Too many of today's children spend too much time indoors, often interacting with screens. They don't get enough physical exercise. Their learning about nature comes from books and teachers rather than from firsthand exploration of natural phenomena. These issues affect most modern American children, but they are particularly prominent among…

In knowing hands, public-media resources can help young children growing up in socially and economically disadvantaged circumstances become better prepared to succeed in school. This vision, which has held steady since the original authorizing legislation for the program was written, continues to guide the work of the Corporation for Public…

As part of the "Ready to Learn" Initiative, Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), was charged with addressing the evaluation of Technological Enhancements for the outreach efforts of three producers: Out of the Blue's Super WHY! Technology Add-On; Sesame Workshop's The Electric Company School's Initiative Curriculum; and WordWorld's…

Distance education initiatives that incorporate interactive television are explored from the perspective of two social work programs. Though both programs are of similar size and exist in the same state, one is private and located in an urban area, while the other is public and located in a rural area. Four key dimensions essential to distance…

The following methods are suggested to measure the comprehensibility of Children's Television Workshop productions: (1) comprehension tests inserted into the program; (2) dual audio testing--a technique which inserts comprehension questions into the empty spaces in the regular program audio track; and (3) program interruptions which permit…

The Anik-B project is part of the two-year communications experiments for which the Anik-B satellite is being used. The project was designed to explore the possibilities of using Interactive Instructional Television (IITV) to provide distance postsecondary education for people living in widely scattered and sometimes inaccessible areas of British…

This report chronicles the six-year growth (1972-1978) of Dallas County Community College District's (DCCCD) Instructional Television program (ITV), explaining the design, production, implementation, components, and evaluation of the telecourses within the program. It also includes discussions of local and national distribution of courses,…

Describes use of the public television program "Between the Lions" in one kindergarten classroom to help develop literacy skills. Reports that 75 to 85 percent of children were engaged by the program, with the most attentive children being those who understood some letter-sound connections and enjoyed trying to read along. Most of the…

This report summarizes information gathered during an interim study of the Schools' TeleLearning Service (STS), a cooperative effort of the Nebraska State Department of Education (NDE) and the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission (NETC) to provide instructional television programming for students in Nebraska. The study, which sought…

Looking back over the five years of Sesame Street's existence, it is possible to discern changes in the program in the areas of production, the role of research, and its audience; it is also possible to see the vast impact that the educational television show has had on preschool children both in the United States and abroad. The show's…

The 143 videocassette programs offered by COSTI, a Toronto-based Italian community organization, by mail and on television, are listed. They are in the areas of ESL (78 lessons), social services, industrial training in the metal industry, and legal education. Program history, public reaction, and program evaluation are also reported. (MSE)

In Japan, the production and broadcasting of television (TV) programs for children began in 1953. After the first few years of trial and error, children's programs gradually rose in popularity with the introduction of TV animation, dramas, special-effects photography, music/variety and quiz shows, comedies, and action dramas. Since the inception…

"The Electric Company" was created by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) as an experiment in using television to teach reading skills to children in grades 2-4 who were having difficulty learning to read in school. With more than 500 shows completed and four seasons behind it, the series continues to be an experiment. The methods…

Telecourses allow students to test their interests and aptitudes before committing themselves to a course of study. Milwaukee Area Technical College telecourses are available throughout a wide area via cable television. Because videocassettes of courses are available in the library, self-paced learning is possible. (SK)

Provides examples from six studies to illustrate how the formative research element of the Sesame Workshop production model has been used to create effective educational media in the United States, South Africa, Egypt, and China. Shows how lessons learned from formative studies provide insights into the development of new research methodologies…