Student podcast earns national recognition
Tessa L., Addy R., and Hallie P., from Rocky Heights Middle School, created a podcast, Drastic Plastic, about the complex issue of disposable plastic water bottles as a final project in speech class. The podcast won honorable mention in NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge, and RHMS was the only middle school in the state to receive the honor.
The Rocky Heights Middle School (RHMS) speech class has risen to new heights. The student podcast Drastic Plastic received an honorable mention in the middle school category of National Public Radio’s (NPR) 2024 Student Podcast Challenge. RHMS is the only middle school in the state to receive the honor.
To make the recognition even more meaningful, Gina Luber, RHMS speech teacher, introduced the podcast project for the first time last school year. Creating a podcast was the final project for her speech students, who worked hard to create products worthy of submission to the contest.
Working in groups, students created podcasts from start to finish and Gina selected the best to submit to the NPR challenge.
Drastic Plastic was created by Tessa L., Addy R., and Hallie P., but it was a class effort to finalize the podcast. The content highlighted the complex issue of disposable plastic water bottles, including their effect on the working class, the environment and the economy.
“The recognition from NPR was a proud moment for our school community, and it reminded us of the power of youth voices in making a difference,” Gina stated.
Per NPR’s contest rules, the podcast had to be between three and eight minutes in length and also required that information and any music used be original to the podcast creators. NPR judges were also looking at the information presented, the structure of the presentation, personality and creativity, as well as production quality.
When the students created their podcast, they structured the transcriptions like a speech, with an attention-grabbing hook. The podcaster was introduced and he or she had to make three significant points. Students could work alone or in a small group, but each student was required to make at least five different edits to their podcast to ensure participation by all and a collaborative, finished product.
The students were proud of their efforts to write, record and edit Drastic Plastic. Through this unit, Gina discovered that creating podcasts is a fun and hands-on way for students to show off the public speaking skills that they worked on all semester.
Drastic Plastic and other student podcasts are found in the RHMS Speech Studio on SoundCloud.com.
By Celeste McNeil; photo courtesy of Gina Luber
