January 2, 2006, [MD]
I have written before about access to education, distance learning and so on. Today I idly flipped through the 300 channels of our kind host in Idyllwild, after having checked that the float we visited for the Rosebowl made it through the rain. After checking out a few news programmes, a Spanish talk shows and some soaps, I happened upon UWTV… A guy lecturing a whole class room on epidemiology and quality-adjusted lifespan. Awesome - this is something I was studying with great interest last term in school, and it was great to see a different take on it. Butterfly always calls me a geek, and I guess I am, for I found this lecture so much more interesting than any of the other expensive productions we’d flipped through on the way.
After looking at their website it turns out that its the University of Washington that broadcasts educational programming 24/7 for free, to broadcasters in the Washington area, other cooperating cable networks, and by satellite. And, of course they have a webcast - whether you want to hook straight into their current stream of programming, or - maybe more useful - watch shows from their archives…
I remember when television was first introduced in Norway, it was touted as an amazing medium for spreading education, information and dispassionate debates to further democracy. For many years, they produced instructional programs, language teaching and so on - with accompanying booklets that could be bought for a small price. Now, they seem to have cut down on that a lot, and the programs are broadcast at 7AM on Sundays, if at all. Good to see that someone are still keeping up the tradition though.
Stian, still in Idyllwild, CA
Stian Håklev January 2, 2006 Toronto, Canada comments powered by Disqus