High Point broadcasts first live event

SUSSEX — For parents who couldn’t make their daughter’s basketball game March 10, High Point’s Media Technology department introduced live streaming at the Girls Basketball North I Group II Sectional Final, making visiting events at the high school easy without even having to leave home.

“We were live for an hour-and-a-half after announcing the event via email, Facebook and Twitter,” said Kevin Felon, a 21-year media technology teacher. “One hundred fifty-three people logged on to watch and blog about the event, and we received a lot of positive feedback. It was an incredible experience to be able to share this moment with the community.”

Fenlon said the Livestream Broadcaster, recently acquired by the school for about $495, is the key to it all.

“It took about a month for the proposal, approval and purchase of the Livestream Broadcaster,” he said. “The school did not see a need for it until trying to accommodate large groups of people at events and not having the capacity to fit them became an issue.”

Sophomore Garrett Fenlon, 16, has been taking the Media Tech course for two years. Using the Livestream Broadcaster, a Canon XA10 and a Rode NG1 microphone, Garrett Fenlon had the opportunity to film the event live.

“All of the Media Tech honors students were preparing for the Sussex County Teen Arts Festival and the Technology Student Association state competitions,” he said. “While I was staying after to complete an assignment, I was watching the test broadcasts for the live feed. Totally amazed by what I was observing, I asked if I could be a part of the next broadcast. The night of the basketball final, I didn’t know I was going to be filming live until moments before.”

His first experience broadcasting a live feed, Garrett said his role involved setting up the tripod, camera, power cords and other equipment, running the category five Internet wire, preparing the Livestream Broadcaster and filming the game.

“It was exciting to know that everyone in the world could see the event that I was streaming to the Internet," he said. "I can’t wait for my next opportunity.

He plans to major in communications broadcasting media in two years.

Kevin Fenlon said he brought the idea to the administration’s attention last September. “We needed a solution for attendance overflow of events, unpredictable weather and meeting the needs of all types of community groups including the elderly, disabled, etc.”

“Why not give everyone a chance to see events on their phones, tablets, computers and televisions?” Fenlon said. “Think of all the fans, friends and relatives who want to attend our events but can’t. With the Livestream Broadcaster, now they can!”

High Point Principal Jonathan Tallamy says students and faculty at the school alike are all very excited about exploring live streaming:

“We had originally planned on live streaming our National Honor Society induction ceremony on the [Feb. 26], but we had some technology obstacles.”

According to Fenlon, any planned event has physical restrictions no matter where it is.

“Streaming events live on the web, even for replay and on demand, makes those events accessible to a worldwide audience,” Fenlon said. “Viral attendance can surpass any building capacity limitations and gives content urgency, promotes online interaction, opens opportunities for new fundraising revenue and in our case, makes High Point’s educational media program stand out.”

What's next?
Fenlon said the school is assembling a schedule of events that, if all goes well, will include the June 20 graduation ceremony and future sporting and extracurricular events.

To view and keep track of live High Point feeds, visit https://new.livestream.com/hprhs.