Tornado News Media Suite Courses
This suite of media classes in three disciplines seeks to provide pathways to high school graduation, college acceptance, and career advancement for media students in Harborfields HS.
Each course aims to provide students with a rich, technology-based learning experience that engages them in a diverse array of media forms and publishing outcomes through project-based and student-centered learning activities.
Students who complete a three-semester sequence in any one or more disciplines will emerge with an impressive array of marketable skills and career competencies that will propel them toward college and career success.
As they navigate through the three courses in the media discipline(s) of their choice, students will build from basic understanding, analysis, and synthesis to application and creative expression, and finally to a semester-long community-based project, internship, and/or job-shadow/work experience.
Through the program, the students will have the opportunity to earn up to 18 college credits through the St. John’s University College Advantage program while enrolled in the second and third level courses in each of the three media disciplines.
The classes run in the Harborfields High School’s Tornado News Studio and adjacent computer lab suite.
Studio Suite Course Sequence Map
This map represents future enhancements to our studio suite of classes. Currently, we offer ‘level 1’ and ‘level 2’ classes in each of the three media disciplines. Our hope is to expand to a third ‘pro’ level of classes in the near future.
Intro to Production:
Video Storytelling
Building on prior knowledge of literature and the structures of various genres of stories, students will enter into the art of transforming those written plot lines into stories told via visual media.
Through this course, students will learn the basics of video production as they create video basic projects. This course is the first in a three-course video and film publishing program and lays the groundwork for the publication of quality original films in the subsequent video classes.
Students will study films and learn about cinematic techniques, how to work cameras and related hardware, and how to edit using Adobe Premiere.
Mass Media
Students in Mass Media 101 learn to publish content across all of our media platforms. They will plan, research, draft, peer review, revise and submit articles for publishing.
They will also create basic news package and promotional videos to be published on our Tornado News media platforms.
Students will learn the publishing process through our Tornado News Team Shared Google Drive (which is a study in project management and cooperative/team production), and publish pieces to earn credit and establish their portfolio of published content.
This is a survey course designed to introduce all components of media publishing:
website articles
video promos and news packages
blog and social media posts
photo journalism
graphic and animation production.
Broadcast Journalism
The Broadcast suite of classes focuses on the production of live-streamed content.
Ideally, Broadcast students would have taken a combination of Video Storytelling classes and Mass Media classes prior to taking Broadcast so that they have working knowledge of content creation across numerous platforms. In this way, they can apply that acquired knowledge and skill set to the pressure-driven and time-sensitive world of live video production.
Through the first class of the 3-class Broadcast sequence, students will learn the various roles for in-studio and on-location broadcasts as well as the unique equipment, technology, and apps used for our live productions.
