This week, we wrapped up our fifth annual Student Podcast Challenge. Plus, a quick recap of news stories from NPR Ed.
Hello again!
It’s Janet from the education desk, and… it’s official! We closed the fifth annual Student Podcast Challenge — more than 2,900 entries!!! Once again, we heard from middle and high school students from all over the country, and there are some great podcasts. Our team at NPR Ed has a lot of homework to do to listen to them all to screen them for our judges. Most of us started listening this week – and we’re having a lot of fun.
We’ve gotten entries that made us smile, like this one about the student’s love for their home state Michigan or another one where the students share a recipe for a romance novel – in cookbook style! Others have helped us reflect and see the world through a young person’s lens, like this podcast with high schoolers discussing what they think about white lies among their family members. And not to forget, with our new thematic prize, we've also been listening to a range of entries on mental health.
And even if you missed this year’s contest, we’re still here to help you make your dream podcast. Or, if you loved participating in our contest, keep going: You can make more podcasts and keep sharpening your audio storytelling skills!
Courtesy of Michelle Carn
So today, I wanted to share something that I’m also personally proud of – an elaborate resources page for student podcasting that our team published earlier this year. My big boss Steve Drummond named it “Sound Advice: The NPR guide to student podcasting.” And, again, this isn’t just for Student Podcast Challenge participants. We have guides from NPR and more for anyone interested in starting a podcast!
Here’s a sampler of some of my favorite resources:
🎙️ Using sound: Teachers, here’s a lovely video you can play for your class! Or for any visual learners, this is a fun watch! In this video, veteran NPR correspondent Don Gonyea walks you through how to build your own recording studio – a pillow fort! (And yes, this is an actual trick we use at NPR!)
🗣️ Voice coaching: Speaking into a microphone is hard, even for our radio veterans. In this video, NPR voice coach Jessica Hansen and our training team share a few vocal exercises that will help you sound more natural in front of a mic! I personally watched this video before recording my first radio story, so I’d highly recommend it for everyone!
🎧Life Kit episode on podcasting: In this episode from NPR’s Life Kit, Lauren Migaki, our very own NPR Ed senior producer, brings us tips from podcast producers across NPR, working on all your favorite shows, including Code Switch, Planet Money and more! It’s an awesome listen for a class or on your own!
Did you use our Sound Advice page for making your student podcast? Let us know what’s most helpful, or if there’s anything else you’d like help with. Please email your feedback to studentpodcastchallenge@npr.org.
Thanks again to everyone who participated this year. I truly cannot wait to listen to all your stories and travel to meet this year’s grand prize winners.
Warmly, Janet Woojeong Lee, assistant producer
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Some education news this week...
This week on NPR Ed – Our correspondent Cory Turner published his second story in our national teacher shortage series. In his latest, Cory zooms in on a school district in San Antonio. We’ll have more on this story in next week’s newsletter.
Our higher education correspondent, Elissa Nadworny, reported on how more than 40 million people in the U.S. stopped going to college before they finished their degree, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. Colleges have seen enrollment declines since the pandemic began, often losing students to high-wage jobs that don’t require university degrees.
And, last but not least, Sequoia Carrillo and I reported on the state of student activism on reproductive justice at Texas A&M, and how it may be an example of the Dobbs decision’s impact on other campuses. You can find our story here.
Thanks again! Hope you and yours are taking care. ‘Til next week!
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