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Educational television or learning television is the use of
television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
s in the field of
distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...
. It may be in the form of individual
television programs A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...
or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable television in the United States as
Public, educational, and government access Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was crea ...
(PEG) channel providers. There are also
adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...
programs for an older audience; many of these are
instructional television Instructional television (ITV) is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. Educational television programs on instructional television may be less than one half hour long (generally 15 minutes in length) to help their in ...
or "telecourse" services that can be taken for college credit, such as the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
programs on
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television in the UK. Many
children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...
are educational, ranging from dedicated learning programs to those that indirectly teach the viewers. Some series are written to have a specific
moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...
behind every episode, often explained at the end by the character that learned the lesson. In the
social aspects of television The medium of television has had many influences on society since its inception. The belief that this impact has been dramatic has been largely unchallenged in media theory since its inception. However, there is much dispute as to what those effe ...
, several studies have found that educational television has many advantages. The Media Awareness Network explains in its article "The Good Things about Television" that television can be a very powerful and effective learning tool for children if used wisely. The article states that television can help young people discover where they fit into society, develop closer relationships with peers and family, and teach them to understand complex social aspects of communication. Mexican TV producer Miguel Sabido pioneered in the 1970s the use of
telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
to disseminate the government's policy views to mass audiences. The "Sabido Method" has been adopted by a number of countries, including India, Kenya, Peru, and China.


Examples

*
Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...
(PBS) * Annenberg Foundation (The Annenberg Channel) *
NASA TV The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
*
TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...
*
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
* KITE VICTERS The television medium can and has been used for a multitude of educational purposes. Some television programs are explicitly educational, while others only incidentally so. Some formats blend the two in the attempt to amuse but also retain some educational value.


TV reforms for education-based programs

The time of "TV vs. radio", the early 1960s, were an era of change. Historian Michael Curtin recounted that then-FCC chair Jon Doerfor, and TV network heads, had come to an agreement that most television programming was based on commercialism and emphasized entertainment too much. To help counterbalance this, there was a plan organized to produce more serious news and documentary programs. This policy was placed just in time for networks to expand their news coverage on the Kennedy-Nixon campaigns and debates. This increase in coverage stirred up the polls as those who ''saw'' the debates, with Kennedy's good looks and camera confidence, decided he had won, whereas those who ''listened'' were more impressed with Nixon. By 1962, TV reform was in full swing, and 400 prime-time documentaries had been produced, as opposed to a total of zero back in 1957. Curtin noted that news programs were extended to full half-hour segments, and foreign and domestic issues were receiving heightened degrees of attention.


Edutainment and telenovelas

Some television programs are designed with primarily educational purposes in mind, although they might rely heavily on entertainment to communicate their educational messages. In children's programming,
edutainment Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainmen ...
becomes fun and interesting for the child but can still be educational. Other television programs are designed to raise social awareness. One form of edutainment popular in Latin America is the educational
telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
. Miguel Sabido, a producer of telenovelas from the 1970s on, has combined communication theory with pro-health/education messages to educate audiences throughout
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
about family planning, literacy, and other topics. He developed a model that incorporated the work of
Albert Bandura Albert Bandura (; December 4, 1925 – July 26, 2021) was a Canadian-American psychologist who was the David Starr Jordan Professor in Psychology at Stanford University. Bandura was responsible for contributions to the field of education and to ...
and other theorists, as well as research to determine whether programs impacted audience behavior. The first ever television series produced in the Pacific Island country of
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
, entitled ''
Love Patrol ''Love Patrol'' is a ni-Vanuatu television series. It is the first ever locally produced television series in Vanuatu.AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
, while simultaneously providing an entertaining story."Health: LOVE PATROL"
, Nicole Gooch, ''Islands Business'' The Hulu Original TV series ''
East Los High ''East Los High'' is a teen drama streaming television series that revolves around the lives of a group of teens navigating their final years at a fictional high school in East LA. Created, written, and produced by Wise Entertainment, the series ...
'' is backed by a health initiative to teach healthy sexual behaviors (e.g. using protection, getting checked for sexually transmitted diseases).


Entertainment

Some television shows incorporate a considerable degree of historical or factual information while attempting to make the presentation or framing of such content entertaining or exciting. By making learning seem "exciting" they can be said to stimulate curiosity, taking ''
Elinor Wonders Why ''Elinor Wonders Why'' is an animated television series created by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson. The show premiered on September 7, 2020, on PBS Kids. Plot The exploration-themed show encourages children to follow their curiosity, ask questi ...
'' as an example. The presence of edutainment is especially evident in
children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...
, such as ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
'', ''
Teletubbies ''Teletubbies'' is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on t ...
'', and ''
Dora the Explorer ''Dora the Explorer'' is an American children's animated television series and multimedia franchise created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Eric Weiner that premiered on Nickelodeon on August 14, 2000, went on hiatus on June 5, 20 ...
''. Discovery Channel is also known for its various shows that follow that theme, including ''
MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internatio ...
''. Sometimes these programs may be more entertaining than educational and may replace educational shows in the television program lineup. The History Channel has transitioned from producing primarily factual and historical documentaries to more sensational, dramatic, and supposedly entertaining programs, with educational content a secondary concern. Television series notable for negative reception, from around the world, either by published critics, by network executives or by audience response, can be judged based on poor quality, the lack of a budget, rapid cancellation, very low viewership, offensive content, and/or negative impact on other series on the same channel. In some cases, a show that is acceptable on its own merits can be put in a position where it does not belong and be judged "worst ever." In many cases, "worst television series ever" lists are slanted toward more contemporary shows, in recent memory. The
Children's Television Act The broadcast of educational children's programming by terrestrial television stations in the United States is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under regulations colloquially referred to as the Children's Television Act (C ...
of 1990, which was first fully enforced in 1996, requires broadcast television stations in the United States to carry a minimum of three hours of " educational/informational" programming geared directly at children. The move prompted an exodus of non-educational children's programming to cable television and largely failed in its efforts to expand the amount of educational television on the airwaves (in fact, children's television in general has declined significantly on broadcast television since the act was imposed, although it can be argued that the E/I regulations could very well be the ''only'' thing keeping children's television on broadcast airwaves in the 2010s).


Incidental educational value

Some programs are primarily aimed at entertainment, but may contain an incidental amount of educational content. Educational content may be inherent to the design of the show, such as with medical dramas where the plot invariably explores anatomical and biological issues. The Sentinel Award, which is administered by the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
's
Annenberg Center for Communication The Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy (CCLP) at the University of Southern California promotes interdisciplinary research in communications between the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Viterbi School of Engineering, and the separat ...
, the
CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
and the
National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...
( NCI), is given each year to programs that address health and medical issues in their storylines. 2006's nominees/winners included: * ''
Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, for six seasons and 118 episodes. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton ...
'' - for a storyline about fighting crime using mathematics * ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...
'' - for story lines about organ transplantation and cancer * ''
As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...
'' - for a breast cancer storyline that involved a major character * ''
George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American comedian and actor. He is known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican American culture. Lopez has rece ...
'' - for a storyline about a kidney transplant * ''
Ben & Izzy ''Ben & Izzy'' ( ar, بِنْ وعصام) is a Jordanian three-dimensional, computer animated children's television series. It was produced by Jordan's rising educational and CGI animation company Rubicon. This series follows the adventures and dev ...
'' - for a storyline about two children, Ben from America and Izzy from Jordan, who form a close bond despite their different cultural backgrounds While some programs are typically "pure" entertainment, they may foray into educational content at select times. For older viewers, individual
situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning t ...
s also occasionally serve as educational entertainment vehicles. These episodes are sometimes described in United States
television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
parlance as
very special episode "Very special episode" is an advertising term originally used in American television promos to refer to an episode of a sitcom or drama series which deals with a difficult or controversial social issue. The usage of the term peaked in the 1980s. ...
s. As early as the 1950s, children-aimed shows like ''Watch Mr Wizard'' were made which could be considered edutainment. On the other hand, some programs may seem for the lay public to contain educational content, but are actually completely fictional. It is up to experts to figure out if a specific TV program uses realistic or fictional plots. One example for only seemingly real programs are
mockumentaries A mockumentary (a Blend word, blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or ...
.


See also

*
Cable in the Classroom Cable in the Classroom was an American division of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association that assisted the cable television industry in providing educational content to schools. The organization was founded in 1989. A Canadian organ ...
*
Educational film An educational film is a film or movie whose primary purpose is to educate. Educational films have been used in classrooms as an alternative to other teaching methods. History Determining which videos should count as the first educational films ...
*
National Association of Educational Broadcasters The National Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB) was a US organization of broadcasters with aims to share or coordinate educational programmes. It was founded as the Association of college and University Broadcasting Stations (ACUBS) i ...
*
Non-commercial educational A non-commercial educational station (NCE station) is a radio station or television station that does not accept on-air advertisements (TV ads or radio ads), as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and was or ...
(NCE)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Educational Television Television genres Television terminology