It All Starts With a Dream

One of the best parts of owning a video display is uncovering what it can do for not only your games but for your school. Michael Krill, the Film & Literature teacher at Oconomowoc High School, located in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, realized early on that there was more to the display than just showcasing scores.

“Once we became familiar with the systems and basic functions, we soon realized we could develop very specific and engaging content. This included homecoming announcements, welcomes, intro videos and even digitizing our mascot,” said Krill.

Anything the class dreamed up could be put on that display. Knowing this, Krill and his class went to work.

“We wanted to use the display to offer more than just play-by-play and simple advertisements. Although play-by-play was our first goal, we soon discovered we could create and generate very engaging content to encompass all aspects of the game,” said Krill.

Krill started an inductive learning process with his students that included three phases. The first phase, “Gathering,” is where students learn design, advertising, visual and sound design and best practice. Phase two, “Take Action,” allows students to explore and practice with the display. Phase three, known as “Make it Happen,” is a more professional approach to the first two phases.

“We want to encourage students to embrace the events that take place at the stadium. The more the students understand the culture, the more successful our video enhancements will be,” added Krill.

Krill is currently working on creating a mentorship program to help build a collaborative community among students where the 9^th graders “intern” from those grades above them. Eventually, he’d like the class to work with local businesses to create short commercials to showcase throughout the games as well as create player profiles with stats and personalized sound effects using green screen technology.

“We’ve found interest levels have increased from students who are involved in similar courses. Word of mouth is the best way to get students involved,” said Krill.

To read more success stories like this one, search the “Follow Trends” tag on our blog’s homepage.