The Savvy Technologist

NSBA: Cable Resources for Education

Cable Resources for Education, Douglas Levin, Cable in the Classroom

Cable in the Classroom is the cable industry’s non-profit, educational foundation. It’s been around for 15 years, but I don’t think we have used many of the foundation’s resources in my district. The foundation provides free cable programming for schools (with curriculum), free cable modems for schools in some areas, and publish Threshold and Access Learning. CIC has also been a part of the vSKOOL, an effort to assist students displaced by Hurrican Katrina.

Doug is demonstrating some of the online content that CIC has built to showcase what kinds of interactive, online tools can be utilized with a broadband connection. Windward is a brand-new game to teach about weather as students are challenged to race a sailboat around the world. The second one is called Shakespeare: Subject to Change, an exploration of how Shakespeare’s plays may be been changed over time. Students learn a lot about Shakespeare’s works in the process, as well as a dose of media literacy through the use of film clips. We’re now looking at Elections, an interactive introduction to electoral politics. This is a pretty cool simulation that appears to be modeled on the Game of Life. I was in a teacher’s classroom at our high school last week and observed an amazing lesson on the 2000 Republican primary process. This site might be a useful supplement.