FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Todd Mesek, Chief Marketing Officer
216.315.1794 | todd.mesek@ideastream.org
ideastream Shifts Daytime Television Broadcast Schedule and Shares Multimedia Learning Resources to Help Families During School Closures
CLEVELAND, Ohio (March 30, 2020) — ideastream, Northeast Ohio’s largest public media organization, has quickly adapted its daytime television broadcast schedule and developed multimedia learning resources to help Northeast Ohio families in the midst of local school closures. In addition to sharing online programs, ideastream is offering educational services for free through over-the-air television broadcast to ensure widespread accessibility in the community. The Stocker Foundation has awarded ideastream a generous gift of $25,000 to benefit Northeast Ohio with increased programming while students engage in at home learning.
For decades, WVIZ/PBS ideastream has provided hours of highly trusted children’s television content from PBS KIDS every day of the week. This standards-aligned programming is a proven resource for improving school readiness skills for kids ages 2-8. Studies have demonstrated that ready-to-learn PBS KIDS content has a comparable educational impact to comprehensive early childcare or preschool programs. In response to recent school closures, WVIZ/PBS ideastream’s weekday broadcast schedule is shifting to focus on programs tailored for children ages 3-8 from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and children ages 9 and older from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. These at home learning programs, which ideastream is calling ideaKids, can be viewed over-the-air on channel 25.1, through local cable and satellite providers and on YouTube TV starting Monday, March 30, 2020.
In addition, ideastream’s ideaKids services will also include a daily e-newsletter with tools, exercises and other resources to complement the broadcast programming for children ages 3-8. ideastream is considered the state’s largest classroom, delivering enhanced learning opportunities to thousands of local students and educators in hundreds of schools each year. Ohio educators consistently rely on ideastream for quality training about the uses of the latest classroom technology, high yield instructional practices and superior professional development opportunities. The combination of proven educational programming with standards-based learning tools is being made available to help families who find themselves suddenly having to manage home-school and remote work responsibilities simultaneously.
“Hundreds of thousands of Northeast Ohio families already welcome ideastream’s proven, high-quality educational programs into their homes,” said Kevin E. Martin, ideastream President and CEO. “With these adjustments to our broadcast schedule and expansion of our existing teaching materials, we can quickly fill an important need for families at a very important time in our country’s history.”
This programming schedule was developed in collaboration with WBGU in Bowling Green, WCET Public Media in Cincinnati, Think TV in Dayton, WGTE in Toledo, WOSU Public Media in Columbus, WOUB Public Media in Athens, PBS Western Reserve in Kent and WVIZ/PBS ideasteam in Cleveland.
“In this unprecedented time, Ohio’s educators, parents and caregivers are doing their best to keep learning going for students in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. I am humbled and grateful that all eight of Ohio’s public broadcasting stations have stepped up as major partners committed to delivering high-quality, grade-appropriate learning to students, complementing the amazing effort being made by Ohio’s schools and districts,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria. “This ‘At Home Learning Initiative’ crosses the digital divide and provides yet another tool in the toolbox, ensuring learning doesn’t stop just because school buildings are closed.”
Other educational resources from ideastream, include:
· NewsDepth, ideastream's award-winning multimedia children's show — covering news for kids for 50 years. NewsDepth is a free, trusted resource for thousands of parents, teachers and students across Ohio. The series has been recognized by industry professionals, having received multiple regional Emmy® awards and three gold seals from the Parents’ Choice Awards. NewsDepth episodes are broadcast on multiple public television stations across Ohio and are available 24/7 on newsdepth.ideastream.org. Special segments, aligned with Ohio’s learning standards, can also be accessed on PBS LearningMedia, YouTube and newsdepth.ideastream.org.
· Health's Up, ideastream's podcast that explores healthy choices through kid's voices. The podcast covers health topics local students were most interested in learning about with plans underway to add new coronavirus-related episodes to this series. Lesson plans are available to pair with each episode. Recommended for ages 10-13.
· Free, localized WVIZ/PBS KIDS programs, available 24/7, online at ideastream.org/kidstv. This schedule of programs also airs on a 24-hour WVIZ/PBS KIDS TV channel available over-the-air on channel 25.5, YouTube TV and through some cable providers. The schedule for WVIZ/PBS KIDS can be found at ideastream.org/kids247.
· Free, standards-aligned videos, interactive activities, lesson plans and more for parents and teachers curated by WVIZ/PBS ideastream and PBS on PBS LearningMedia.
· Connections, ideastream's daily newsletter to educators. Connections provides teachers of all ages (Pre-kindergarten through grade twelve) with standards-aligned thematic activities and lessons using trusted PBS KIDS and PBS resources.
The new WVIZ/PBS ideastream schedule airs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. each weekday and will be updated each week until further notice. To sign up for the daily ideaKids email newsletter, visit ideastream.org/ideakids. Further details about resources and broadcast schedules will be available online when ideaKids programming launches on March 30, 2020.
Programs starting at 2 p.m. will be interrupted for the broadcast of Governor Mike DeWine’s daily briefings when available.
About ideastream
ideastream serves the people of Northeast Ohio as a trusted and dynamic multimedia source for illuminating the world around us. Publicly supported and locally owned, ideastream is indispensable and highly valued for its unique ability to strengthen our community. ideastream is the consolidation of WVIZ/PBS, with five channels of public television service (WVIZ/PBS-HD, WVIZ/PBS OHIO, WVIZ/PBS WORLD, WVIZ/PBS CREATE and WVIZ/PBS KIDS); 90.3 WCPN, Northeast Ohio’s NPR news and public affairs radio station; WCLV 104.9, Northeast Ohio’s classical music radio station; ideastream Education, with educational resources, services and the award-winning children’s series NewsDepth; and management of The Ohio Channel and the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau on behalf of all Ohio’s public broadcasting stations. For more information about ideastream’s rich legacy of innovation and credible content, visit ideastream.org.
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