The+Children+of+Telstar


 * Reading**

Moody, K. 1999. The Children of Telstar. Early Experiments in School Television Production. New York: Vantage Press.

Shorter version

Longer version [Note: to use this link, you may need to be logged into UBC's VPN]

Note: For this module assignment, our group used the longer version of the reading (177 pages). We did not realise there was a shorter (14 pages), condensed version of this reading. The shorter version is a compilation of the notable pages from the longer version.



**The Telstar's place in History**
According to [|Gloucestershire Transport History,]the Telstar was the name of the first communication satellite to successfully relay television images through space. It also provided the first live transatlantic television feed. Launched in July 10, 1962 from Cape Canaveral, this satellite allowed the first direct television exchange between Europe and America. The launch of Telstar I communications satellite, July 10, 1962, signaled the beginning of a new age of telecommunications and education in American culture. When Telstar beamed pictures of a fluttering American flag from Maine to Europe that day, it extended the reach of television, like a "hello" to the global village that McLuhan had envisioned. (Moody, 1999. p.26)

This You Tube video shows pictures and history centered around the launching of the Telstar.

media type="youtube" key="BmSRfBmdKRs" height="283" width="378" align="center"

**Overview**
Kate Moody's book, the children of the Telstar examines the process of enculturating the television into our culture and into our schools. In particular, she focuses on a media based project that occurred in the school district of Mamaroneck, New York, where students create their own television shows.

In the 1960's there were many cultural changes that set the stage for this project. Televised media was beginning to remediate print based forms of communication. As television was accepted, this remediation had a strong impact on North American culture. Print begain losing a significant share of its audience to television, film and all that the term "video" implies (p. 8). Rituals of family life were altered as a result of television. It became the focus of most children and consumed a great deal of their time.

At the same time, progressive teachers in were influenced by media philosopher Marshall MuLuhan's. His phrase, "the medium is the message", came to embody the historic view that the means by which human beings communicate have always structured their actions. He also introduced the idea that the mass media of the times were turning the world into a "global village" -- shrinking the world with respect to shared experience and passage of news. (p.13)

**About the author**
Interview with Kate Moody.

**Key figures**

 * Marshall McLuhan- Canadian philosopher. Wiki biography
 * John Culkin - Jesuit priest who could secure funding for developing a pioneer course in media studies. He held an Ed.D. degree from Harvard specializing in curriculum development. He founded the Center for Understanding Media and was co-author of the proposal to the ford foundation in 1970 to create a program for teachers to explore the theory behind mass media.
 * Dr. Calvert Schlick - Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services in the Mamaroneck Schools
 * Allison Stopford- British national
 * Gerald Lesser- Harvard psychologist who headed the advisory panel for Sesame Street
 * Erik Barnouw- professor Emeritus of Dramatic Arts

__Murray Avenue Elementary School__
 * Jean Baity -founder and first developer of Larchmont's Murray Avenue (elementary) School TV Studio
 * David Stewart - principal of Murray Avenue (elementary) school. He started broadcasting the morning announcements over T.V.

__Mamaroneck Avenue (elementary) School)__
 * Bob Krause - principal
 * Walter Coupe - assistant principal
 * Milo Dalbey -on- site coordinator of the Teacher Training workshop series (presented by the Center for Understanding Media and sponsored by the Ford Foundation) Milo Dalbey was also part of the art department at the Mamaroneck high school.

__Hommocks School (seventh and eighth grades)__
 * Charles Fitch - biology and media teacher at Hammocks School. He helped build the Murray Avenue Studio.
 * David Gumpel - student who participated in the media program at Murray Avenue Elementary School, Hammocks School and Mamaroneck High School.

__Mamaroneck Avenue High School__
 * Robert Geller joined the English Department in 1962 at Mamaroneck High School. Later, he became the Director of Eduaction at the Senter for Understanding Media. He was co-author of the proposal to the ford foundation in 1970 to create a program for teachers to explore the theory behind mass media.
 * Todd Gitlin- sociology professor
 * Michael Witsch - media teacher at Mamaroneck High School
 * Mrs. Nancy Isaacs - speech teacher who created the language development series. (She later extended the program to the Murray Avenue School)

**Main points**
> the specific help of John H. Corfield, the Audio-Visual Director, along with a cadre of enterprising librarians, teachers and administrators. By 1960 there was already a system-wide Audio-Visual Committee in place, as well as routine in-service training in media methods.The Mamaroneck A-V Committee considered these elements of education to be so important that they recommended that all probationary teachers be required to demonstrate proficiency with various types of audio-visual equipment before tenure would be granted. (p.47)
 * In 1965-1975, The Larchmont-Mamaroneck public schools in Westchester County, New York, established a reputation as a pioneer in the field of school television and, even at that early date, declared "understanding media" as a basic skill which should be consciously taught (p. 10). The media experiment at these schools worked because their media usage had been continuous and integrated into the curriculum and the school. It is still used today. Experiments with new technology in education often fail because the time is not there for their use to be developed.
 * The most important distinction to note is that the media projects in the schools of Larchmont and Mamaroneck were essentially different from Hagerstown and other early experiments with closed circuit TV. Instead of using the technology only as a distribution system, the Mamaroneck projects centered on student use of television equipment as "process tools." Rather than turning pupils into //viewers// of televised lessons who //consume// what is before them, they aimed to develop students and teachers as //active creators// who //produce// original communiqués in the new medium. (p. 20)[[image:http://www.medialit.org/sites/default/files/images/MML_199.jpg align="right" caption="TV studio at Murray Avenue Elementary School" link="@http://www.medialit.org/sites/default/files/images/MML_199.jpg"]]
 * The district's audio-visual capabilities had been developed in the late 1950s and 1960s with
 * On April 13, 1966, the Mamaroneck Board of education voted to construct a 'complete T.V. system", including video tape, cameras, film, lighting and a distribution chain of receiving TV's set up in 5 buildings. Over the summer it was built in the basement of the Murrary Avenue elementary school, and in Sept., 1966, students began to use the equipment. (p.71)
 * Several programs, including __The Morning Show__, were developed by students with the help of Jean Baity and volunteer parents. Students were trained in all aspects of production and performance. (p. 72 - 74)
 * Teachers noticed that students with learning differences were engaged and able to learn in the studio environment. David Gumpel, a student who took part in the program reports that the experience opened him up to a new way of learning and eased the pressure of his struggles with dyslexia in the regular, print based curriculum. (p.75 -77).
 * With Baity and Stewart's influence, television became integrated into every aspect of teaching and learning at Murray Avenue Elementary. Motivation increased, students learned to work together and substantial issues from the outside world were tackled. (p. 77 - 84)
 * Educators began to question the best way to interpret and teach media. They began to ask if learning process (via hands on production) was as important as the critical viewing skills taught through discussion of viewed media. This emerging thinking fit well with the practical experiences being offered at Murray Avenue. (p. 84 - 86)
 * [[image:wpe89.gif width="238" height="165" align="right"]]Culkin, Geller and Schlick developed ideas to theorize TV and it's impact on students both in and out of the classroom. They advocated understanding media through producing it rather than just consuming it (p. 90 -96).
 * In 1970, Culkin, Geller and Schlick, along with the Mamaroneck staff applied to the Ford Foundation for funding to develop teacher training workshops aimed at creating a genuine understanding of new media (p. 90).
 * The Ford Foundation approved the grant and the teacher training workshops began. The emphasis was on "using the media as a means of instruction across much of the curriculum" (p.101 - 117))
 * The workshops were considered a success for stage one experimentation. Although they yielded an "extensive portfolio of media activities" (p.119), Kate Moody notes that more research was still needed and the development of a k-12 media based curriculum was not completed. (p.119)
 * Meanwhile, the media program was beginning to extend into Hommocks middle school.
 * Charles Fitch (teacher) developed the media program at Hommocks School by "building [the] curriculum around the interests and needs of the student." (p. 122) He also "encouraged teachers to use media and taught them the necessary skills." (p. 122)
 * Hammocks School focused on "producing media rather than consuming media." (p. 123)
 * Fitch uses //video therapy// where students act in front of the camera and reflect on their display by playing back the video the next day.
 * A media environment was created where students had the freedom to experiment, students were accepted as individuals, and it was in a relax atmosphere.
 * The "hi-tech" equipment at Murray Avenue studio was eventually distributed to Hommocks School and Mamaroneck High School.
 * Media activists in the 1970s pushed for things to be //made,// things to be //changed//, and for things to //happen//.
 * One of the main goals that the teachers had was to shape their students into smarter TV consumers.[[image:http://www.lmc-tv.org/sites/default/files/studio1_0.jpg align="right" caption="TV studio at Mamaroneck High School (present-day)" link="@http://www.lmc-tv.org/sites/default/files/studio1_0.jpg"]]
 * Teachers at Mamaroneck High School believed that students learned how to be critical of TV by producing their own television shows. The high school media students produced __The Morning Report__, a daily morning news program that aired at the beginning of the school day. Students reported school events and other news. The 10 minute back and white newscast aired on TVs in the school and the audio feed was played over the P.A. system. Students used portable video cameras and recorders (portapaks)
 * With the portable equipment, students were able to go out, discover and share stories "without many rules or reservations." (p. 140)
 * Media students spent long hours at studio purely on their love and interest of the subject.
 * The media educators became the students' mentors and father-like figures.

**Kate Moody's 22 research summary points**

 * 1) Timing is instrumental to the success and failure of implementing a new tool. The Mamaroneck experiment worked because it took place when the television had been developed for awhile and was well received by the public.
 * 2) There were dedicated people (creative teachers) who encouraged the project.
 * 3) The Larchmont-Mamaroneck school community had a history of being a creative community.
 * 4) The school community had supportive superintendents and principals.
 * 5) Educators in the system were given frequent inservice training on the technology.
 * 6) There were dedicated volunteers who worked on the media programs and activities.
 * 7) Grant money assisted the establishment of the school studios and purchasing of equipment.
 * 8) The Board and Administration kept the art/media activities in the school curriculum.
 * 9) The educators had respect for the learning process with media.
 * 10) The educators were open and willing to experimentation.
 * 11) Equipment was easily accessible and circulated among students.
 * 12) School librarians supported videos in their service.
 * 13) Educators and students learned from their mistakes while developing projects.
 * 14) Teachers created their own materials for teaching media.
 * 15) Most productive media classes contain students from a variety of backgrounds.
 * 16) Males dominated the media programs in the experiment.
 * 17) Media educators did not like their students or programs being evaluated with "behaviourist" procedures.
 * 18) Many students found the media class as a place of comfort.
 * 19) Educators observed "therapeutic" effects of the media on the students.
 * 20) The experiment at Mamroneck is not only about technology. It displayed the art, creativity and quest for wholeness in the school system.
 * 21) Educators accepted the unknown future of the television.
 * 22) The key educators in the Mamroneck experiment were all influenced by Marshall McLuhan.

Videos
The following Youtube video is on Marshall McLuhan's Rule- The World is a Global Village (CBC TV) media type="youtube" key="HeDnPP6ntic" width="425" height="350" []

The following two Youtube videos show __The Morning Report__, which were produced by the media students at Mamaroneck High School (MHS). media type="youtube" key="frgzgROVvko" height="315" width="420" media type="youtube" key="rD4K0Z2gPSI" height="315" width="420"

** [|VoiceThread] discussion question: **

 * What impact has the use of television had in the classroom?

**Vista discussion/reflection:**

 * 1) What new technology in the classroom can we compare the introduction of television with? What are the similarities and differences?
 * 2) This book discusses unstructured learning situations using television as a medium. What are some examples of unstructured learning using educational technology in classrooms today?

**Further readings**
Hendry, D. (2001). Instructional Television's Changing Role in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://technologysource.org/article/instructional_televisions_changing_role_in_the_classroom/

**References**
Health Care Future- March 24, 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeDnPP6ntic&feature=related

MHS Info - May 18, 1980. http://youtu.be/rD4K0Z2gPSI

Moody, K. (n.d.) The First TV Studio in an Elementary School. http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/first-tv-studio-elementary-school

Moody, K. 1999. The Children of Telstar. Early Experiments in School Television Production. New York: Vantage Press.

Not MHS Info - May 9, 1980. http://youtu.be/frgzgROVvko