom. Sometimes, the system goes down within sections of a building or building wide. The process for returning the announcements to a classroom is for a teacher to place a work order to district technology. Depending on the workload for district technology, the issue can be resolved within days or weeks. If technology fails building wide, then as the Broadcast Instructor, I would place a work order on behalf of the building. In these circumstances, district technology is quick to react and solve the issue. The third hurdle is the power of choice. The expectation of the principal at each building is that 100 percent of the classrooms participate in watching the daily announcements. It is an expectation of the teacher and it is not optional. However, a number of classrooms in each building choose not to participate. Practice Under Investigation This study will investigate the participation at each school in watching live daily announcements. The study will identify the enablers and barriers to watching live daily announcements. Statement of the Problem Five full years into implementing a broadcast program, students in classrooms are still not informed about announcements and events that impact their academic and extracurricular success and overall high school experience.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 11 Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study is to determine the rate of daily announcements viewership at each high school and make conclusions for why one high school might participate more than the other, and what is preventing viewership at each school. Research Questions The following research questions were constructed to investigate the problem. RQ1: What percentages of classrooms receive the daily announcements live in each school? RQ2: What are enablers and disablers for watching the daily live announcements? Null Hypothesis alpha level While the ultimate goal is 100 percent of classroom viewership in daily announcements. Due to the amount of variables that change from day to day from substitute teachers who do not have access to classroom announcements to physical education classes that do not have access to TV monitors to user and technology error that could take place from classroom to classroom, the target of this study is 50 percent of classroom viewership in daily announcements. Only two to three school assemblies per year actually involve more than 50 percent of the student body in one single activity. This study will determine if daily announcements are succeeding in serving as the most inclusive activity at school. At least 50 percent of classrooms are participating in watching live daily announcements. The alpha level is a 0.25 level of significance.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 12 Anticipated Benefits of the Study Schools may be able to use the ratings data combined with Force Field Analysis to work towards a 100% goal of participation in live daily announcements.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 13 CHAPTER TWO Review of Literature Freedom of the Press Amendment 1 in the United States Constitution is written as Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. The Freedom of the Press was so valued by our founding fathers that they placed it in the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. In our public schools, we not only teach our students reading, writing, and arithmetic, we teach about history and government and then we turn around and provide students the rights of freedom of speech and the press as afforded in the Constitution. Traditionally, freedom of the press has been carried out in schools through student newspapers, magazines, and yearbooks. However, in today s media driven culture, 24 hour cable and online news is the vehicle driving the press while newspapers struggle to stay relevant. Schools often reflect society and student media is no exception. More schools are implementing Broadcast Journalism programs as a way to provide opportunities for students interested in media, communications, and technology. Daily television announcements are used as an outlet for schools to deliver important announcements presented by students for the student body.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 14 Student Voice The United States Supreme Court said in 1969, "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional right to freedom of speech at the schoolhouse gate. Students have a voice and daily television announcements through a broadcast journalism program, provide a healthy outlet for student voice in schools. The Student Press Law Center can be a valuable resource to not only student journalists and journalism teachers but to schools that choose to nurture and grow journalism programs and use them as outlets to inform the student body. Extra-curricular ties to Academics According to Bill Lawhorn s article in Occupational Outlook Quarterly he suggests that researchers found that self-motivation is a factor in academic success. Achieving success in an activity that interests them requires students to develop good time-management habits that carry over into schoolwork. Eligibility for participating often requires students to maintain a minimum grade point average so taking part in extra-curricular activities equals keeping up with academics. Daily television announcements derive from before and after school activities more than any other source. In order for students to be involved in extra-curricular activities at school they must first be plugged in and daily announcements plays an essential role in that process.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 15 Social Media and Online Resources Students use social media to interact with the daily television announcements. South has a twitter account @southsidescoop and Park Hill has a twitter account @trojantvnews. After announcements are streamed live within the school building, they are posted online by the next day at www.southsidescoop.com and www.trojantvnews.com. Students can also read the daily bulletin on the news sites. Common Core- College and Career Readiness Broadcast Journalism is an essential program for any school when it comes to the emerging Common Core standards adopted by all but five of the fifty states. The college and career readiness standards fit right in with Broadcast Journalism and the production of daily live television announcements. The CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.5 standard identifies making strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations. Television Ratings Nielsen Ratings uses TV meters that represent a cross section of representative homes throughout the United States. They also use more than two million paper diaries from across the country each year during sweeps periods.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 16 The data collected in the non-experimental environmental survey conducted throughout November is similar to a sweeps period which receives more emphasis by Nielsen.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 17 CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY Research Method The following research methods were used to investigate the research questions stated above. The methods of 1) research design, 2) study group identification, 3) data collection and instrumentation, and 4) statistical analysis are described below. Research Design The research method to determine classroom percentage of daily announcements will be a non-experimental environmental survey conducted by my students on classrooms around their school building. The design of the survey is based on models like the Nielsen Ratings System and political exit polling. While the man power is not available to determine whether every single classroom is watching the announcements at any given time, one can take a random sample of ten classrooms and determine how many of the ten classrooms are watching the announcements. This process is then repeated once a week in the month of November 2012 with a new random sample of classrooms each time. Each week provides a percentage of classroom percentage. Four weeks of percentages is provided at each school. Those percentages are then compared to determine if there is a significant difference in the participation of daily announcements viewership at each high school. Enablers and disablers to watching the daily announcements are determined through a student survey provided to a small percentage of the student body.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 18 Study Group Description The study includes ten classrooms that contain students within each school building. Those classrooms will most likely differ from week to week as a new random sample of classrooms is generated each time. The study also includes student surveys taken by a small sample size of students at each school (25 students from South and 25 students from Park Hill). The classroom locations are spread out throughout the building for these students during the announcements time. Data Collection Methods and Instruments to be Used Random classrooms are identified through a random number generator. This study assigns each classroom a number (for example, 70 different classrooms at Park Hill South are assigned a number from 1-70 and Random.org to determine the random sample of ten classrooms). Broadcast Journalism students walk the halls and observe the ten classrooms during the six minute period of announcements for that day to answer the question, YES the classroom is watching the announcements or NO the classroom is not watching the announcements. For the student survey, new students to my second semester broadcast class are asked to provide feedback on announcements viewership in their previous class that took place first semester.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 19 Statistical analysis methods used For RQ1 I will do a Chi Square Analysis using the classroom percentage data to determine the significance of difference between announcements viewership of Park Hill South and Park Hill High School. The analysis will answer the question based on the null hypothesis of 50 percent. For RQ2 I will do a Force Field Analysis using the feedback from the student surveys to identify the enablers and disablers or driving forces and restraining forces that exist when it comes to viewing live daily announcements.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 20 CHAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS Presentations of the Data Analysis The following tables reveal the percentage of classroom announcements viewership for Park Hill South (see Table 4-1), and Park Hill (see Table 4-2). The tables reveal the percentage of classrooms based on the sample size of ten classrooms per date observed. For example, on Nov. 1, 2012 8 out of 10 classrooms at Park Hill South watched the announcements. The percentage viewership was 80%. Table 4-1 Table 4-2
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 21 Figure 4-1 shows a bar graph comparison between Park Hill and Park Hill South. The purple bar represents the percentage of viewership for Park Hill South and the red bar represents the percentage of viewership for Park Hill. 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% Park Hill 30% Park Hill South 20% 10% 0% Thur. Nov. 1, 2012 Thur. Nov. 8, 2012 Thur. Nov. 15, 2012 Thur. Nov. 29, 2012
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 22 Figure 4-2 shows the Chi-Square Analysis for the percentage viewership of Park Hill South High School on Thur. Nov. 1, 2012. 80% or 8 units was the observed frequency of those who watched the announcements while 20% or 2 units was the observed frequency of those who didn t watch the announcements. 50% or 5 units was the expected frequency for both those who watched and did not watch the announcements. The p value is 0.1138 while the alpha level is 0.25. The null hypothesis is rejected.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 23 Figure 4-3 shows the Chi-Square Analysis for the percentage viewership of Park Hill High School on Thur. Nov. 1, 2012. 20% or 2 units was the observed frequency of those who watched the announcements while 80% or 8 units was the observed frequency of those who didn t watch the announcements. 50% or 5 units was the expected frequency for both those who watched and did not watch the announcements. The p value is 0.1138 while the alpha level is 0.25. The null hypothesis is rejected.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 24 Figure 4-4 shows the Chi-Square Analysis for the percentage viewership of Park Hill South High School on Thur. Nov. 8, 2012. 80% or 8 units was the observed frequency of those who watched the announcements while 20% or 2 units was the observed frequency of those who didn t watch the announcements. 50% or 5 units was the expected frequency for both those who watched and did not watch the announcements. The p value is 0.1138 while the alpha level is 0.25. The null hypothesis is rejected.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 25 Figure 4-5 shows the Chi-Square Analysis for the percentage viewership of Park Hill High School on Thur. Nov. 8, 2012. 50% or 5 units was the observed frequency of those who watched the announcements while 50% or 5 units was the observed frequency of those who didn t watch the announcements. 50% or 5 units was the expected frequency for both those who watched and did not watch the announcements. The p value is 1 while the alpha level is 0.25. The null hypothesis is accepted.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 26 Figure 4-6 shows the Chi-Square Analysis for the percentage viewership of Park Hill South High School on Thur. Nov. 15, 2012. 70% or 7 units was the observed frequency of those who watched the announcements while 30% or 3 units was the observed frequency of those who didn t watch the announcements. 50% or 5 units was the expected frequency for both those who watched and did not watch the announcements. The p value is 0.3428 while the alpha level is 0.25. The null hypothesis is accepted.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 27 Figure 4-7 shows the Chi-Square Analysis for the percentage viewership of Park Hill High School on Thur. Nov. 15, 2012. 40% or 4 units was the observed frequency of those who watched the announcements while 60% or 6 units was the observed frequency of those who didn t watch the announcements. 50% or 5 units was the expected frequency for both those who watched and did not watch the announcements. The p value is 0.7518 while the alpha level is 0.25. The null hypothesis is accepted.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 28 Figure 4-8 shows the Chi-Square Analysis for the percentage viewership of Park Hill South High School on Thur. Nov. 22, 2012. 60% or 6 units was the observed frequency of those who watched the announcements while 40% or 4 units was the observed frequency of those who didn t watch the announcements. 50% or 5 units was the expected frequency for both those who watched and did not watch the announcements. The p value is 0.7518 while the alpha level is 0.25. The null hypothesis is accepted.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 29 Figure 4-9 shows the Chi-Square Analysis for the percentage viewership of Park Hill High School on Thur. Nov. 22, 2012. 40% or 4 units was the observed frequency of those who watched the announcements while 60% or 6 units was the observed frequency of those who didn t watch the announcements. 50% or 5 units was the expected frequency for both those who watched and did not watch the announcements. The p value is 0.7518 while the alpha level is 0.25. The null hypothesis is accepted.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 30 Figures 4-10, 4-11, and 4-12 shows a bar graph comparison between Park Hill and Park Hill South for each of three questions for a student survey on watching daily announcements in the Fall of 2012. Figure 4-10 Question 1: How often did you watch the daily announcements? Never Some of the Time Most of the Time Park Hill (%) Park Hill South (%) Every Day 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 31 Figure 4-11 Question 2: When does your teacher typically display the announcements? Never A Few Minutes Late At the Start Time Park Hill (%) Park Hill South (%) A Few Minutes Early 0 20 40 60 80 Figure 4-12 Question 3: What was the most common reason for missing the announcements? Classroom Noise Level Choice Unfinished class work Park Hill (%) Park Hill South (%) Technical Difficulties 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 32 Figure 4-13 Force Field Analysis Template. Enablers and Barriers to watching daily LIVE television announcements at school are listed in order of impact from greatest to least.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 33 CHAPTER 5 OVERVIEW, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Discussion of Findings The following results of the non-experimental environmental survey and the traditional student survey shed light on the answers to the two research questions of (RQ1)what percentage of classrooms receive the daily announcements live in each school and (RQ2)what are enablers and barriers exist for watching the daily live announcements. To answer RQ1, the Chi-Square Goodness of Fit formula was used for each of the four Thursdays in November, one can ascertain whether South and Park Hill s null hypothesis of 50% participation in watching announcements was met. For South, the null hypothesis was accepted for two of the four days. The two days that South s null hypothesis was rejected was due to viewership that far exceeded the bar of 50% that was set. In those two days, South actually had 80% participating in watching announcements. South actually exceeded the 50% mark on all four days and the overall average for viewership was 72.5%. For Park Hill, the null hypothesis was accepted for three of the four days. However, the one day that the null hypothesis was rejected, Park Hill only had 20% participating in watching announcements. Overall, Park Hill s average for viewership was only 37.5%. RQ2 was designed to ask Why? Why are some classrooms not receiving or watching the announcements? After students participated in a survey, I used a force field analysis to organize enablers and barriers to watching daily announcements. Before one
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 34 can understand why a classroom may miss announcements, it is important to understand how often classrooms tune in and whether they tune in on time. At South, 84% said they watch the announcements most or all the time while at Park Hill, 50% said they watch the announcements most or all of the time. These numbers mirror the data provided by the non-experimental environmental survey. At South, 64% said they tune into the announcements when the newscast begins. At Park Hill, only 30% said they tune in for the start of the announcements. 15% at Park Hill said their teachers never turn on the announcements as opposed to the 4% at Park Hill South. Both schools identified technical difficulties as one of the main culprits for missing the announcements with 52% at South and 30% at Park Hill. 30% at Park Hill also identified that the power of choice was a barrier to watching announcements while 40% at South said that ongoing or unfinished work in class was a common reason for not tuning in. Classroom noise level prevented classrooms from watching announcements at Park Hill more than South. Conclusions The conclusion for RQ1 is clear cut. The percentage of classrooms that receive the daily announcements at South is 72.5% (or the average rating out of 10 was 7.25). The percentage of classrooms that receive the daily announcements at Park Hill is 37.5 % (or the average rating out of 10 was 3.75). With the bar set at 50% of classroom participation in daily announcements, the Chi-Square analysis shows that both schools met the null hypothesis for at least two of the four days included in the study. When the null hypothesis was rejected at South, it was because South far exceeded the expectations of 50% participating.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 35 The conclusion for RQ2 is more subjective as it tries to ascertain why classrooms participate or do not participate in announcements. After compiling the results of the student survey, I used a force field analysis to organize enablers and barriers to watching the announcements. The list began with the enablers that could be acknowledged before the research began. The teachers and administrators are essential to classrooms watching the announcements as it is the faculty that submits and requests for announcements to be read. On average, I receive two to five new emails every day from each high school staff requesting announcements for the newscast. While it is a staff expectation that classrooms watch the announcements, teachers ultimately have the control to display announcements on the overhead or opt out. Efficient classroom technology is literally an enabler, because it essentially enables a classroom to receive the live stream on the intranet. Award winning student journalism is a verification of a professional delivery of the announcements through the presentation of a live newscast. Announcements are intertwined in a newscast with feature stories, sports highlights, weather, and news that affects the student body. The broadcast programs at South and Park Hill win national awards every year through the Student Television Network. Both broadcast programs tied for best overall program in the Kansas City metro area through the JEMKC sweepstakes award. The expectation from the classrooms is that they are viewing a high quality production. The student survey was able to identify the barriers that prevent classrooms from watching the announcements. I identified that the top barrier is the absence of having an announcements bell to remind classrooms to turn on announcements. After noting 30%
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 36 gap in viewership between the two schools with both the non-experimental environmental survey and the student survey, it is clear that classrooms are not participating at a much higher at Park Hill than South. South more than doubles the percentage of Park Hill classrooms that actually tune into the announcements on time. South has an announcements bell, while teachers must watch the clock at Park Hill. The start time is another variable that has a major impact on viewership. More classrooms watch at South in the morning than at Park Hill in the afternoon. 0% of South students identified student noise level as a reason for missing announcements, while 20% of Park Hill students identified student noise level as a reason for missing the announcements. The afternoon announcements are at the very end of the day when students are excited to be released from school. Seniors with card privileges at Park Hill are also allowed to leave Park Hill five minutes early which means the best and brightest of the senior class does not even see the announcements! Technical Difficulties was the most common barrier between the schools. If classroom equipment from the laptop to the network to the overhead to the speakers do not function properly then students do not receive announcements.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 37 Recommendations The original problem this research set out to solve was that students in classrooms are still not informed about announcements and events that impact their academic and extra-curricular success and overall high school experience. The bar was set low as the measuring stick was 50% of classrooms participating in watching the announcements. The Chi-Square analysis would credit both schools for meeting or exceeding the null hypothesis of 50% participating in at least three of the four days surveyed. However, when examining the mean or average of the numbers from each school combined with the numbers provided from the student surveys, Park Hill is falling short of the bar that was set while South is far exceeding it. I recommend Park Hill take into consideration the enablers that are working for South and implement them in their building. The first hurdle is the announcements bell. The bell is the universal signal for all classrooms to take action. That action could be dismissal or arrival to and from class. It could also serve as a notification of a drill. South uses the bell six minutes before the end of 1 st block every day and the teachers know that it means take action by turning on the announcements. I recommend that the administration reinforce the importance and expectation of watching the announcements every day. The faculty must believe that the administration is behind the effort. The final recommendation may take the most work but land the most reward. I recommend that the Park Hill announcements be moved to the morning. This would
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 38 eliminate the time of day barrier. Seniors with privilege cards could tune in and participate in announcements. Classroom noise level would be reduced due to the morning start time over the last six minutes of the day spent in anticipation of school dismissal. In order for both schools to have morning announcements, the Park Hill School District would have to be willing to hire another Broadcast Instructor. As I travel between schools each day as the only Broadcast Instructor, the announcements window at both schools must work within my travel schedule. The classroom rosters for broadcast sections at both schools have been full for the last three school years. The potential exists for a full day schedule of broadcast courses at both schools. The ultimate goal set out by the district for both schools is 100% participation in watching daily announcements. The final hurdle to that goal is the technology piece. The student surveys suggest that technical difficulties are the most common reason given for classrooms missing the announcements at both schools. Teachers must be willing to complete online work orders in a timely fashion through the district helpdesk. District technology must be willing to respond to these work orders in a timely fashion so that announcements can be back up and running. Administrators must be willing to use staff meetings and training sessions if necessary to drive home the importance of addressing classroom technical difficulties as soon as they are discovered. A lack of motivation on the teacher s end or a lack of support on the district s end and sometimes a combination of both can lead to classrooms tuning out of announcements for extended periods of time, whether they end of having access or not. 50% of classroom participation in announcements in not only attainable, it is happening at both schools. One school has shown that 70% of classroom participation is
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 39 achievable. The bar has been set and now it must be raised. The data and recommendations provided by this research will allow for both schools to raise the bar and reach for 100% participation in daily announcements. Students will be more plugged in when it comes to academics and extra-curricular activities. The school building will be more connected and the freedom of press and freedom of speech in the First Amendment to the Constitution will not just be something students read in a history book but take part in first hand as story tellers, story makers, and story receivers through something as simple as daily live television announcements.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 40 REFERENCES Lawhorn, B. (Winter 2008-09). Extracurricular Activities. Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 16-21. Lowry, R. (2001-2013). Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Test. VassarStats. Retrieved September 9, 2012. From http://www.vassarstats.net/. (2010) The Student Press Law Center High School Top Ten List. Student Press Law Center. Retrieved May 29, 2013. From http://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=3. (1998-2012) Random Integer Generator. Random.org, Retrieved December 5, 2012. From http://www.random.org/integers/. (2004) Force Field Analysis Template. Resource Alliance, Retrieved May 29, 2013. From www.facilitatingprojects.com/tools/force-field_analysis.doc. (n.d.) TV Measurement. Nielsen. Retrieved May 29, 2013. From http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/nielsen-solutions/nielsenmeasurement/nielsen-tv-measurement.html. (n.d.) English Language Arts Standards, Anchor Standards, College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening. Common Core State Standards Initiative. Retrieved May 29, 2013. From http://www.corestandards.org/ela-literacy/ccra/sl. (n.d.) A New World Is At Hand. The Charters of Freedom. Retrieved May 29, 2013. From http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html.
TV ANNOUNCEMENTS IN SCHOOLS 41 (n.d.) Force Field Analysis. Change Management Consultant. Retrieved December 17, 2012. From http://www.change-managementconsultant.com/force-field-analysis.html. (n.d.) The World of IP Video Applications. Vbrick. Retrieved December 17, 2012. From http://www.vbrick.com/applications/streaming-video.asp. (n.d.) The South Side Scoop. US Education TV. Retrieved March 10, 2012. From www.southsidescoop.com. (n.d.) Trojan TV News. US Education TV, Retrieved March 20, 2012. From www.trojantvnews.com.