EDUCATION

Two DVD learning programs for educational institutions that have been developed in the past few years includes a project for Family Communication's Early Literacy Program, the producers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, and a more recent project for the Pittsburgh Public Schools Early Childhood Education Program.

The Family Communications Early Literacy Project

Some of the features in this program included a Table of Contents, a student journal, access to Resources including white papers, websites, and PDF documents, a searchable Glossary and full-screen DVD video. The whole program creates a blended learning solution for facilitators and one-on-one learning demonstrating first-hand interventions with preschoolers in the classroom environment.

The Early Childhood Learning Matrix

To see the relationship between the skills learned by the children and the various teaching methods to help the child obtain the literacy skills, a Matrix was developed which served the dual purpose of showing these relationships and acting as a menu system to access the learning modules in a particular skill path.

The Early Childhood Classroom

Using the DVD video controls, the instructors could easily see these interactions with children in a real classroom situation. The facilitator has full control over video playback in the 640 x 480 window, or with a single click, expanding the commercial DVD quality video full screen. Audio controls manage the sound levels, and the pause/play feature allows the facilitator to freeze the action so as to open a discussion about what the children were saying in the video clip.

The Pittsburgh Public Schools
Early Childhood Education Project

This program provides inservice training for the Early Childhood staff of the Pittsburgh Public Schools on the subjects of Health, Nutrition, and Safety.

When is it a good time to wash your hands?

"When her hands are dirty, of course!" As the trainee clicks on each child's face, a randomly selected audio response is heard, recorded by a child actor. In this exercise, there were twelve random answers to the question.

Which of these children are too ill to be in school?

Based on the children's audio responses and their symptoms displayed in the text box, which of these five children should be sent home from school?