I’m adviser Michael Malcom-Bjorklund, and this is my newsroom…
What is your name?
Michael Malcom-Bjorklund
What school do you teach at?
Columbia High School
What city and state is your school located in?
Lake City, Florida
What different media are produced at the school?
Columbian Media: Columbian (Yearbook), CMTV (TV Production)
How many students are involved at the media program at your school?
55
Describe your space for us.
Let’s be honest, I’m quite blessed to have this space. With five rooms including a photo studio, editors office, storage closet, staff lounge, and large classroom with embedded TV studio, computer lab and teaching station, it’s definitely the largest space I’ve ever had as an educator. This past summer, I spent a month and a half reinventing and remodeling the classroom with the assistance of students and my two young boys thanks in large part to the assistance of a local parent. We built the photo studio, TV set and editors office, we painted both rooms and we bought new furniture.
What do you think are some of the benefits of the workspace you all have?
What makes my space beneficial is that it provides students with real-world opportunities to succeed. My hope is that by building a working photo studio and TV production set, I can give my students opportunities to shine.
What do your students like most about the workspace you have?
What my students like about this new space is that they helped create it this summer. They took the time out of their summer to help create this space and for that — it creates buy in into the program.
What computer programs and/or apps is your staff using on a regular basis for their work?
Google Drive, Band.us (formerly GroupMe), Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, InDesign, Premier), Microsoft
What tech equipment are your students using on a daily basis?
We use Nikon cameras, Sony/Canon camcorders and Dell desktop computers.
Aside from the computers and the programs, what are one or two pieces of equipment that you have that you think other programs should have.
A photo studio and dedicated editor space for different reasons. For my yearbook course, having a working photo studio provides my budding photojournalists with a real opportunity to expand their craft. As for a dedicated editor space, having a space dedicated for my editors gives them ownership in the program.
How is your workspace funded?
We are a CTE program so I’ve been afforded many luxuries other classrooms at our school do not have. Although our yearbook program is completely funded through book/ad sales, the TV production course is new for me and has no funds at this moment. I was able to secure funds to purchase equipment from our principal. Additionally because of grants, I have a full-size printer, a complete computer lab and an ability to fully fund conventions and workshops.
Do you have anything on your wishlist for your space? If so, what do you have and why?
I would like to create a production studio in the next two years transforming my staff lounge into a professional studio for TV and/or podcast.
(This is one of a series of posts where high school newsrooms are showcased. We’d love to showcase your newsroom on the site. To find out how, check out the information here and submit yours today.)
