Questions and Answers

This area is for all the questions you wish to ask Mrs Tonner about RadioHigh. Here are some of my replies to a set of questions I was asked by Louise and Ailsa who are creating a report for the School's Co-Curricular News.

Ailsa & Louise - Where did the inspiration for RadioHigh come from?

Mrs Tonner - The inspiration to create RadioHigh was one of my sudden 'moments of madness'. Whilst surfing the Internet, one evening, looking for ways to develop our school's E-bear blog my search was divereted to the land of Wikis, Blogs and Podcasting where children could work collaboratively on a project, communicate with one another and present their ideas using their voice rather than the written or typed word. The other aspect that was exciting was the added dimension of creating our own music. The idea of developing an area on the Internet that incorporated all these aspects was too appealling and RadioHigh was born to allow all children the opportunity to work together to present a show using their individual talents.

Ailsa & Louise - Approximately how long will each podcast last?

Mrs Tonner - I reckon each podcast will last around 10 to 15 minutes but no longer than 20 minutes due to the time it will take each week to create and publish each show.

Ailsa & Louise - Are you hoping to continue RadioHigh with next year's L7s?

Mrs Tonner - I hope that RadioHigh will be a great success, therefore, it would only seem natural to provide next year's L7s with the same opportunities and skills.

Ailsa & Louise - Will the podcasts be available for download?

Mrs Tonner - The beauty about podcasts are they remain on the Internet until they are removed. This means that each show can be accessed each week by selecting the appropriate podcast or you can listen to past shows. So in answer to your question, yes, the podcasts will be aviailable to those that have a computer and an internet connection.

Ailsa & Louise - Will the group of people who are making RadioHigh change on a weekly basis and if not how often will the groups change?

Mrs Tonner - Due to the enthusiasm each radio crew have shown towards RadioHigh, I hope to allow a different group each week to create and publish a radio show. After everyone has had an opportunity to participate in RadioHigh each role will then be made available to those who would like to continue. For example, some children may enjoy using the music software to create music or jingles and they can become RadioHigh's music composers.

Ailsa & Louise - Do you think RadioHigh will open up to other year groups in later years?

Mrs Tonner - I would hope that RadioHigh will be a great success that it becomes part of the whole school allowing everyone an opportunity to participate or listen to the show.

Ailsa & Louise - Can we have some information about the music maker software?

Mrs Tonner - The music software we will primarily use is called Ejay which is very simple to use and can create some catching tunes. To edit each show we will use Audacity which allows you to cut out bits that may not sound good, fade out music and combine talking and music together. If someone wishes to play a piece of music using their own instruments, that is fine as long as the music is composed by them and not a pop group or composer as this causes problems with copyright.

Thank you for all the interesting questions Ailsa and Louise. If you would like to give you views on RadioHigh or you have a question please use the comment link below. Mrs Tonner :o)