Podcasting has become a popular form of learning and teaching in education systems across the country, and NCHS has joined on this trend by updating and creating two new podcasting rooms; one in the CTE department and one in the library for easy access to all students. Podcasting allows students to be creative on their own platform, and explore a new network for sharing opinions and ideas with a real audience.
Library Department Chair, Michelle Luhtala spoke about how the idea of a new podcasting room originated. “We all already had a very small podcasting room here in the library so it was the head of technology Matt Salvestrini, who suggested we revamp it to make it more easily accessible to students,” she said. “We went to the Westport Library for irritation through their podcasting room and ended up getting similar equipment.”
Ms. Hernberg, Technology Integrator, also spoke on this matter and how podcasting would directly benefit the school. “The main idea of having a good podcasting room is providing a platform for students to tell their stories,” she said. “We want to give students a better place for communication.”
She went on to say some other pros of the podcast room. “We are hoping to start incorporating podcasting more into classrooms to provide an interesting digital aspect to projects that students aren’t used to, “ she said. “This will hopefully start to train students to be conscious of who their audiences are, but also increase the diversity of opinion as we give students better opportunities to share their thoughts. It is really just a resource that will help students to understand themselves and their peers better.”
Senior Theo Nelson works in the library as a TechXPert, helping students with any technical issues they may have. He is interested in the new podcasting room and will be assisting in training students on how to use it, as well as creating a tutorial video that students can watch. “I’ve been interested in audiovisual technology for years,” he said. “I feel that this podcasting room will provide more opportunities not only for me to broaden my horizon but also to others.”
Theo went more into depth about how the new podcasting room works and what he is looking forward to. “We are working on making the walls more soundproof, but other than that the equipment is all very good,” he said. “I am interested in computer science, and I think podcasting will provide more opportunities for me and others. Podcasting will help create a broader community that can easily collaborate together. It creates connections and innovations and allows for people to absorb new ideas through listening, which is definitely a way many students enjoy learning.”
Director of Digital Learning, Matt Salvestrini, also spoke about his thoughts on both revamped podcasting rooms. “I am excited to see how the one in the CTE department will impact what they produce,” he said. “And as for the one in the library, I’m hoping this will lead to an increase in technology usage at this school. The library offers so many resources for students to research, share knowledge, and create new things, that NCHS students should be taking advantage of the revamped podcasting room and use it to help better their own life.”
Senior Cortland Parrott is the Station Manager for TV Broadcasting, and the student who originally came up with the idea. “One day I was sorting equipment and noticed that the back room in the CTE department wasn’t being used,” he said. “So I talked to Mr. Cebulski about creating a studio where people could go and record, and then I began researching equipment and did the proper work to make this podcast room happen.”
Cortland says that the new technology is the podcasting room is very advanced. “We have something called the Rode Podcaster Pro,” he said. “It records audio, it can listen to up to four mics, you have headsets, and basically it is a very simple, yet effective way to record yourself. We also have four brand new microphones and small cameras that are mantled around the room.”
Cortland also spoke about what he was looking forward to with the new room. “Ian [Nicholas] and I just released a new podcast called Rams Revealed,” he said. “We take in a coach or an athlete from New Canaan and ask them about their career and personal life. It’s pretty interesting and something I think everyone should check out.”
Despite being in quarantine, Cortland and fellow producer of Rams Revealed Ian Nicholas have continued their podcasts for this channel over zoom conferences. They recently interviewed the Boys Basketball Coach Danny Melzer. They have also been continuing their podcasts for On the Whistle, releasing Episode 6 on April 2nd.
Cortland also helped to train students of the Courant Staff to create their own podcasts, including Seniors Sadie Slattery, Marie-Grace Pirrone, Caroline French, and Kristen Raffaele. They have been developing a “MAMS” podcast channel, which stands for “Mediocre Advice from Mediocre Students.” Sadie said that preparing for a podcast requires some planning ahead, but they also try and keep their podcasts very original and generic. “We’ve been working in podcasting since around December or January,” she said. “You don’t want to prepare too much for the podcast because you want things to pop-up at the moment. Everything should be organic.”
Mr. Cebulski, who teaches TV Broadcasting and Journalism, talked about how he began the process of creating the podcast room. “First I reached out to some colleagues at the Area 9 Cable Council to see if they were doing anything, and I found out that not many people have a dedicated podcasting space,” he said. “I did a lot of research and I watched a lot of podcasting videos, to help visualize the equipment I wanted.”
Mr. Cebulski also spoke about the advanced equipment they have in his classes, and how he wants it to be used. “We have a lot of really advanced technology and equipment, but I also wanted to do the opposite. I wanted to get really high-quality stuff but also have it where anyone could walk in and in a few minutes, flip a few switches, and then be ready to record a podcast.”
Mr. Cebulski is looking forward to the new podcast channels being created in both journalism and TV Broadcasting and hopes that podcasting will become even more advanced in the next year. “This is a really nice easy outlet for us to talk about things we are interested in, and that’s what podcasting is really all about,” he said. “It is talking about things you are passionate about, that you are interested in, and really getting into some deeper discussions.”
