Many things have changed since KLRN went on-the-air in 1962. But one thing that has remained constant through our 50+ year history is education. It's what we do. It's the heart of our mission, and It has given us the opportunity to help educators engage, inspire, and enlighten generations of learners. It's an area we call School Services--and today it's in the spotlight.
The learning landscape has shifted significantly over the past several years. Learning is now multi-platform and multi-dimensional. Our Healthy Kids Project, which promotes healthy habits through the use of animated video clips and fun activities, is available completely online. Last year, Edgewood ISD integrated the project across their elementary campuses--impacting 140+ teachers and 2,800+ students.
And through a grant from the Knight Foundation, KLRN developed a Virtual Classroom to reach students both during the school day and in out-of-school time settings. Additionally, the project served our community's growing home-school population. Throughout the 2015-2016 school year, over 45 online "classrooms" were conducted--reaching 2,325+ students. Content covered included STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), literature, music, and the arts, and each classroom featured a content expert to engage with the students and promote questions and conversation.
An extension of the Virtual Classroom was the launch of Chat & Learn, KLRN's online professional development for K-12 teachers. Chat & Learn sessions spotlight trusted PBS digital resources and timely topics that teachers can use to spark learning in their classrooms. This school year, KLRN's Chat & Learn is expanding statewide--and will include teachers from across Texas--including Midland, Houston and Dallas.
We know the best way to determine what educators need is to ask educators themselves what they are doing now and how that is changing. In 2015, PBS conducted its most recent survey, the Future of Digital Learning Survey, to better understand how we need to adapt in order to improve teaching and learning in these new educational contexts. The study's results showed that educators think technology will continue to transform teaching and learning in the years to come. Most excitingly, the research serves as a compass for stations like KLRN, affirming that our content and platforms like the Virtual Classroom are designed to meet the needs of our 21st century learners
To learn more about KLRN's school services, visit klrn.org/learning/school-services and sign up for our monthly e-newsletter, Learn with Media, to stay up-to-date on KLRN's education projects, resources and special events.
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