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Show Efeafbnd TV Offers Better tetrudra, Byt Problems Arise Utah is far above the national average in per capita development of facilities fa-cilities for educational television, tel-evision, a medium which leading educators feel has "scarcely scratched the nurface" of tits potential for enriching classroom instruction. This conclusion is contained con-tained in a report released this week by Utah Foundation, Found-ation, a pT'ivate non-pi-cfit agency. The report points cut, however, . that the large number of ETV facilities fa-cilities in Utah may represent rep-resent an unnecessary proliferation pro-liferation and that adequate ade-quate coverage might be achieved with fewer broadcasting broad-casting facilities. With five major ETV stations to serve a population popu-lation of slightly over one million, Utah has one station sta-tion for each 200,000 inhabitants. in-habitants. The U. S., with a population of about 196 million, has 125 ETV stations, sta-tions, or one per 1.6 million mil-lion people. California, a state distinguished for leadership in . imiprove-iment imiprove-iment of educational 1 methods, me-thods, has seven ETV facilities fa-cilities for its 19 million inhabitants, or one for 2.7 million people. Some educational. ..' tele-" vision authorities .believe that Utah would be adequately ade-quately served by a single high quality ETV system, and that the proliferation of transmitting facilities may have been achieved at the expense -of developing Ibetter program content, it is noted in the Foundation Founda-tion report. The potential of television televis-ion for instructional use is regarded by most leading lead-ing educators as one of the brightest of future prospects, although some teachers oppose it out of fear that they may be re placed, Or the importance of their roles be diminished, diminish-ed, by television and other oth-er electronic instructional, instruction-al, systems. Utah's superintendent of public instruction believes be-lieves such fears to be (groundless, pointing out that while some parts of the teaching process can be done better by television televis-ion than 'by "live" teaching, teach-ing, the live teacher is essential es-sential to getting full value val-ue from the' TV presentation. presen-tation. Lectures and laboratory experiments can be prepared pre-pared by specialists and illustrated with exhibits and equipment that smaller small-er schools could not obtain ob-tain or afford for live presentation. pre-sentation. Each student is provided with better than 'a "front row" seat, and a clear always-unobstructed, and perhaps magnified view of exhibit materials and laboratory demonstrations. demonstra-tions. Videotaped offer-lings offer-lings can be interrupted as ictesired 'for clarification by the teacher, for discussions discus-sions or explanations ot key points, and portions of the prepared lectures can be repeated as often as may be desired, the report points out. In the area of expenditures, expendi-tures, the Foundation re- port notes that the need for two separate ETV stations sta-tions at public colleges, and the operation of two stations by adjoining school districts in Ogden, may be "open to serious question from the point of view of th& taxpayer." Utah has a thind college-level college-level ETV station at BYU, tfDut it is privately supported. sup-ported. "It appears obvious that .responsible authorities including the State Legislature Legis-lature must exercise ' ;caution and careful judgment judg-ment in determining how fnuch tax money is justified justi-fied for the support of educational television facilities, fa-cilities, and particularly bow available money is to be apportioned," the re port says. "Drawing a j.-loar distinction between justifiable needs and the desire to satisfy institutional institu-tional pride is essential to efficient and economical development, and it has iren demonstrated thr.t .legislators may be as much .influenced by regional .vido as arc institutions by their desire for identity." identi-ty." While ex pre sing con-.corn con-.corn over "evidence of expensive ex-pensive competition between be-tween institutions," th2 Foundation also noted "at least some encouraging evidence ev-idence of increasing coordination, co-ordination, particularly in recent developments." Ex- amiples cited include t formation of a Utah li work for Instructio,1! Television, which is not' iphysical connection! tween stations, but an " ganizat,ion through Vvh S' Utah school districts A coordinate their otiT.t-in otiT.t-in producing andor p':sf .curing suitable protr,-'v materials, with 0bvdi; opportunities for jncre-ed jncre-ed efficiency and econor"e Utah has entered a si--" lar arrangement with' i ; other states on a rev " ai basis, and seven Soi irC western Utah school ,;3 tracts have formed an Al iganization to provide jn mobile service for the tribution of taped l'y materials. |
