Getting Schooled: Vocalo.org Takes on Education in September

Online, September 1, 2009 (Newswire.com) - What: It's back-to-school time, and Vocalo.org, 89.5 FM WBEW, tackles the topic of Education. We're talking about stuff we learned in school that wasn't on the syllabus and lies our teachers told us. We're exploring life lessons and things we learned the hard way. We're looking for teachers to tell us stories normally confined to the mysterious Teachers' Lounge.

All month long, Vocalo.org asks listeners to become the experts and teach them how to do just about anything - from opening a beer with your teeth, matching beats, roasting beets, sewing on a button... You get the picture.

The month will culminate in a Teach-A-Thon live broadcast event at the Vocalo.org studios. (For more details, see "Teach-A-Thon" advisory. Call Sarahlynn Pablo for a copy.)

Who: You are the teacher - now, take us to school.

Why: "While the topic of education prompts us to discuss school reform and other important issues, the subject also allows us a new opportunity to spotlight our listeners as experts and teachers in their own right," says Vocalo.org general manager Wendy Turner.

When: Listeners are welcome to submit their how-to's all September.

Where: Examples of how-to's can be found at the How-To online group on Vocalo.org at www.vocalo.org/node/46223, where all listener-submitted content is education-related.

Vocalo.org can be heard on 89.5 FM throughout northwest Indiana, Chicago and southwest Michigan and streams online live to the world at www.vocalo.org/stream.

How: Here's how to contribute how-to's to Vocalo.org's website and live, on-air radio broadcast:

1. Create a profile on Vocalo.org and register a phone number with it. (Don't worry--we keep that private.)
2. Then, using that same phone, call the Vocalo.org hotline, (888) 635-1112, press 2, and record a how-to using your telephone as your microphone. It's just like leaving a message.
3. Alternatively, participants may video record themselves giving a how-to demonstration, then upload the video file directly to our site, or to their YouTube account, and bring it over to Vocalo.org following the steps using the Upload button on the Vocalo.org home page.

The audio (or video) how-to will automatically post to their profile. Vocalo.org will let listeners know if their audio how-to will be broadcast on the radio.

NOTE: Vocalo.org conducts free, monthly make-your-own-radio trainings at locations around the Lake Michigan Region. The next training is September 22, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Westchester Public Library in downtown Chesterton, Indiana (100 West Indiana Avenue).