I’m adviser Callie Williams, and this is my newsroom…

What is your name?
Callie Williams

What school do you teach at?
Astronaut High School

What city and state is your school located in?
Titusville, Florida

What different media are produced at the school?
The Golden Aerie Yearbook, The Talon online newspaper, & War Eagle Television

How many students are involved at the media program at your school?
75

Describe your space for us.
We started fall of 2020 in a new space. Our room is big and with some new construction at our school, with the utilization of machines like the ones on this useful site, came a TV studio built into our new room. Our classroom is very spacious.

What do you think are some of the benefits of the workspace you all have?
We are very lucky to have all the space in our room. It has plenty of room for our 30 computers and 2 workspace tall tables. The studio we have is sound proof and spacious as well for a quiet life.

What do your students like most about the workspace you have?
My students love the space we have for computers and equipment. Plus we have lots of room for activities and team building.

What computer programs and/or apps is your staff using on a regular basis for their work?
We use Jostens online program, Layout Pro to create the yearbook. We also use Photoshop. Broadcast students use iMovie on our 6 Apple computers. Newspaper students host our website on a SNO (School Newspapers Online) site. All 3 staffs use Google Drive and Google programs to write, create, & house photos and videos for use in our publications.

What tech equipment are your students using on a daily basis?
We have 7 Canon DSLR’s. We have 2 newly purchased Canon lenses. Those are used by all 3 staffs. Broadcast has 6 handheld Canon video cameras.

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.
The best things we own are the 2 lenses. We didn’t buy them until this past summer. I can’t believe I waited this long to get lenses. With COVID restrictions, our district isn’t allowing any of my photographers on fields or courts so the lenses have saved us and we are getting some great shots.

How is your workspace funded?
We do not get any funding from our school or district. We fundraise for all of our equipment, needs, and software. We sell ads for the yearbook and newspaper to fund our programs. We have done projects through Donors Choose and did receive 1 camera from those efforts.

Do you have anything on your wishlist for your space? If so, what do you have and why?
We would love to have more cameras. With 75 students each year, sharing 7 cameras (because camera 8 is out of commission) is difficult. We have 1 T6i that broadcast students share and we’d love to have more of those because the video is so much better. I’d also love camera backpacks for each of our cameras.

(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.)

Aaron Manfull

Aaron is in his 26th year of advising student media. He is currently the Director of Student Media at Francis Howell North High School in St. Charles, Missouri. He is the Journalism Education Association Digital Media Chair and co-Director of Media Now. He is the 2023 JEA Teacher Inspiration Award Winner and is a former Dow Jones News Fund National Journalism Teacher of the Year. He is one of the authors of the textbook "Student Journalism and Media Literacy." You can find him on X and Instagram @manfull. He's a proud father. A transplanted Iowan. And an avid Hawkeye Fan.

Aaron Manfull has 864 posts and counting. See all posts by Aaron Manfull

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