Spartan Edition staff joining together to bring joy to the community. graphic by Nakya Castille
In face of all the curveballs the coronavirus has thrown, the Spartan Edition team has found a way to still produce the show for the TJ community
Spartans have taken on a new challenge in the 2020-2021 school year of adapting our normal daily news broadcast into the context of TJ’s remote learning. The Spartan Edition would normally be played in the first ten minutes of the fourth period. Now, the broadcast is uploaded to the TJ Journal for people to watch. The Spartan Edition crew has taken the time and effort to create the Spartan Edition virtually and allow the community to still enjoy this once daily pleasure.
The Spartan Edition is always something to look forward to, as the humor and overall news coverage is a great break from the busy school day. The Spartan Edition covers many different topics like TJ athletics, school news, world news, important dates and events, and so much more. Grant Laman, the teacher for the class, has been really impressed with his students and how they have been proactive despite all the challenges of virtual learning. “9000% it is more challenging doing the show all online. A few of the concepts are the same, but as far as designing the show, and the production of the show, it is basically an entire new process. I am proud of the students and the shows that we are putting out, but there are difficulties for sure.” Laman also described how he missed the studio and all the fun of actually being in the classroom. The students in Spartan Edition have really amplified their skills to still provide everyone the opportunity to learn about what’s going on in the TJ community. Junior Eden Abraham emphasized how the new technology the class has started using has allowed them to be able to keep the Spartan Edition rolling. “Something that I learned the most from doing Spartan Edition is editing on the new website we use called WeVideo. I learned how to edit, add graphics, adding transitions, and other things. Also, being able to work around the fact that we aren’t together. We do have a good system and we are giv[en] a lot of time in case anything goes wrong.”
Abraham is a first year Spartan Edition student and has really enjoyed still being a part of the team. She also expressed that things have shifted a lot because the students don’t have access to the studio and all the equipment they usually are able to use with in-person learning. “When we were in-person the main anchors, for example, would sit together and go off of each other in the script. Probably making some small jokes and most importantly having fun, but that is taken away when we are in remote learning because we just record what we are supposed to and then make cuts so the other main anchor can speak. We also can’t use the equipment or the green room, so the Spartan Edition does look a bit off. But we are doing our best based on the circumstances.” Senior Producer Adelaide McLain, who is a second year team member, also expressed how things have changed drastically, but the team is and will be extremely prepared for almost every situation. “The shift from in person to virtual Spartan Edition was exceedingly challenging and forced our team to adapt, work together, and adjust as necessary. We have been and will continue to be flexible as we navigate this new mode of learning.” McLain also implied that virtual learning has presented miscommunication issues, lack of social activity, and technology issues. Now almost everyone is sure to face some challenges when it comes to technology and our virtual world, but the Spartan Edition team has done a fantastic job coming up with solutions to all of these complications.
As these times leave so many questions unanswered and create problems in every way possible, the Spartan Edition has shown immense skill and determination to provide everyone with the pleasure of the Spartan Edition. With the confusing time we are all faced with, the Spartan Edition is something that everyone can tune in to and take a break from all the worry. The show has always and continues to be something that everyone in the community can look forward to watching.
