Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project: Difference between revisions
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[[File:TV Guide 1961.jpg|thumb|Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project demonstrated]] |
[[File:TV Guide 1961.jpg|thumb|Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project demonstrated]] |
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[[File:Closed-Circuit Education Television Project.jpg|thumb|Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project demonstrated]] |
[[File:Closed-Circuit Education Television Project.jpg|thumb|Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project demonstrated]] |
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The ''' Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project ''' was the first closed-circuit television network in aiding elementary school teaching by the use of television programs. The six year project was developed initially in 1956 as a Pioneering Experiment in [[K-12|kindergarten to 12th grade]] education in [[Washington County, Maryland]]. The live-television and taped lessons were a supplement to the regular classroom instruction done by teachers and took up to 22 per cent of the student's learning time. The closed circuit network provided six channels of viewing lessons at any one time. The channels were providing 115 lessons per week to 45 Washington County schools. By 1959 there had been 7.500 television lessons given. The telecast closed circuit network was providing 19,000 elementary pupils in 45 county schools television lessons by 1962. The project television center compared to that of commercial television stations. It included five studios with state-of-the-art equipment. Large institutions like [[Bell Telephone Company]] and the [[Ford Foundation]] sponsored the project. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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[[William M. Brish]] had an idea in 1956 to experiment with teaching the [[K–12 (education)|K-12 grades]] using instruction by live television and pre-recorded programs.<ref name=tribute>{{cite web |url=https://i4weather.net/itv/message.htm|title= Dr. William M. Brish - A Message from Superintendent Brish 1963 |last1= Keefer |first1= Greg |date= |website= Washington County school district |publisher= Webmaster Greg Keefer |access-date= July |
[[William M. Brish]] had an idea in 1956 to experiment with teaching the [[K–12 (education)|K-12 grades]] using instruction by live television and pre-recorded programs.<ref name=tribute>{{cite web |url=https://i4weather.net/itv/message.htm|title= Dr. William M. Brish - A Message from Superintendent Brish 1963 |last1= Keefer |first1= Greg |date= |website= Washington County school district |publisher= Webmaster Greg Keefer |access-date= July 15, 2022}}</ref> Brish was Superintendent of Schools for [[Washington County, Maryland]], at the time.<ref name=tribute/> The Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project was instigated and dubbed 'Pioneering Experiment'.<ref name=timeline/> It was financed by the [[Electronic Industries Association]] and the Fund for the Advancement of Education of the [[Ford Foundation]]. The [[Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company]] was partly involved also in the financing.<ref name=BrishMessage>{{cite web |url= http://i4weather.net/message.htm |title= A Message From Superintendent Brish- 1963 |last1= Keefer |first1= Greg |date= |work= Washington County school district |publisher= Webmaster Greg Keefer |access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> It was a program costing $2,000,000 ({{Inflation|US|2,000,000|1961|fmt=eq|r=-6}}) and was spread out over a six-year term (1956–1961).<ref name=timeline>{{cite web |url= http://i4weather.net/timeline.htm |title= 50 YEARS OF INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, MARYLAND (A HISTORICAL TIMELINE – 1956 – 2006) |last1= Keefer |first1= Greg |date= |work= Washington County school district |publisher= Webmaster Greg Keefer |access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> The Ford Foundation Fund along with the Electronic Industries Association contributed some $200,000 ({{Inflation|US|200,000|1961|fmt=eq|r=-5}}) a year to the project over the six year period.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED013536.pdf |title= Washington County Television Report |date= |website= ERIC Education Resources Information Center |access-date= July 15, 2022}}</ref> These two organizations gave almost $1,500,000 ({{Inflation|US|1,500,000|1961|fmt=eq|r=-6}}) to the Project in the six years it was functional.<ref name=eight>{{cite journal |doi=10.5594/J09278 |title=Eight Years of Instructional Television in Washington County |journal=Journal of the SMPTE |volume=74 |issue=2 |pages=161–6 |year=1965 |last1=Brish |first1=William M }}</ref> |
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The Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project was not intended to take over the whole school day. Television lessons were intended to augment the regular school lessons and accomplish certain important things. They were another tool to education and an addition to text books, filmstrips, and other classroom tools used by teachers. By 1959 there had been 7,500 lessons given over closed circuit television. There were video taped lessons used in the six channels provided by the cable system. Regular television broadcasting used just one channel. These cable channels were providing 115 lessons per week to 45 county schools. The lessons were eight to 22 per cent of the student's day, depending on their grade and courses involved. At the time the idea of providing a conversational course in a foreign language like French or Spanish was being considered. Another consideration for the use of television lessons was adult education. There were college prep courses given in the project. Test results revealed that students on the Washington County television project in their schools had better gains in education than those not in the network.<ref name=TDM3_13_1959>{{cite news |last= |first= |title= Future Education Video Plans Revealed To Public |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105572668/the-daily-mail/ |work= The Daily Mail|page= 7 |location= Hagerstown, Maryland|date= March 13, 1959 |via= [[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}} |access-date= July 15, 2022 }}</ref> |
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The project that had started in 1956 progressed to provide simultaneous telecasting to some 19,000 elementary students in the 45 county schools by 1962. The project television center in [[Hagerstown, Maryland]], compared to that of commercial television stations and included five studios, each with state-of-the-art television cameras and lighting equipment. One film studio was equipped with four television cameras, two film projectors, several slide projectors and equipment for sound or film reproduction and it had a commercial grade video tape recorder.<ref name=TBDN6_11_1962>{{cite news |last=Harlacher |first=Frank |title=Maryland Education Official Describes His ETV Setup |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105547108/the-bangor-daily-news/|work= The Bangor Daily News |page= 1 |location= Bangor, Maine |date= June 11, 1962 |via= [[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}} |access-date= July 15, 2022 }}</ref> |
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There were about 30 school lessons broadcast daily by 1962 through the private closed circuit network, which made up a fraction of the total teaching given to the pupils. The studio teachers were recruited from the county regular teachers. The studio teachers worked as a team with the regular school room teachers in each subject area for the curriculum of televised instruction. Each televised lesson that the students watched was followed up by a regular school room teacher whose knowledge of the subject was par with the studio teacher so that the pupils' questions were answered correctly and laboratory work was done properly. That resulted in effective drills and testing.<ref name=TBDN6_11_1962/> |
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== Equipment == |
== Equipment == |
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[[File:1960s TV camera.jpg|thumb|upright 1.0|Typical 1960s TV camera]] |
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[[File:TV studios (26626656473).jpg|thumb|upright 1.0| Typical 1960s TV studio]] |
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The television related electronic equipment was provided free of charge by 75 manufacturers through the Electronic Industries Association. This equipment was valued at about $300,000.<ref name=report>{{cite web |url= http://i4weather.net/report.htm |title= WASHINGTON COUNTY CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION REPORT - 1963 |last1= Keefer |first1= Greg |date= |work= Washington County school district |publisher= Webmaster Greg Keefer |access-date= |
The television related electronic equipment was provided free of charge by 75 manufacturers through the Electronic Industries Association. This equipment was valued at about $300,000 ({{Inflation|US|300,000|1961|fmt=eq|r=-5}}).<ref name=report>{{cite web |url= http://i4weather.net/report.htm |title= WASHINGTON COUNTY CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION REPORT - 1963 |last1= Keefer |first1= Greg |date= |work= Washington County school district |publisher= Webmaster Greg Keefer |access-date=July 15, 2022}}</ref> Initially, in the summer of 1956 a [[coaxial cable]] system was set up and connected by [[Bell Telephone Company]].<ref name=timeline/> The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, with technical assistance from Bell Laboratories, had put together the closed-circuit signal system for broadcasting television to each of the schools.<ref name=timeline/> The electronic structure was transmitting equipment and amplifiers connected by 115 miles of grounded coaxial cable.<ref name=timeline/> Six lessons could be transmitted simultaneously over the cable system and used on 800 standard 21 inch televisions. The TV sets were distributed throughout classrooms, cafeterias, and auditoriums around the county.<ref name=timeline/> |
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Eight schools in Washington County were the first elementary schools to use the closed-circuit television network in teaching students with instructional television.<ref name=BrishMessage/>{{sfn|Kane|1997|p=184}}{{sfn|Seattler|2004|p=425}} The initial closed circuit system served about 6,000 pupils from eight elementary schools. All 45 public elementary schools in Washington County were connected to the closed circuit system by September 1963.{{sfn|Kane|1997|p=184}}{{sfn|Seattler|2004|p=425}}{{sfn|USGPO|1958|p=83}} Junior college students were selected to operate cameras and run the tutorial telecasts.<ref name=eight/> The project required that the educators get used to technical terms such as 'videcon', 'zoom', and 'dolly out'. Once associated with these terms and the basic operations Washington County then needed little professional and technical assistance for the undertaking. Other schools of other counties then soon followed the idea.<ref name=timeline/> |
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== Puppets == |
== Puppets == |
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== Awards == |
== Awards == |
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The '' Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project '' received the 1958 award of the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation National Mass Media Award for experimenting with educational television in teaching elementary school students.{{sfn|Board of Education|1959|p=13}} |
The '' Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project '' received the 1958 award of the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation National Mass Media Award for experimenting with educational television in teaching elementary school students.{{sfn|Board of Education|1959|p=13}} |
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== Demise == |
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The 6 year 'Pioneering Experiment' of the Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project instigated by Brish continued and developed into a Central Resource Center. The new concept was a combination of television, library, graphic arts, photography, and instructional material departments. Brish oversaw the television concept for 17 years and retired in 1973. The basis television educational supplement concept continued in Washington County in one form or another until 2006 when it became inactive altogether. The reason for the elimination of Washington County instructional television services was a lack of interest in the concept. Washington County taxpayers refused to support the project. Even though numerous studies showed that students that received supplemental televised instruction were consistently ahead of the normal learning curve the concept came to an end in Washington County, Maryland. The [[Instructional television|telecast concept]] is still done in one way or another throughout the United States in schools.<ref name=timeline/> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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== Further reading == |
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* [https://books.google.com/books?id=gw-OOwAACAAJ&dq=Washington%20County%20closed-circuit%20Educational%20Television%20Project&hl=en&sa=X&ei=iOXNUfHQNuuyygGwqIGADA&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA Washington County Closed-circuit Educational Television Project: Progress Report, March 1959] - detailed halfway progress report by Brish. |
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== Bibliography == |
== Bibliography == |
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* {{cite book|last=Board of Education|first=Hagerstown (Md.). |title=Washington County Closed-circuit Educational Television Project: Progress Report, March 1959|url=https:// |
* {{cite book|last=Board of Education|first=Hagerstown (Md.). |title=Washington County Closed-circuit Educational Television Project: Progress Report, March 1959|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112066372753&view=1up&format=plaintext&seq=7&skin=2021|year=1959|publisher=Board of Education|OCLC= 5704547}} |
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* Kane, Joseph Nathan (1997), ''Famous First Facts, A Record of First Happenings, Discoveries, and Inventions in American History'' (Fifth Edition), The H.W. Wilson Company, {{ISBN|0-8242-0930-3}} |
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* {{cite book|last= |
* {{cite book|last=USGPO|first= |title= Educational Television|url= |year=1958|publisher= United States Government|OCLC=968365970}} |
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| ⚫ | * {{cite book|last=Kane|first= Joseph Nathan|title= Famous First Facts|url= https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0824209303 |year=1997|publisher= The H.W. Wilson Company|ISBN=0-8242-0930-3|quote=item 3069, p. 184 ''The first elementary schools to use closed circuit televisions in teaching were eight public schools in Washington County, MD, which began using a closed-circuit system in September 1956.''}} |
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* {{cite book|last=Seattler|first=Paul |title=The Evolution of American Educational Technology (PB)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s1ThX561Z58C&pg=PA425|date= 2004|publisher=IAP|isbn=978-1-59311-139-7}} |
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[[Category:Public television in the United States]] |
[[Category:Public television in the United States]] |
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Revision as of 13:52, 15 July 2022
The Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project was the first closed-circuit television network in aiding elementary school teaching by the use of television programs. The six year project was developed initially in 1956 as a Pioneering Experiment in kindergarten to 12th grade education in Washington County, Maryland. The live-television and taped lessons were a supplement to the regular classroom instruction done by teachers and took up to 22 per cent of the student's learning time. The closed circuit network provided six channels of viewing lessons at any one time. The channels were providing 115 lessons per week to 45 Washington County schools. By 1959 there had been 7.500 television lessons given. The telecast closed circuit network was providing 19,000 elementary pupils in 45 county schools television lessons by 1962. The project television center compared to that of commercial television stations. It included five studios with state-of-the-art equipment. Large institutions like Bell Telephone Company and the Ford Foundation sponsored the project.
History
William M. Brish had an idea in 1956 to experiment with teaching the K-12 grades using instruction by live television and pre-recorded programs.[1] Brish was Superintendent of Schools for Washington County, Maryland, at the time.[1] The Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project was instigated and dubbed 'Pioneering Experiment'.[2] It was financed by the Electronic Industries Association and the Fund for the Advancement of Education of the Ford Foundation. The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company was partly involved also in the financing.[3] It was a program costing $2,000,000 (equivalent to $21,000,000 in 2024) and was spread out over a six-year term (1956–1961).[2] The Ford Foundation Fund along with the Electronic Industries Association contributed some $200,000 (equivalent to $2,100,000 in 2024) a year to the project over the six year period.[4] These two organizations gave almost $1,500,000 (equivalent to $16,000,000 in 2024) to the Project in the six years it was functional.[5]
The Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project was not intended to take over the whole school day. Television lessons were intended to augment the regular school lessons and accomplish certain important things. They were another tool to education and an addition to text books, filmstrips, and other classroom tools used by teachers. By 1959 there had been 7,500 lessons given over closed circuit television. There were video taped lessons used in the six channels provided by the cable system. Regular television broadcasting used just one channel. These cable channels were providing 115 lessons per week to 45 county schools. The lessons were eight to 22 per cent of the student's day, depending on their grade and courses involved. At the time the idea of providing a conversational course in a foreign language like French or Spanish was being considered. Another consideration for the use of television lessons was adult education. There were college prep courses given in the project. Test results revealed that students on the Washington County television project in their schools had better gains in education than those not in the network.[6]
The project that had started in 1956 progressed to provide simultaneous telecasting to some 19,000 elementary students in the 45 county schools by 1962. The project television center in Hagerstown, Maryland, compared to that of commercial television stations and included five studios, each with state-of-the-art television cameras and lighting equipment. One film studio was equipped with four television cameras, two film projectors, several slide projectors and equipment for sound or film reproduction and it had a commercial grade video tape recorder.[7]
There were about 30 school lessons broadcast daily by 1962 through the private closed circuit network, which made up a fraction of the total teaching given to the pupils. The studio teachers were recruited from the county regular teachers. The studio teachers worked as a team with the regular school room teachers in each subject area for the curriculum of televised instruction. Each televised lesson that the students watched was followed up by a regular school room teacher whose knowledge of the subject was par with the studio teacher so that the pupils' questions were answered correctly and laboratory work was done properly. That resulted in effective drills and testing.[7]
Equipment
.jpg?lang=en)
The television related electronic equipment was provided free of charge by 75 manufacturers through the Electronic Industries Association. This equipment was valued at about $300,000 (equivalent to $3,200,000 in 2024).[8] Initially, in the summer of 1956 a coaxial cable system was set up and connected by Bell Telephone Company.[2] The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, with technical assistance from Bell Laboratories, had put together the closed-circuit signal system for broadcasting television to each of the schools.[2] The electronic structure was transmitting equipment and amplifiers connected by 115 miles of grounded coaxial cable.[2] Six lessons could be transmitted simultaneously over the cable system and used on 800 standard 21 inch televisions. The TV sets were distributed throughout classrooms, cafeterias, and auditoriums around the county.[2]
Eight schools in Washington County were the first elementary schools to use the closed-circuit television network in teaching students with instructional television.[3][9][10] The initial closed circuit system served about 6,000 pupils from eight elementary schools. All 45 public elementary schools in Washington County were connected to the closed circuit system by September 1963.[9][10][11] Junior college students were selected to operate cameras and run the tutorial telecasts.[5] The project required that the educators get used to technical terms such as 'videcon', 'zoom', and 'dolly out'. Once associated with these terms and the basic operations Washington County then needed little professional and technical assistance for the undertaking. Other schools of other counties then soon followed the idea.[2]
Puppets
The use of puppet shows on television proved to be popular with the elementary school students. The puppets showed health habits, story telling, and Christmas themes.[12]
Awards
The Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project received the 1958 award of the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation National Mass Media Award for experimenting with educational television in teaching elementary school students.[13]
Demise
The 6 year 'Pioneering Experiment' of the Washington County Closed-Circuit Educational Television Project instigated by Brish continued and developed into a Central Resource Center. The new concept was a combination of television, library, graphic arts, photography, and instructional material departments. Brish oversaw the television concept for 17 years and retired in 1973. The basis television educational supplement concept continued in Washington County in one form or another until 2006 when it became inactive altogether. The reason for the elimination of Washington County instructional television services was a lack of interest in the concept. Washington County taxpayers refused to support the project. Even though numerous studies showed that students that received supplemental televised instruction were consistently ahead of the normal learning curve the concept came to an end in Washington County, Maryland. The telecast concept is still done in one way or another throughout the United States in schools.[2]
References
- ^ a b Keefer, Greg. "Dr. William M. Brish - A Message from Superintendent Brish 1963". Washington County school district. Webmaster Greg Keefer. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Keefer, Greg. "50 YEARS OF INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, MARYLAND (A HISTORICAL TIMELINE – 1956 – 2006)". Washington County school district. Webmaster Greg Keefer. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Keefer, Greg. "A Message From Superintendent Brish- 1963". Washington County school district. Webmaster Greg Keefer. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ "Washington County Television Report" (PDF). ERIC Education Resources Information Center. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Brish, William M (1965). "Eight Years of Instructional Television in Washington County". Journal of the SMPTE. 74 (2): 161–6. doi:10.5594/J09278.
- ^ "Future Education Video Plans Revealed To Public". The Daily Mail. Hagerstown, Maryland. March 13, 1959. p. 7. Retrieved July 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ a b Harlacher, Frank (June 11, 1962). "Maryland Education Official Describes His ETV Setup". The Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. p. 1. Retrieved July 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ Keefer, Greg. "WASHINGTON COUNTY CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION REPORT - 1963". Washington County school district. Webmaster Greg Keefer. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Kane 1997, p. 184.
- ^ a b Seattler 2004, p. 425.
- ^ USGPO 1958, p. 83.
- ^ Board of Education 1959, p. 11.
- ^ Board of Education 1959, p. 13.
Bibliography
- Board of Education, Hagerstown (Md.). (1959). Washington County Closed-circuit Educational Television Project: Progress Report, March 1959. Board of Education. OCLC 5704547.
- Kane, Joseph Nathan (1997). Famous First Facts. The H.W. Wilson Company. ISBN 0-8242-0930-3.
item 3069, p. 184 The first elementary schools to use closed circuit televisions in teaching were eight public schools in Washington County, MD, which began using a closed-circuit system in September 1956.
- Seattler, Paul (2004). The Evolution of American Educational Technology (PB). IAP. ISBN 978-1-59311-139-7.