Teaching with television
IBM, Du Pont, Exxon, Texas Instruments and General Motors: What do these corporate giants have in common? They’ve all sponsored public television programs as a way of enhancing their public image.
To support that effort, we designed educational materials that helped teachers use the shows as source material for their classes. These kits were sent free to some 25,000 high schools across the country. Each kit was a complex project, often taking over six months to produce.
What we did
Working with TelEd, Inc., a firm that researched, wrote, and mailed the packages, we designed teacher’s guides, posters, student hand-outs and other materials for A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott; I, Leonardo; Ian McKellen Acting Shakespeare; the Newton’s Apple series; The History of the Universe; and three seasons of The Shakespeare Plays.
Results
Teachers were provided with postage-paid response cards, and their reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Comments like: “Excellent! The best response I have ever had to Dickens’ works!”, “First rate! What a treasure to receive something so helpful and so well produced, free!”, “Exceptionally well done,” and “Your materials have proved to be the most valuable tools in my literature classes,” were typical.
Audiences were substantially increased — and more consumers reached — as students and their families watched each show.