South Carolina ETV
Digital Education Services (DES)
Effectively immediately, ETV has begun upgrading our existing DELC facilities to Digital Education Services (DES).
The new DES will transition our existing analog and digital broadcast to video streaming on-demand, and will be done in phases.
While continuing to serve our South Carolina Department of Education and Local School District partners, DES will improve the quality and accountability of educational resources, and make qualified multimedia content accessible on-demand for all teachers and staff across the state.
Vision...
To provide quality, accountable educational content on-demand
How Will it Work
ETV's new delivery will be very similar to StreamlineSC and the existing Distance Education Learning Centers (DELC) facilities operational today. In addition to providing an archived inventory of educational content, DES will now include LIVE video streaming much like the DELC broadcast. The transition to DES will convert our analog broadcast and digital satellite systems to a statewide and local network delivery of live video streaming.
Currently
ETV maintains an educational closed-circuit TV infrastructure(DELC) that broadcasts instructional programs to K-12 schools. The channels were called Instructional Television Fixed Services (ITFS), and were issued by the FCC exclusively to educational institutions, but are now subject to change.
FCC Initiating the Change
The FCC recently mandated that the old ITFS channels transition to digital Educational Broadband Services (EBS). The channels now have to be moved off the analog broadcast channels, which allows ETV to migrate to more efficient video streaming systems and DES.
Where Do We See the Streaming Channels
Through ETV's new educational web portal called OnePlaceSC, the portal will incorporate web-based TV guides that will allow teachers to view through streaming all their educational TV, including content from SC ETV, PBS, the SC Channel, satellite and local district programming. ETV, the State Department of Education's Instructional TV Department and the State Library System will provide quality, accountable educational content that will be searchable, correlated to standards on-demand.
OnePlaceSC will allow teachers to search a variety of qualified educational content sites to acquire the resources they need. Teachers will not have to maintain knowledge of the vast numbers of educational web sites or remember multiple usernames and passwords to access educational content. This "one-stop instructional supermarket" will give teachers and staff the resources they need to solve the educational challenges they face everyday.
ETV has received funding to upgrade approximately one third of the state with plans scheduled to be completed by the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. ETV will provide equipment and services needed for a centralized district locations that will incorporate selective incoming TV signals of their choosing. Phase 2 proposals for completing the remainder of the state are determinant on the state and FCC plan due April 2009.
- DES Home
- What is DES?
- Why Now?
- Who is Affected?
- What ETV Will Provide
- DES Contacts
- Network Technical Services
- EBS
South Carolina ETV
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 1-800-277-3245