CARBONDALE -- WSIU Public Broadcasting, the public media arm of Southern Illinois University, is announcing new instructional television programming to help with home learning.
WSIU has preempted its daytime educational block for young children with instructional content for middle school students and expanded educational programming for preschool and elementary schoolchildren with the launch of PBS KIDS 24/7, an around the clock lineup of family-friendly programming for young learners.
Each weekday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., students in grades 4 through 8 can enjoy instructional television content featuring some of public media's most informative and educational series. Subjects include science, math, history, and English language arts. This programming block is the newest component of WSIU's 'Public Media Resources for Home Learning' initiative available to school districts, classroom teachers, and parents who seek support in educating children at home. Programs featured in the instructional television block include free corresponding curriculum from pbslearningmedia.org. PBS LearningMedia provides thousands of digital resources such as videos, lesson plans, and quizzes for teachers and students. The new programming is available over-the-air via antenna on the WSIU stations: WSIU: 8.1 -- Carbondale, WUSI: 16.1 -- Olney, WSEC: 14.1 -- Springfield/Jackson, WMEC: 22.1 -- Macomb, and WQEC: 27.1 -- Quincy, and via most cable providers.
"We're pleased to offer this supplement for middle school learners. The service was developed in cooperation with the Illinois State Board of Education, Regional Offices of Education, local school districts, and teachers," says WSIU Interim Executive Director, Jak Tichenor. "We believe these new offerings will add valuable support to families as they shift to home learning with their children while schools are closed," he says.
"We are doing what we can to help teachers, families and students continue their education together," says WSIU Outreach & Educational Services Coordinator Beth Spezia. "We welcome questions and comments concerning public media's preschool through high school content. We invite ideas and feedback as we respond to changes in the need for education service delivery."
WSIU's collection of public media resources for home learning include content for learners at every level. High school students can utilize WORLD Channel's 'At-Home Learning' block weekdays from 11am-4pm on WORLD Channel while preschool and early elementary students can continue to enjoy PBS KIDS programming on our main channels each weekday morning until noon. WSIU is also excited about expanding access to content for young learners with the launch of the PBS KIDS 24/7 channel this month.
PBS KIDS 24/7 channel is available over-the-air via antenna on WSIU: 8.4 -- Carbondale, WUSI: 16.4 -- Olney, WSEC: 14.4 -- Springfield/Jackson, WMEC: 22.4 -- Macomb and 27.4 -- Quincy. It will also be available on select cable service providers and is available to stream free on pbskids.org and on the PBS KIDS Video App. Households may need to perform a channel rescan in order to receive the broadcast. PBS KIDS 24/7 channel delivers high-quality content to all children and caregivers on a platform and at a time that works for them, including prime time, weekends, and when school is out of session.
"Launching PBS KIDS 24/7 channel and introducing educational programming and services for the multistate region served by the WSIU stations is the latest example of our ongoing partnership with parents, teachers, and students. It dates back to our first public television broadcast in November, 1961," says Tichenor. "With schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our dedicated staff worked tirelessly in recent weeks to finalize the long list of engineering, operational, and educational resources needed to add PBS KIDS 24/7 as our fourth over the air broadcast channel. We're proud to include additional instructional content on our main HD channels weekday afternoons."
