Video: Remote Collections: Television

Can you watch the Weather Channel and Headline News all day? Are you a fan of Gilligan's Island, Monty Python, or Mister Rogers Neighborhood returns? Maybe you're involved with current favorites like CSI, 24, or Sopranos. Through sporting events, soaps, sitcoms, and dramas, you can experience people, places, cultures, and ideas from around the world.

There are two ways for people to experience television programming. First, they can watch the scheduled shows presented through broadcast, cable, satellite, or webcast. Second, they can enjoy video recordings that can be purchased on videotape, DVD, or downloaded through the Internet.

Television Programming

Dozens of producers develop hundreds of programs each year. Some programs are watched millions of times, while others gather dust on the shelf. Like the film industry, there are a wide range of television genres including dramas (science fiction, fantasy, horror, cops), reality shows, action, soap operas, game shows, sports, sitcoms, animated, music programs, music videos, children's, news, weather, documentaries, instructional, educational, talk shows, variety, religion, infomercial, miniseries, and more.

Go to Television from eduScapes 42eXplore and learn about how television is made and where to locate programming. Check programming schedules around the world at TVZap from Buttle and Tuttle Ltd.

Video Recordings

Entertainment Series. Popular television series are now available on video including classics like I Love Lucy, Twilight Zone, MASH and Monty Python's Flying Circus. Newer programs like Friends, Simpsons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek, Outer Limits, X-Files, Sex in the City, Sopranos, and 24 are also available.

Series are popular in libraries. People like to hold television marathon parties or spend a rainy weekend with a series. In some cases, people prefer the video format over broadcast television because they are commercial free. They can also be viewed all at once rather than stringing it out over days or weeks.

Specialty Shows. People like to purchase television programs that aren't available in all areas. Forexample, some people don't get HBO. Programs like 1998's epic miniseries From Earth to the Moon. Tuskegee Airmen, Wit and And the Band Played On are examples.

Public Television and HBO have wonderful special events and series. You can depend on Ken Burns for great documentaries.

Many libraries purchase these types of programs for people who don't subscribe to specialized television services, don't want to record them for later viewing, or simply missed the programs when they were aired.

Informational Programs. From Discovery Channel's Crocodile Hunter and Wolves At Our Door to PBSs popular NOVA series, a wide variety of informational programs are available. Many of these were original filmed for television, while others were adapted for television from theatrical releases. For example, National Geographic's Lewis and Clark is a nice, short overview of the original journey originally produced as an IMAX movie. National Geographic is well-known for their television programming.

Many informational programs are available in sets at a reduced provide. For example, the Sharks video contains both Great White and The Ultimate Guide to Sharks.

Instructional and Educational Programs. Whether you're remodeling a house, pricing antiques, or exploring ancient civilizations, there are lots of programs that will provide direction and insights. Stations such as A & E, Hallmark, Discovery Channel, and PBS provide these programs along with entertainment and informational programs.

Children's Programs. Some children's programming is educational, but much of it is purely entertainment. Programming from Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network provide a combination of shows. Popular shows include Spongebob Square pants and Rugrats.

Other favorites include the The Wild Thornberrys, Big Blue House, Kratt's Creatures, Little Bear, Dora the Explorer, and Franklin are a few other favorites.

Skim the article A Report on Children's Television from Children Now.

Television in the Classroom

Pride and Prejudice, Shackleton, Horatio Hornblower, and Jane Austen's Emma are a few examples of A&E movies. These programs and thousands of others are used each year by classroom teachers.

One of the biggest promoters of video in the classroom is a group of organizations from the cable industry.

Visit Cable in the Classroom website. Don't miss seeing the latest issue of Access Learning, a monthly guide to cable television's education resources. Explore their other online materials. You can also view the resources available on television and the web by choosing a subject area.

PBS TeacherSource has a page for library media specialists including schedules and taping information, plus links for media literacy.

Then, use the following links to visit television websites.

• TV Resources - Network & Cable Channels from TV Acres
• Video and Television in the Classroom from Sci+MATE

 

Television Resources

Go to Cable in the Classroom's Cable Network Offerings page. It contains great overviews for each of the well-known cable resources. The overview includes their educational initiatives, online resources, as well as a link to their website.

A&E. The A&E programming includes a variety of stations and programs including Biography.com, HistoryChannel.com, History Channel - Classroom, HistoryInternational.com.

AMC (American Movie Classics)

BET.

C-SPAN. Video archives and live programming

CBC Kids. Canadian Broadcasting video archives and live programming

CBS. In addition to regular programs, they also support Nickelodeon, and Nick Jr. (Teachers.nick.com).

• Bill Nye
• Blue's Clues
• Bob the Builder
• Dora the Explorer
• Franklin
• Little Bear
• Little Bill
• Maggie
• Max & Ruby
• Oswald
• Rubbadubbers
• Whoopi's Littleburg

Court TV.

Discovery Channel. The Discovery Channel contains great programming for children and adults. Their programming includes Discovery, Discovery Kids, Discovery Health, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, and TLC. They have a website for educators at Discovery School. They currently have two series just for classroom use: Assignment Discovery and TLC Elementary Classroom.

These programs can be recorded for free or purchased at the Teacher'S Store. In addition to their great programming, they have a wonderful website that includes a great Lesson Plans Library. You can preview many of the programs on their Video Clips page. In addition, the website contains other teaching tools such as a Puzzlemaker, Quiz Center, Lesson Planner, and Worksheet Generator.

Disney. ABC News and Disney Channel are part of the same family.

Fox.

Latino Public Network

National Geographic. National Geographic has their own cable station and also produces programming for others such as PBS.

• National Geographic Channel - some streaming
• Cable in the Classroom Materials

NBC. This group includes MSNBC, CNBC, and Telemundo.

• Bravo (Bravo in the Classroom)

OvationTV. - arts network

PBS is a huge organization with many programs.The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is an umbrella for a number of television, radio, and digital services including NPR and PBS. Their Education division contains many online resources to go with their broadcasts. Most programs can be viewed on television or purchased on video.

• American Experience - PBS program on people and culture
• American Family - PBS program on family
• Hometime - PBS & TLC
• Ken Burns American Stories - PBS programs by Ken Burns
• Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet - PBS
• Nature - PBS program on nature
• No Child Left Behind - program broadcast on some PBS stations
• Nova (Teacher Page) - Recent edition is Mars Dead or Alive.
• PBS Kids
  • Programs for Young Children - PBS Ready to Learn
    • Arthur
    • Barney
    • Berenstain Bears
    • Between the Lions
    • Boohbah
    • Caillou
    • Clifford
    • CyberChase
    • Dragon Tales
    • Geoge Shrinks
    • Mister Rogers
    • Reading Rainbow
    • Sagwa: The Chinese Siamese Cat
    • Sesame Street
    • Teletubbies
    • Zoboomafoo
    • Zoom
      
      
  • Programs for Tweens
  • Kratt's Creatures & Kratt Brothers
  • Don't Buy It - consumers
  • Democracy Project and Learning Adventures in Citizenship
  • Backyard Jungle - ecology
  • It's My Life - social issues
  • Plastic Fork Diaries - food and bodies
• TV for Teachers
• PBS Parents
• WHYY-TV PBS - public television station in Wilmington, Delaware
  • - sharing history
  • Africans in America - Across the Generation some video online; good guide
  • It's a Mitzvah!
  • Mural - guide
  • Thomas Eakins - guide
  • Workshop of the World
• SesameWorkshop
• Sites Related to Public Broadcasting from Current.org

SciFi. Science Fiction programming

Showtime. This group includes Showtime and The Movie Channel.

Time Warner & Turner Learning Programs. Turner Learning contains lots of educational programming.

• Cartoon Network
• CNN Student News contains a daily guide, archives, transcripts and lots of activities. Go directly to the CNN Student Programming at CNN Student News. You can see video clips if you are a free subscriber.
• TNT Learning area television programs available on TNT including Animal Farm, Buffalo Soldiers, David Copperfield, The English Patient, Hamlet, and many others. Guides are available at the website. They provide excellent models for effective viewing. These programs can be viewed on TNT or purchased.
• TCM By the Book contains web resources to go with classics movies. These include Lives on Film, English Literature, and Stage to Screen projects.
• HBO. Programs include Hearing Her Voice, Telling Her Story and Iron Jawed Angels.
• WB's 7th Heaven contains online educational guides.

UPN.

Weather Classroom. Weather Channel materials.

Others. Channel One is an educational television program system for schools.

Some organizations provide programming recommendations in particular areas. Explore some of the following websites.

• Resources for Educators - National Council for the Social Studies

Off-Air Recording

Read The Fair Use Guidelines for Off-Air Recording of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes and Instructional Television (TV) Programming and Taping Guidelines both from PBS TeacherSource.

Also find related information at Rules and Permissions for Audio-visual Media Copyright Law and Audio-visual Materials from Brown University

Some of the programming guides for using educational videos are excellent. For example, Animal Farm's guide provides an introduction, before and after viewing ideas, historical background, and other resources. Examine one of the guides from TNT Learning. Develop a guide for a video that currently has no guide. The guide could be for a class or for a video club or discussion group.

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