The purpose of this study was to examine instrumental music lessons taught for schoolchildren over the radio by Joseph Maddy in the 1930s and early 1950s. Research questions addressed (a) conditions, circumstances, and details surrounding the lessons and (b) pedagogical principles, strategies, methods, and didactic materials utilized in these…

Film courses are now standard offerings in collegiate world language programs, but instructors have only begun to consider the unique benefits of teaching a television series to engage language learners in meaningful communication. As series have become the entertainment of choice for today's students, educators should consider the opportunities…

The purpose of this article is to analyse and discuss "Selma and the Quest for the Perfect Faith," a TV series made by The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and promoted for use in schools, and the accompanying teaching material about freedom of religion made by Save the Children. We discuss the series and material critically from a…

The reality show "The Amazing Race" serves as a useful text for the cultural geography classroom. As competitors travel the world, they complete challenging tasks designed to be both educational and entertaining. Audiences see actual images from destinations around the world and learn about the unique cultures of these places. They also…

This article presents the Cultural Facilitation Model as a means to guide the investigation of cultural questions with benefits for English Foreign Language (EFL) instructors Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) and Non Native English Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) and EFL students alike. It will describe how instructors can act as cultural…

In 1971, the year that "Masterpiece Theater" premiered on WGBH, the public television station in Boston, the author's family lived in London for the summer. Her life that summer had the taste and texture of an English novel, and she loved every minute of it, which might explain not only her choice to become an English teacher but also her lifelong…

TV shows, especially soap operas and sitcoms, are usually considered by ESL practitioners as a source of authentic spoken conversational materials presumably because they reflect the linguistic features of natural conversation. However, practitioners might be faced with the dilemma of how to evaluate whether such conversational materials reflect…

Reality television programming has become a pervasive part of popular culture. Although such programming may seem to be mindless entertainment, it can serve as a tool to introduce political lessons in the classroom. This article examines how the concepts of alliance behavior and strategic voting can be explored by using the television program…

Science teachers and graduate students have developed activities and assessment tools that begin to help students make the distinction between data and evidence. Two activities are covered in this article. (Contains 1 resource and 2 figures.)

This workshop guide and its accompanying videotape are intended to help early childhood caregivers learn about using the "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" television program interactively and effectively in child care settings. The workshop guide provides preparation instructions, and scripts for three workshops of increasing length: basic,…

Cable in the Classroom (CIC) is a nonprofit service of the cable television industry, offering commercial-free programming with extended copyright clearance for educational use. This article discusses participating networks and program availability; using video in the classroom; curriculum guides and support materials; and other services offered…

This narrative describes the processes and technologies employed to produce and deliver a series of complex interactive learning experiences that brought together working scientists in Antarctic and students and teachers across North America. This multifaceted program included field production in the Antarctic, the use of experimental…

The study examines the instructional use of Channel One in a middle school over 18 months' time. Channel One is a 12-minute educational television news program broadcast daily to over 12,000 U.S. secondary schools. It is argued that while many students watch the programming, there is only a small minority of the classrooms where teachers actively…

Intended for middle and high school educators, the publication provides information about the C-SPAN networks and facilitates the use of the network's programming as a teaching resource. The section on the C-SPAN cable networks contains information on C-SPAN, C-SPAN 2, C-SPAN Audio 1, and C-SPAN Audio 2, regularly scheduled programs, ways to…

An interactive version of an educational radio program can be developed quickly and easily with a main menu interface that takes into account physical classroom conditions; interactive learning interfaces that accommodate eye and vision requirements of children; and a story interface design informed by the "container" metaphor and the 2-D…