Radio Skills with Braidwood Academy of Creative Arts
Every second Monday, I’ve been working with the young people at the Braidwood Academy of Creative Arts to develop an exciting new skillset — radio production! Together, we’re learning how to create pre-recorded packages for the Academy’s Youth Hour program on Braidwood FM. As they already present weekly live shows, learning how to create pre-recorded packages will both enhance their skills as well as their live programs!
Using the Academy’s iPads, students are discovering how to record, edit, and shape their own stories and interviews. In one of our recent workshops, I guided them through GarageBand, showing step-by-step how to use it as a tool for recording and producing broadcast-ready content. I even created a recap video on YouTube so the students could revisit the skills we covered and keep building on them at home.
Teaching radio feels like coming full circle for me. My own background includes a degree in Radio Broadcasting from AFTRS (Australian Film, TV and Radio School), and I’ve worked across the industry — from ABC Radio Canberra, to triple j as a podcast producer and arts reporter, to hosting my own prime-time shows on 2XX FM in Canberra. I’ve also taught presentation and media skills at the University of Canberra. With all this experience to draw on, it’s been incredibly rewarding to pass on practical knowledge in a hands-on, creative way.
What I love most is seeing how quickly the students pick things up — and how much fun they have in the process. Radio gives them a chance to develop storytelling, technical, and teamwork skills, while also giving them a platform to share their voices with the wider Braidwood community.