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Show Garfield Schools Part of 'Education Network' ! 5, It might have been a movie, t perhaps entitled "Against All Od- ds" But, instead, it became a television show, to teach advanced high school English to students in a vast area of rural Utah. It Officials at KUED Television at S the University of Utah shuddered 4 when they were told a regular high school teacher was going on live television, entirely produced and V ' directedin Richfield, Utah. But, that was just the beginning. The people ? at KUED nearly fell down when they t were told a secretary would direct ' the show, an engineer who had never " before been involved with video ) would keep it on the air and high school students would run the video equipment. Sure. But, they did it, and now Richfield High School teacher Janet Potter is teaching 35 students from Richfield, as well as 73 other students from seven remote locations. Four Garfield County high schools are involved in the project Ticaboo, Bryce Valley, Escalante and Panguitch. The others are Tintic, Tabiona and West Desert. The program provides students in those seven schools with the opportunity op-portunity to take advanced placement English for the first time. And, it's working. The sceptics at KUED are elated at the results the program is getting not just from students actually in class, but from many people who have switched from the noon hour soap opera to watch high school English Janet Potter style. Background The concept of such a program started in the spring of 1986, when Central Utah Educational Services Director Jack Burr was approached by officials at KUED. Burr was asked if he was willing to apply for a grant through the productivity funds administered by the Utah State Board of Education. Burr was excited about the concept, con-cept, and after receiving authorization from the CUES Board, he set to work putting together the grant application. The productivity funds are meant to help find more effective ways of teaching more students for less money. If effective, this program could mean students in small schools from throughout the state could take ' classes their schools could never afford to offer. But, that was just one of four parts of the program. The second part of the program was to work out a way for high school students who complete requirements early to take college courses. These courses would be broadcast in the same manner as the Potter English Class. They would be taught during the school day, so students from anywhere in the KUED area could take them. Although this "concept has been implemented before, the classes have always used professional actors as teachers. The classes are taped and played back at a later time. The new concept is to have the instructor involved with students in a live class situation, with participation par-ticipation from students in many areas. (Students in remote areas can actually call in questions during the class.) The third part of the program was to see if driver's education could be taught over television. With the state economic crisis, driver's education in the regular school curriculum is on the chopping block. Burr said it might be possible to teach the classroom portion of that class over television, which would be a substantial savings. The fourth portion of the program involves teacher training. New regulations require that teachers are trained in any area in which they are to teach. That means either having a college degree or minor in the area, demonstrate competency or complete an approved program. Since many teachers in rural schools are expected to be able to teach numerous subjects, Burr said, it might be possible to provide programs to adequately prepare teachers in areas they have not previously been trained in. The idea is to provide those programs over television, allowing teachers from anywhere in the state the opportunity op-portunity to broaden their teaching capabilities. The Potter English Class Right now the program is concentrating con-centrating on phase one The Potter English Class. Since money is always a concern, Burr approached the people at KUED with the idea of using Vaunda Willis, a CUES secretary, as director of the program. He also suggested students run the cameras. After a lot of convincing, Burr finally prevailed. And now it is all compliments. Mrs. Willis has taken charge, monitors the equipment, gives directions to the camera operators and worries just a little. Mrs. Willis said it isn't too bad when Kent Parsons or Doug Nielson is in class. Parsons and Nielson are engineers who do whatever is necessary to keep the program on the air. Parsons works for KUED, but until this project, has worked exclusively ex-clusively with transmission towers. He was given a crash course in cameras and other aspects of video and sent to work. Parsons, who is also a member of the Sevier School Board, is thrilled with the way the program is coming off. Parsons is also pleased to be part of this pilot program. This is the first time this has ever been done anywhere. And then there is Potter. Mrs. Potter plays down her role in the program, saving she is just a teacher trying to do her best. But, Burr, Parsons and Mrs. Willis are all of the opinion this could never have been done without Mrs. Potter. Part of the reason "The Potter English Class" has been so successful, is because the students have fun. f ' : ' ! ' ' ' .,rt ' , f ) i . ' r'" ' A '. i 0 ! '' A ' : ' ' ' :. 1 ,'.' ' ' -V rt,' ' 4 J ' t i . i .. w v . ; t y .,- I i 1 - . I i I " ' ' ; ! X - i At Her Best I Newly found screen star Janet Potter is at her best when she is in front of an English class. Potter is part of a pilot program to see if high ...... - V'Vr- J ) . 'A ( 1 ' y1 - ""'" 1 I m".'r'm' "" J A Little Demonstration Here, Richfield High School student Rick Willardson explains about a ball-turret gunner. V school students can learn from live television. The show originates in Richfield. |