South Carolina ETV

What's New

PROGRAMMING/RESOURCE/INFORMATION ALERTS:

Calling All HS Students Interested In The Elections
ETV is looking for outstanding high school students from all over the state to take part in The Big Picture Presents: Ready to Vote 2008, a televised political forum for and by teens. Students will come together in the ETV studios across the state to discuss issues of importance to young people. Viewers at school can vote on issues via text messaging. The Big Picture Presents: Ready to Vote will feed live to schools on October 9 from 1:00-2:00 PM. The taped program will air statewide on ETV on October 16 from 7:00-8:00 PM. Ready to Vote is ETV’s civic engagement outreach project that strives to get young people involved in politics. The Big Picture is ETV's weekly news show with a focus on vital issues in South Carolina. The Big Picture Presents: Ready to Vote 2008 will be the first time these two programs have collaborated. With young people in the spotlight during this election year, it promises to be a very exciting show! The Big Picture Presents: Ready to Vote 2008 will take place in the ETV studios in Columbia, Spartanburg, Beaufort and at Coastal Carolina University. To be a part of the show, students must:

Be a junior or senior in high school. Be informed and ready to speak out. Be available on October 9 from 12:00-2:00 PM Have the permission of a parent or guardian

Interested students should contact: Betsy Newman Producer, SCETV (803) 737-3466 bnewman@scetv.org


New on PBS Votes: Access, Analyze, Act: A Blueprint for 21st Century Civic Engagement
The Media Education Lab team (Temple University) has created "ACCESS, ANALYZE, ACT: A Blueprint for 21st Century Civic Engagement" for PBS Teachers. Learn how to use social media to promote citizenship skills with videos, lesson plans and an online quiz!

August Media Infusion Focuses on Engaging Students in Science with Active Learning
This month's Media Infusion blogger, Elizabeth Ross Hubbell, discusses an instructional framework designed to help teachers alleviate students' misunderstandings about basic science concepts. Using this framework as the backdrop, Hubbell offers a variety of resources for teachers to create high-quality lessons that include: high-quality Content, opportunities for Understanding, and an Environment conducive to learning for all students (CUE). Coming In September: Using Social Media to Promote Civic Engagement, with Kristin Hokanson (Multidisciplinary, 6-12)

2008-2009 Distance Learning Guide Updates
Be sure to check the Distance Learning Guide to see the new schedules of programs for use by teachers and students. Already, programming by Better Kid Care, Colonial Williamsburg, Shamu TV, Prince William Network and the Fairfax Passport Network have been posted. Watch for new programs from Ball State University to be posted in the coming weeks. (To locate the guide, click on Other Resources in the left hand column, and then Distance Education Program Guide.

PBS announces new projects at press tour
PBS announced several new programs at the July Television Critics Association's summer press tour, including Ken Burns' "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" (Fall 2009) and a "Great Performances" presentation of "King Lear" starring Sir Ian McKellen (Broadcast date TBA)

Clock Ticking on Annenberg Satellite Feeds
With the Channel ending October 1, now is the time to store the programs--without cost --whether you are a school, a district or an individual. Although satellite distribution will cease October 1, 2008, free program access via Video on Demand will continue online. You will not be able to download the video streams, however.

The Presidents DVD Giveway
Get ready for the 2008 election with more than 37 hours of presidential history on DVD. Between now and August 31, confirm your subscription preferences for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE's free HTML e-newsletter for a chance to win a 15-disc box set of 20th century Presidential biographies on DVD. To be automatically entered in the drawing, please visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/contactus_staytuned.html and fill out the subscription form (Don't worry! You'll still only receive one copy of the newsletter.) Five winners will receive a set of DVDs from the acclaimed AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Presidents Collection. The set includes TR: THE STORY OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT, WOODROW WILSON, FDR, TRUMAN, THE KENNEDYS, LBJ, NIXON, CARTER, REAGAN, and GEORGE H.W. BUSH. For complete contest rules, visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/contactus_giveaway_2008.html

The Return of The Electric Company
In January 2009, we welcome the much-anticipated return of....THE ELECTRIC COMPANY! The updated series from Sesame Workshop is funded by the Ready to Learn grant and will debut as a weekly half-hour series in the PBS KIDS GO! block. But it definitely isn’t the Electric Company you may remember. It has a fresh new format, and it features musical styles that speak to a new generation of kids. While it still remains true to its original program goal – to help children develop fundamental reading skills – it's a whole new exciting and vibrant show with a talented cast.


PBS Launches Online Ed Community: pre-K-12 Educators Can Connect, Contribute and Grow
PBS has unveiled a new online community for preK-12 educators that supports the advancement of digital media content and technology integration in education. PBS Teachers Connect (pbsteachers.org/connect) provides teachers, school library media specialists, technology coordinators, early childhood educators and other education professionals with opportunities to share ideas, collaborate and support the effective use of instructional technology and multimedia to enhance student learning. Read more about it here.


PBS New Kids' Series starts Labor Day

"Sid the Science Kid" features Sid, an inquisitive youngster who tackles the everyday ideas that preschoolers find fascinating (Where does the garbage go? Why do we sneeze? How does orange juice get inside the orange?). The Jim Henson Company is producing the forty half-hour episodes of the series using the Henson Digital Performance Studio, a proprietary technology that allows puppeteers to perform digital characters in real time creating a more spontaneous and fresh result. Read more here.

"Martha Speaks" comes to PBS Kids
What if your dog could talk? Follow the adventures of Martha after alphabet soup gives her the power of speech. She gets jobs, foils bad guys, wins contests, and orders lots of steak! Based on the best selling books by Susan Meddaugh, Martha Speaks comes from the creators of Curious George and Arthur and is designed to bridge vocabulary gaps common to many young children.

PBS Adds iTunes U Content
Apple's iTunes U offerings have expanded with new content from the PBS network and PBS affiliated stations. PBS' new area on iTunes U includes teaching content, such as K-12 teachers' classroom resources organized by content like Earth and Space Science and Engineering; content on global history in regions including Africa, Asia, Europe and the middle East; series including Ken Burns' The War and The Jewish Americans; and QUEST: Science and Nature.

PBS KIDS to launch Children's Health Initiative To Fight Childhood Obesity
Online; grades K-12
In response to the increasing number of children facing risks from childhood obesity,
PBS KIDS is kicking off an innovative multi-platform children's health initiative to encourage kids and families to make healthy choices and help reverse the rising rates of obesity. The initiative will build upon PBS KIDS' content and resources that support a child's overall well being and health development. Details here.