THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409280104
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 3B EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
Parents, here's some good news about television: It is not a vast wasteland, after all. Now your children can watch programming designed to add to their education, not take away from it.
South Hampton Roads students in the Cox Cable area can even watch the tube in the classroom with the blessings of educators.
That's the message about 40 area educators heard from cable-network representatives recently at the Holiday Inn Executive Center on Greenwich Road.
Cox Cable of Hampton Roads brought the educators and the cable representatives together for the Cable in the Classroom seminar.
``This is the first time we used this format. We plan to make this an annual conference,'' said Helen Shropshire, educational coordinator for Cox Cable.
``We want to raise the awareness of teachers to the resources available through Cox, and to enable them to tape programs for later use to enrich and enhance their instructional programs,'' she said.
Karen Moore of the Weather Channel, one of 10 women spokespersons for the cable systems, told the teachers about the forthcoming Weather Camp. ``On Dec. 8, students can tune in and visit the network's forecasting center,'' said Moore.
The one-hour presentation will show students the latest technology for gathering, predicting and distributing weather information.
Each network spokeswoman spent about 15 minutes talking to the teachers about the services that her company offers. Of course, they also presented tapes showing those offerings.
Judy Hester, an authorized teacher trainer for the Discovery Channel/The Learning Channel, talked about Assignment Discovery and TLC Elementary School. Assignment Discovery features programming for children in sixth through 12th grades. TLC Elementary School is designed for younger students.
The Family Channel's Darlene Smyda noted that the Virginia Beach-based network's programming differed from that of other systems.
``We offer more themes of personal development, rather than strictly instructional programming,'' she said, citing ``Big Brother Jake'' as an example.
Students with a taste for literary high-brow can even tune into Bravo and watch Gore Vidal discuss his controversial essay ``Armageddon'' on the ``South Bank Show.''
The teachers responded positively.
``Visuals are the key,'' said Eddie Briley, a biology and earth science teacher at the Emily Spong Center in Portsmouth. ``The students learn faster, ask more questions, retain more of the subject matter and become involved.''
Gennie Cannon agreed.
The Ocean View Elementary media specialist said, ``We've been using cable for years, but the field changes and adds new things, so it's good to hear the latest developments.''
Cox Cable serves the cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Portsmouth. Nearly every public school in those localities is wired for basic cable by the company.
``Cable in the Classroom has existed for four or five years,'' said Frank Bowers, vice president and general manager of Cox. ``Education is the focus of Cox's community efforts. We chose education to show that we could be a good corporate citizen.
Copyright fees are either paid by the cable operator or, more commonly, waived for a year or two for shows used in the classroom.
Betty Ballard teaches high school and college history in Charlotte. A 24-year educational veteran, she is one of 12 national faculty members for CNN/Turner Educational Services, Inc. She travels the country talking to other teachers about how to get the most out of TV in the classroom - another brainchild of media mogul Ted Turner.
How, she was asked, can TV be a force for academic achievement when it receives so much criticism as a source of anti-education escapism? Won't watching TV, even educational shows, only foster more dependence on the medium?
``You don't just let children watch TV and leave it at that. You encourage them to follow-up with reading and other methods of study, once you've used TV to spark their interest,'' said Ballard.
Shropshire said that although most of the cable programs were designed for middle and high school use, some primary schools might find it appropriate.
Brenda McHorney and Mary Wilkinson found that to be the case.
``Discovery Channel has some interesting shows for our kids,'' said McHorney, librarian at Strawbridge Elementary School.
``I didn't realize how much was out there, programs that would benefit our students,'' said second-grade teacher Wilkinson. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY EDWARDS
Librarian Brenda McHorney and teacher Mary Wilkinson learn how to
use cable TV programs in teaching.
by CNB