The Three Faces of Television Donald N. Wood

Educational televisi'Jn. The very term today evokes connotations of acceptability, status, achievement and ambiguity. Exactly what is it?

It is a means for enriching a school curriculum with occasional programs. It is a series of how-to­do-it programs. It is a means for a total revision of a school system in the South Pacific. It is an effective medium for reaching an adult audience with informal education. It is a vehicle for ad­ministrative communication. It is Shakespeare brought into your living room. It is a continuing education project for a university. It is a way of overcoming a specific teacher shortage. It is a ma­jor classroom resource used on a regularly­scheduled basis. It is a confrontation between the Establishment and the rebels. It is an in-service micro-teaching project. It is a series of evening documentaries on race relations. It is a single overhead camera in a science lab.

Actually, "educational television" is much broader than any single application or approach. It is an all-pervasive, multi-faceted, synergistic, all-encompassing environment/medium/experi­ence/message. It is both a means and an end. Both panacea and problem. Both tool and tool­maker.

This article attempts a broad overview of television used for educational purposes - trying to place it in some kind of meaningful perspective. In approaching this objective, television is ex­amined from three viewpoints: as a theoretical framework, as a practical educational tool, and as a social phenomenon.

Television is a Means of Communication From a theoretical viewpoint, it must first be

stressed that television is just a means for send­ing "information" (electronic signals) over a

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distance. That is all it isl Television is basically just a means of communication.

If one were to delve deeply enough into com­munications theory, one would find oneself deal­ing with basic theories of education; conversely, all theories of instruction are closely related to theories of communication. From a behavioral standpoint one could present a strong argument for the following conclusion: education is com­munication; communication is education!

Therefore, television is a means of education. It is a "carrier of knowledge."

What it carries - what information it trans­mits - depends upon the educational objectives for which it is being used.

Television and Print. A strong analogy can be made between television and the printing press. Both are basically communications media for getting information from one place to another.

Like printed materials, television can be used for several different purposes- to entertain, to persuade, to inform. Like printed materials, television can be de­signed for a variety of audiences- from pre­school to post-graduate, from slow learners to the gifted. Like printed materials, television can be used to produce materials of varying quality - ranging from high-quality valuable programs to low­grade trash. Like printed materials, television can be distributed on various scales - from national network distribution to single classroom closed-circuit applications to individual retriev­al of stored electronic information. The analogy could be extended in many areas

- including type of education [formal instruction,

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informal education), source of materials (com­mercial producers, non-profit organizations), utilization (need for classroom teacher), etc. For every use of "educational print" a comparable use for television technology can be found.

Of course, the obvious differences between the print and television media cannot be overlooked. One medium utilizes abstract symbols on a tangi­ble printed page, while the other consists of actual sound and pictures in an ephemeral medium. One medium is well suited to review and detailed study, while the other possesses more impact and dramatic reinforcement.

But from a pedagogical and administrative point of view, both the textbook and the television system do share many of the same organizational characteristics; all media must be viewed from a similar perspective - having certain functions in common, sharing similar purposes, fulfilling related needs.

Production and Distribution. It may be worthwhile to take a closer look at two of the characteristics mentioned above - production and distribution. These two functions can, and should, be examined as two separate and distinct processes. Yet, the functions of production and distribution are often vaguely associated and in­tertwined in a nondescript relationship when terms such as "open-circuit" and "closed-circuit" are used. Somehow, there is an implied assump­tion that "quality" production is related to open­circuit, widespread distribution; and that "simple" production refers to closed-circuit systems. This is not necessarily the case: the two functions are indeed separable.

Production techniques, for example, may range from ambitious film and studio extravaganzas costing thousands of dollars to simple one-camera demonstrations costing a few cents. Especially in School Television is this wide range of production approaches obvious.

At one extreme, we have the need for na­tionally-produced and standardized School Television materials where we have common na­tionwide needs. This is one obvious area where personnel, time, and money need to be pooled in order to do the best possible job for all of the na­tion. Yet we find hundreds of individual School TV centers producing essentially the same pro­grams over and over again - perpetuating mediocrity and needless duplication - all in the name of district autonomy and local control.

Returning to our analogy to print: try to im­agine the result if every school district insisted on producing all of its own textbooks - or its

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own validated new curriculum in each subject area.

At the other extreme, we have the need for in­creased quality and valid uses of television at the local and classroom level. Just as there are many different uses of inexpensive print equipment at the school level (photo-copiers, spirit duplicators, mimeograph machines, chalkboards), so are there many applications for inexpensive television equipment (vidicon cameras, helical-scan recorders, etc.).

In fact, a cursory listing of some of the local, minimum production, applications of simple television equipment for local uses would include the fo11owing: single-classroom, audio-visual uses: image magnification; simple demonstra­tions: pupil training and evaluation of perfor­mance skills : re-scheduling and delaying of "net­work" broadcasts; "library" exchange of tele­vised materials: closed-circuit distribution of AV films: non-academic programming for students; in-service teacher training: extra-curricular ac­tivities; observation purposes: administrative communication; public information uses.

Once a television segment is produced whether recorded or live - it may then be distributed through any of a number of transmission methods : broadcasting stations (VHF or UHF), closed-circuit systems (video or RF), 2500 megaHertz stations, satellites, regional networks, microwave, mailing of videotapes, etc.

A distinction is sometimes made between open­circuit broadcasting and c 1 o s e d ~ circuit transmission as if these two means of dissemina­tion were irrevocably opposed to each other in terms of philosophy and purpose. This is not necessarily so. Actually, the only point that may be pertinent is that closed-circuit systems are generally more economical for reaching small numbers of viewers [e.g., for formal instructional programming on a limited basis): and open-circuit broadcasting is more effective for reaching large numbers of viewers at home (e.g., for gen~ral,

evening viewing). It should also be noted that the above descrip­

tion of distribution alternatives applies to the dissemination of all types of electronic in­formation - dots and bits of electronic signals -including computer instructions, data bits, high­quality productions, films, micro-teaching demonstrations, voice communications, still pic­tures, tele-type, slow-scan pictures from Mars, etc.

The above section underscores the theoretical concept that television incorporates production and transmission configurations for educational applications ranging from one extreme of scope

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and purpose to the other - with all shades of gray in between. ETV materials may be devel­oped in New York or Washington - to be viewed by a million viewers simultaneously - or they may be developed by one teacher in the corner of a classroom - to be viewed by five students.

Integra!ion with Other Media/Technology. Television must also be examined in another theoretical context: the relationship of television to other media technology. This is especially true as we look at television used for formal school­ing purposes.

Television is part of the total media picture: it is a major factor in the New Technology. In some simple local applications (as outlined above), ETV can be seen as "just another" audio-visual tool. Yet, at the same time, television encompasses all other media: films, audio tapes, print, overhead projectors, charts, the podium, models, slides, etc. As a medium of production, it can combine all other AV materials and media: as a means of dissemination, it can transmit all other AV materials. Television cannot be considered in isolation. Increasingly, television must be viewed as one approach - an important approach - in a multi-faceted, multi-media educational program. Even today, it is difficult to draw a valid distinc­tion between School TV, audiovisual projects, and library concerns:

Is the inexpensive portable video recorder an ETV or AV tool?

Does the distribution of an AV film via a school closed-circuit system fall under the jurisdiction of School TV or AV?

Who is in charge of the development of audio and video media carrels?

What about the establishment of video tape libraries, analogous to AV film libraries?

Is not the overhead TV camera merely an ex­tension of other AV techniques?

Under whose jurisdiction falls the development of regional storage and retrieval systems us­ing television as a means for disseminating printed information?

It is with considerations such as these in mind that we can underline the futility of designing arbitrary distinctions between various media -television, books, films, audio tapes, charts, filmstrips, pictures, blackboards, et cetera.

It may be that a more realistic educational and administrative organization could be made in terms of the functions or processes of various media (rather then among the type of media). A "functions organization" of media might include the following categories.

{1) Acquisition {purchase and lease of printed

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materials, 8mm film loops, television tele­lessons, audio tapes, pictures, slides, charts, etc.).

(2) Production (local production of materials in the above media categories).

(3) Storage and retrieval ("library" functions which would encompass all print and non­print materials listed above).

(4} Distribution (open-circuit and closed-cir­cuit television systems, film libraries, book­mobiles, resource centers).

(5) Utilization (effective classroom implemen­tation and utilization of all media and materials).

It is this type of process organization that leads to the true integration of all "carriers of knowledge" in a "systems" approach to education. It is this type of organization that leads to the concept of the establishment of a meaningful multi-media "total library" approach to in­structional materials.

All of the previous discussion has been an at­tempt to place television in a theoretical framework, looking at the medium from several different viewpoints - as compared to print, as a medium of production, as a means of dissemina­tion, and as a part of the larger media/technology field. The underlying theme has been that television is basically a means of communication.

Television is an Educational Tool

So, how do we transform a theoretical medium of communication into a practical educational tool? This section is a look at one means of categorizing the uses of television in a formal schooling context as well as for informal educa­tional viewing. Television can be considered within at least four educational settings: direct instruction, informal education, in-service teacher education, and administrative purposes. The following section merely outlines some con­siderations in each of these categories.

Direct Instruction. The most obvious use of School Television - beaming instructional materials directly to the students in the classroom - may be broken down into the tradi­tional categories of total teaching (no classroom teacher assuming any i n s t r u c t i o n a 1 responsibility), major resource (comparisons to heavy reliance upon a textbook), or supplemental (enrichment, occasional, irregular viewing]. But, regardless of this type of orientation, certain characteristics of television - pertaining to the general nature of the medium, to production fac­tors, to dissemination advantages, and to cur­riculum implications - can be identified.

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First of all, several broad characteristics of the nature of the medium are obvious. The medium is ubiquitous; it is everywhere about us. Parents at home can witness a portion of the actual in· structional situation; institutionalized students can more easily keep pace with their classmates. Television is inherently a motivating medium: it is a change of pace. Television is - or can be (at the discretion of the classroom teacher) - an in­tegral part of the learning situation: it is used on a regularly-scheduled basis, integrated into the curriculum (more so then, say, occasional enrich­ment films).

From a production standpoint, television can be used to combine and present other audio-visual resources and materials; it can be used to direct the viewer's attention to specific items: it can control and instantaneously change picture and sound: it can facilitate editing of materials. Film, of course, is a comparable production medium; but television is a more economical method of us­ing basic film techniques: television encompasses film.

Television is also a simple audio-visual pro­duction tool - for single-room end image­magnification purposes. The overhead television camera may be considered a super-overhead­opaque-projector-with-zoom-lens.

As a means of dissemination, television is a medium of widespread distribution - whether one is distributing a simple demonstration to the classroom next door via a closed-circuit, or presenting a live United Nations debate to schools throughout the entire globe vie satellites. "Widespread dissemination" is relative.

This widespread distribution, however, makes it economically feasible to share resources on a widespread basis: good teachers, rare artifacts, field trips, inaccessible phenomena, dangerous ex­periments, end - perhaps most importantly -preparation time of the TV studio teacher.

Television is both a means for large-group in­struction and an approach to individualized in­struction (through random-access systems).

From a curriculum context, television is a means for standardization - implementing cur­riculum reforms throughout a large region, pro­viding a minimum foundation of educational ex­periences.

Television is a means of recording and preserv­ing the best teaching efforts of a given teacher or teacher-production-curriculum team. Yet, at the same time, television is also a means of rapid revision of curricular materials {contrasted with textbooks and films).

Informal Education. In this category the entire

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realm of Public Television - the general, eve­ning, non-systematized programming of virtually all noncommercial television stations - should be included, as well as commercial programming of educational merit.

This includes cultural programs, public affairs presentations, and out-of -school children's pro­gramming. The vast scope of this category of pro­gramming would include everything from the best of National Educational Television to the simplest local panel discussion. All categories of programming from a series of lectures on local history to a national expose of consumer fraud. Some may be presented within a structured series format: others will be "one-shots." Some may be designed to be viewed in discussion groups: most will not.

Within a "schooling" context, many of these evening programs can be assigned for "homework" viewing. And an astute classroom teacher will frequently be able to capitalize upon an occasional outstanding Special from the previous evening - even when it was not as­signed as required viewing.

Evening television also presents many op· portunities for more systematized adult in­struction. Courses ranging from reading (Opera· tion Alphabet} to music (Folk Guitar} to cooking (The French Chef} may be available. A complete high school curriculum (TV High School] makes it possible to obtain the equivalent of a high school diploma over television. And when we consider the Chicago Junior College televised cur­riculum, we have come almost full cycle. The line between School Television and Public Television becomes somewhat hazy.

In-Service Teacher Education. The use of television for in-service training and education of teachers could be discussed in two basic categories. One large area, of course, is the pro­duction of series-oriented formal "lessons." These may be produced on a local, regional. or national level. They may consist of a single demonstration or of a college-credit course of dozens of telecasts. They may be offered in the early morning hours, during school, or after school.

Connected with this type of programming might be the use of the portable video recorder to make these materials more adaptable for local uses. Broadcast in-service programs can be recorded off the air (with clearance, where necessary), and then played back in a more suitable configuration

after-school seminars, co n c e n t r a t e d workshops, informal evening viewing sessions, etc.

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Another whole category of in-service use of television would be the "micro-teaching" ap­plications and related approaches - using television as a mirror for self-confrontation. The concept of recording a classroom teacher present­ing a lesson and then playing back the recording for a critique has many possibilities. A short, micro-lesson may be recorded, or a lengthy seg­ment of the teacher's classroom activity may be recorded. Many configurations are possible. Many other in-service applications could be detailed.

Outside of the schooling context, the medium can also be used as an in-service tool for many other business and professional groups: medical, law-enforcement, financial, industrial, etc.

Administrative Purposes. Finally, the use of television as a practical educational tool would have to include various other administrative functions of the medium. The television system could be used for many different kinds of ad­ministrative communications - intra-school, in­tra-district, and inter-district.

Television is an observation tool. Many special areas could be monitored by a television camera : playgrounds, study halls, cafeterias, corridors, etc. This conceivably could free teachers from these menial assignments. The medium could facilitate observation of classroom situations by student teachers.

The public information uses of television can­not be overlooked : programs ranging from filmed documentaries over open-circuit stations (com­mercial or noncommercial), to simple demonstra­tions recorded for a PT A meeting. They may be blatantly obvious PR attempts or orientation pro­grams introducing parents to new school projects.

Schools may establish their own "library" uses of the television medium - limited inter-school exchange of School Television programming to meet specific needs. Perhaps the distribution of popular AV films and other materials using a school's closed-circuit system (instead of tradi­tional distribution arrangements} could be in­cluded in this category.

Television can be used to prepare instructions and simple demonstrations for substitute teachers: (a) when authorized absences can be anticipated specific programs can be recorded; (b} substitute programs can be prepared and held on a stand-by basis, to be used when unexpected absences occur.

Still other administrative uses might fall into that broad area of research and development: ad­ministering standardized quizzes and ex­aminations: obtaining immediate feedback (through a multiple-channel response system} to

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test items: validation of new curricular programs: and the initiation of pilot programs on a controlled basis.

As with the above categories, many parallel uses of television for administrative purposes in business and industry are also suggested.

The list could be continued: it could be organized along any of a number of approaches. The categories of direct instruction, informal education, in-service education, end ad­ministrative purposes serve, perhaps, to exemplify one practical framework of television as an educational tool. School Television is not a single project, approach, production, or delivery system. It is a very flexible, unique, ubiquitous, im­mediate means of communication that can be used for virtually unlimited practical applica­tions.

Television is a Message

Having looked at television from a theoretical viewpoint (as a means of communication) and from a practical standpoint (as an educational tool), we now turn to television from a social perspective (es a message). The full significance of the impact of television is difficult - if not im­possible - to grasp. Short of Marshell McLuhan and a small hendfull of other oracles, perhaps on­ly future historians will be able to fully com­prehend the era we ere presently experiencing.

To begin with, we must accept Father John Culkin's observation that we are all P-0-B's -"print-oriented-bastards."1 The present genera­tion of educators and administrators lack the vis­ceral "gut" understanding/orientation of tele­vision within which today's NOW generation has been raised. We can never fully empathize with those who emerged from the womb to perceive the world through e kinescope tube. Our under­standing of the television environment/medium/ experience/message can never be more then academic.

It has been pointed out that the typical first grader has already viewed 3,000 to 5,000 hours of television before ever stepping into a classroom; that the television set(s) in en average household is (ere) turned on between five end six hours every day; that the typical high school graduate will have spent more time watching television than sitting in formal schooling situations by the time he graduates. These are the facts of the television generation that we cannot ignore -yet, that we do not know what to do with.

Dr. Martin Maloney aptly described our genera­tion's dilemma when he observed, "Television is still a new medium, and educators have not yet

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learned how to think about themselves in relation to it ... Learning a workable and comfortable stance to take with respect to television is likely to be a continuing project, both for teachers and for students."2 What implications does this hold for television as part of the curriculum? For other subjects in the curriculum? For accelerating other changes within our schooling systems?

Television os Port of the Curriculum. What ere we doing to incorporate "television" per se as a proper area for study within our curricula? "To fail to prepare kids to be intelligent consumers of television films and the whole schmeer today is to fail to prepare them to live intelligently in real life in the real world."3 We stress the four skills of language arts - reeding, writing, speaking, end listening. But what about viewing? Or shooting and editing? The camera and recorder may be as basic tomorrow as the pencil and paper are today.

We ere concerned with Children's Literature. But are we ready to come to grips with the "real world" of today's literature for children, the Saturday morning TV line-up: Casper, Superman, Johnny Quest, Bullwinkle, Milton the Monster, the Herculoids, Spece Ghost, ad infinitum? Can we ignore this "literature" if we ere to be relevant? No less a literary personage than John Steinbeck made the following observation:

I run into people who seem to feel that litera­ture is all words and that words should pref­erably be a little stuffy. Who knows whet lit­erature is? The literature of the Cro Magnan is painted on the walls of the caves of Alta­mira. Who knows but that the literature of the future will be projected on clouds? Our present argument that literature is the written and printed word in poetry, drama, and the novel has no very real basis in fact.4 Much more could be done with formal courses

in mass media, television production, visual arts, propaganda, criticism and analysis, etc. Also, un­doubtedly, substantial educational benefits could be derived from extra-curricular activities and projects: production clubs, studio crews, and other broadcasting activities.

One of the most exciting and urgent possibilities lies in the area of preparing students for the day when reading and writing may ac­tually play a much less prominent role then they do today. Malcolm Crowley raised this question in his essay, "The Next Fifty Years in American Literature:"

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A final possibility must be considered that printed literature in the future will be written for end read only by scholars. For the public et large it might give way to picture books, or to spoken end tape-recorded stories, or else to

dramas and serials composed for television or the new medium that will come after it.5

Perhaps the ability to "skim" an audio tape (at three or four times its recorded speed) might prove to be as important in the future as reading comprehension is today.

Television as Facilitator of New Curricular Ob­jectives. Television also plays en important societal role as a facilitator of new curricular ob­jectives in other subject areas.

Lewis A. Rhodes, former Director of the Na­tional Project for Improvement of Televised Instruction, likes to make an analogy between television end the elevator. For untold centuries, man had to limit his architectural structures to two or three stories. As a practical concern, man simply could not plan to erect any building with more stories then he could comfortably walk to the top of. Then the elevator was invented! And for many years, what did the architects do? They installed elevators in two end three story buildings - merely so that man could get to the top of conventional-height buildings in a more efficacious manner. The possibility of building a twenty-story or a hundred-story building did not immediately occur to him. The elevator was seen simply as a more efficient means of getting where we had traditionally gone.

And we are at a similar stage with television at the present time. We are using television (a com­munication/transportation system much like the invention of the elevator) to get to the top of ex­isting structures (traditional educational goals end objectives). The fact that we can use television to build new educational structures has not yet fully dawned upon us.

In Social Studies, for example, cannot television bring the curriculum alive - turning it into a "public affairs" curriculum - that is, not merely a cursory chronicling of today's' headlines, but a true in-depth study of "what it's really like"? How many History classes were still reading from ten-year-old textbooks about the 1954 Supreme Court school desegregation decision, while the students surreptitiously followed local riot reports on their transistor radios?

In perhaps less dramatic - but no less mean­ingful - ways cannot television be used for similar objectives in other subj~ct areas? Cannot the Arts be brought alive? Cannot the Sciences and Mathematics be brought up lo date? Cannot many other areas of the Humanities and Social Studies be made meaningful and relevant? In fact, cannot the artificial compartmentalization of curricular subject areas be eliminated?

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It would be an interesting exercise to design a school curriculum around the television tube rather than around the printing press. It may be that in our attempt to provide a meaningful edu­cational experience for all of our citizens, per­haps the nineteenth-century institutions and traditions we are still clinging to may not be the most effective way to do it.

Television as Accelerator of Changes in Schooling Patterns. This leads us into the final discussion in this section: television - and other media - will help to accelerate many inevitable changes in our traditional schooling patterns. In examining our current practices, many revered conventions and sacred cows will have to come under close scrutiny.

For example, under what conditions has a 30 to 1 student-teacher ratio made pedagogical sense? How often would 1 to 1, 8 to 1, or 500 to 1 be more realistic in terms of learning needs? Media have their own roles to play in each of these learning situations. Television, for example, can be used in the first category - individualized instruction. And it can be used in the large-group situation - for mass presentation of information.

What is sacred about a 45-60 minute period for each subject area? A six-hour school day? A nine-month school year? A twelve or sixteen­year schooling span? Education is not a one-way faucet that can be turned on and off at six-hour or nine-month intervals. We will see all of these conventional time patterns modified as we begin to integrate education into a "total-life-ex­perience." And many of these changes will be based upon television and other media ap­plications.

How long can we continue to consider the teacher a jack-of-all-trades? Can the teacher realistically be expected to fulfill the role of in­formation -giver- clerk-counsellor-manager-of-the­learning-situation-tutor-discussion-leader-curricu­}um-planner-evaluator? Technological devices will assume more of a central place in informa­tion-dispensing, and the teacher will be able to concentrate upon those areas where individual contact and leadership are needed.

The student will necessarily assume the responsibility for much more of his own learning as individualized approaches are developed and refined. Individualized schedules will be developed for every student on a regular daily or weekly basis as he progresses. His small groups, his tutoring, his lectures, his media experiences, his lab work, his field trips, all will be arranged and scheduled as his needs differ and merge with other learners. His progress will be continually

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assessed through various programmed in­structional materials so that his curricular schedule can be tailored to meet his changing needs.

Many new concepts and approaches and designs will affect the physical surroundings in which learning takes place. School buildings will become more of a headquarters and com­munications center for learning experiences. Other areas will assume major functions as learning centers: theatres, parks, museums, stadiums, research laboratories, zoos, public libraries, . . . the home. All learning does not take place in the school.

We will also see a merger of educational resources, media, and materials. With increasing frequency we hear the declaration that the con­cept of a textbook will be out of date within a decade or so. Learning resources will be written, combined, edited, collated, end distributed where the learning takes piece.

Many different materials will be utilized: pamphlets, magazines, filmstrips, audio tapes, films, paperback books, video tapes, newspapers. records, reference works, etc.

As public libraries and school libraries merge into common resource centers, so even will the distinctions between commercial television, Public Television, and School Television become blurred. For it matters little where a learner gets his information. What does concern us is that the information be presented over an appropriate medium, that it be accurate and up-to-date, and that it be available when end where the student needs it.

In summary, we might say that this section has merely tried to indicate some of the "hidden realities" of television as a social message. It Is still too early to conceive of some of the vast, tradition-shattering, cultural upheavals that will be caused by the advent of television:

John Paul Strain points out some of the hidden realities that accompanied the print revolution.

Therefore, it is not merely the practical re­sults of technological additions that become im­portant to society, but the realities of the hid­den influences in the course of new develop­ments. An excellent illustration can be found in the technological advance of print, which brought about the collateral learnings of soli­tude and individual initiative for success. Print­ing which produced books forced a conflict with the customs, mores, social classes, and medieval institutions. Printing of books began as a means for teaching better the old routines and traditions. (Again, our analogy to the ele-

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g

The quality of the signal is constantly tested by electronic engineers.

The elementary school al Nua and some of it's students.

An ITV program in arithmetic in a classroom in Nua viJlage.

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