Organization
Name
|
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
|
|
Contact Name
|
Carol Dufault
Education Associate, Online Communications
703-739-5788
Fax 703-739-5777
cdufault@pbs.org
1320 Braddock Place
Alexandria, VA 22314
pbs.org
|
Program/Project
Description
|
PBS Ready To Learn Service (pbs.org/rtl): PBS's Ready To Learn Service (RTL), a unique contribution to the
national educational goal that all children start school "ready to
learn," is an unprecedented blending of services: quality children's educational television programming, program breaks delivering educational messages, and a variety of outreach services and materials for parents, teachers, and other caregivers. PBS and a majority of PBS member stations are working to meet the increasing demand for quality, educational materials, and training for childcare professionals.
|
|
Key Highlights
|
RTL, launched in 1994 to help young children prepare for success in school, combines PBS's award-winning educational children's programs with local seminars, mailings of resource materials, and other efforts to help parents make better use of their families' television viewing. RTL works with PBS member stations and community partners to provide workshops for parents and childcare professionals.
A recent study from the University of Alabama found that:
- While the children of RTL workshop parents spend 40 percent less time watching television, what they do watch is more educational. Their parents report that 25 percent more of the programs they watch prepare them for school, 18 percent more encourage reading, 18 percent more help develop character, and 15 percent more teach practical skills.
- After attending an RTL workshop, parents discuss programs with their children 50 percent more frequently.
- Eighteen percent more parents set rules about the hours when viewing is allowed, and 20 percent more require that certain chores and tasks be done before viewing is permitted.
|
|
Results Forecast
|
In May 1999, Sens. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced the Digital Education Act, which would expand the Ready To Learn Service and enable more families to use its services. We hope to expand Ready To Learn as a primary source for adult learning about children's care and education, while continuing to develop our strong children's programming component. This year, training workshops will be expanded to cover the areas of health and wellness, conflict
resolution, and diversity.
|
|
Organization
Name
|
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
|
|
Contact Name
|
Carol Dufault
Education Associate, Online Communications
703-739-5788
Fax 703-739-5777
cdufault@pbs.org
1320 Braddock Place
Alexandria, VA 22314
pbs.org
|
Program/Project
Description
|
PBS TeacherSource (pbs.org/teachersource): PBS TeacherSource features a constantly growing inventory of more than 1,200 free lesson plans, teacher guides, and online activities, most designed to complement PBS television programs. To help educators locate materials quickly, PBS TeacherSource groups its resources into six subject areas and also offers subject, grade level, and keyword searches. In addition, the site offers teachers the ability to correlate PBS's Web content with 46 sets of national and state educational standards.
Originally launched in April 1997 as Learn With PBS, this site
re-launched as PBS TeacherSource in October 1998, aggregating all of the educational offerings from PBS and its member stations to create one of the most comprehensive sites for pre-K-12 educators on the Web.
|
Key Highlights/
Milestones
|
- Monthly articles on educational research and best classroom practices
- PBS Teacher Previews (www.pbs.org/teachersource/previews), a weekly e-mail newsletter detailing educator-focused Web content as well as PBS programming with extended off-air taping rights for classroom use
- Practical resources for parents and caregivers at PBS's Ready To Learn Service Web site and professional development information at PBS's Adult Learning Service Web site
- Monthly columns by education expert Dr. David Thornburg, examining the future of technology in education and the effective use of technology in the classroom
- Comprehensive Web sites for PBS Scienceline, the professional development service for K-5 teachers of science, and PBS Mathline, PBS's counterpart service for K-12 teachers of mathematics
- The PBS TeacherSource Planning Calendar, which lets educators plan for upcoming PBS on-air and online events to be used in their classrooms, as well as detailed information about copyright issues and off-air taping guidelines for PBS programs
- Interdisciplinary curricula developed in connection with PBS programming
|
|
Results Forecast
|
We will continue to provide professional development and community resources to help teachers learn effective ways to incorporate instructional technologies such as video and the Web in the classroom.
|
|
Organization
Name
|
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
|
|
Contact Name
|
Carol Dufault
Education Associate, Online Communications
703-739-5788
Fax 703-739-5777
cdufault@pbs.org
1320 Braddock Place
Alexandria, VA 22314
pbs.org
|
Program/Project
Description
|
"PBS Kids" (pbskids.org): PBS Kids is the safe, playful Web site "neighborhood" within PBS ONLINE, an Internet gateway that leads to the engaging companion Web sites of all of PBS's best known children's TV shows, including "Arthur," "Barney," "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," "Sesame Street," "Teletubbies," "Kratts' Creatures," "Wimzie's House," and "Zoom."
PBS Kids is also a multi-level, interactive Web site designed
specifically for kids, parents, and caregivers. PBS Kids is a "can-do" site, packed with original games and creative activities, including the "TechKnow" Internet literacy area, where kids can obtain a Web "license"; "Funny You Should Ask," where children can make up their own stories; "Karaoke"; and "Ah HA!" which lets kids read jokes and submit audio recordings of their own laughs to be included on the site -- and much more.
|
|
Key Highlights
|
Originally launched in April 1997, PBS Kids was re-launched by PBS in September 1998 with a whole new look, plus some terrific new content. PBS invested substantial resources to design and build the new site, and has supported the re-launch with extensive TV, print, and online promotion.
PBS Kids -- PBS ONLINE's neighborhood for children from preschool to age 14 -- is the most popular site on PBS ONLINE and has quickly become one of the premier destinations for kids on the Web.
In order to provide a safe, noncommercial environment for children in all media, and to better serve our online audience, we have designed the following guidelines for PBS Kids sites and any other PBS ONLINE sites that offer kids opportunities to contribute and participate:
(1) PBS Kids content is screened carefully to ensure quality
educational applications.
(2) PBS Kids sites may contain "links" to other sites, and we select these sites carefully to make sure that they meet our high standards of decency and integrity. All PBS Kids links to outside sites contain a "bridge page" to alert users that they are
leaving the PBS Kids Web site.
(3) PBS Kids protects the identity of our visitors by limiting the
collection of personal information, with certain clearly noted
exceptions.
(4) Information promoting the sale or availability of program-related or non-program-related goods and services may not be included on PBS Kids Web sites on PBS ONLINE.
|
|
Results Forecast
|
PBS has long been recognized as a source of noncommercial, high-quality children's programming. The adults who care for children trust PBS and our partners to provide a safe, stimulating, and entertaining haven of educational programming, projects, and services. We will continue to enhance the site in ways that encourage parents and other caregivers to spend time online with their children, to supervise their child's online activities, and to enjoy the interactive activities offered on the PBS
sites together.
|
|
