Instructional Television (ITV)

          'Instructional Television' (ITV) is related directly to organized programmes of formal instruction and directed to individual viewers who come under non-formal and open education programmes. In all these cases, suitable follow-up work by the teacher is essential to consolidate the gain of knowledge.

          Live as well as recorded programmes and motion pictures can be broadcast in television. The vast potentialities of the mixing images from two or more cameras fitted with zoom lens, superimposing images, fading, cutting, etc., can be used to advantage in television. Television has all the advantages of a projected aid and the dynamism of motion picture. People can view and listen to a production richly blended with all that are useful. To produce an effective programme of fifteen minutes' duration, preparation of script by a specially trained educationalist, a number of rehearsals involving the assistance of various personnel like producer, assistant producer, vision mixer, floor manager, art floor manager, cameramen and recording in the video tape-recorder of the final programme are the various steps that should be gone through before broadcasting the programme. Since the programmes are announced earlier, the institutions can prepare the pupils in advance to view and listen to the telecast TV provides multimedia learning experience.

          Teacher's responsibilities in ITV include arranging suitable physical climate in the classroom, meeting individual pupil needs, preparatory activities before programme commences, activities during the programme and follow up activities (like written tests, home assignments, related project work etc.) after the tele-lesson. ITV can be integrated into the curriculum at three basic levels:

1.    ITV programme could be associated with the regular school curriculum by organizing it much like a class in a school. It consists of a sequence of connected sessions. The school children have to attend each session of 45 minutes and carry out some assignments related to it and submit them the next day to the teacher. These classroom sessions may extend to 2 or 3 months to cover a particular sequence of a school subject, as is being done in the regular school programme.

2.    On certain important topics (like scientific facts about the dreaded disease AIDS, population explosion and its adverse effects, environmental pollution, global warming etc.) television programme could be broadcast now and then so as to expand the general knowledge of pupils.

3.    Typical subject-matter programmes such as science, history, mathematics, foreign languages may be broadcast in ITV.

"Kanboum Karpoum" broadcast by the 'Chennai' Doordharshan and the U.G.C. Countrywide Classroom Programme is best examples of ITV programes.

Advantages of Television Instruction

1.    Communication by TV is effective because it can bring very good demonstrations and audio visual materials to the classroom.

2.    TV can bring the world to the home and to the classroom.

3.    Micro skills in Teacher training could be taught using T.V.

4.    Instructional television programmes tend to bring into the classroom learning experiences that local teachers cannot arrange. These include costly demonstrations, complicated experiments, visual excursions to far off places and current events. Such programmes when carefully produced involving all kinds of interrelated learning experiences produce good results.

5.    TV facilitates a school or college to share its best teachers rather than rationing them.

6.    It helps to provide education to children even in places where there are not schools or teacher such as far off hilly places.

7.    TV can save the time and effort of the student and teacher.

8.    The concrete nature of TV makes some programmes understandable, appealing to a wide variety of age and educational levels of people.

9.    TV can be both instructive and enjoyable.

Limitations of Television Instruction

1.    TV is a one-way communication. It does not stop to answer questions. It does not permit class discussion.

2.    There is no personal contact with the teacher. The programmes do not adjust well to individual differences.

3.    TV encourages a passive form of learning rather than an active seeking. It cannot provide for individual and group activities. It does not provide for laboratory experience.

4.    TV screen is small in size as compared to projected pictures.

5.    The equipments necessary for ITV is costly and complicated. A properly designed studio with controllable lighting facilities and with acoustic-proof walls is necessary. It should be maintained by competent staff all the time.

6.    It is very difficult to adjust the time-table of the schools to fit with the instructional programmes telecast.

7.    Teachers may feel they are slighted and their importance get eroded.

8.    If the teachers do not prepare the pupils well before viewing the television programmes, the programmes prepared with huge cost and labour may prove to be ineffective.

9.    Students seated at the back benches may not be able to see the TV screen well. To eliminate this 4 or 5 T.V. sets are to be erected at vantage points in the classroom in order to be quite effective.

10.           If in TV programmes, without giving importance to visuals and visual effects, if the lecturer talkes at length, then it may be no more effective than a traditional classroom lecture.

11.           Producing effective instructional television programmes are difficult, expensive, and cumbersome and requires lot of expertise.

In short it could be surmised that effective utilization of ETV/ITV programmes will depend upon proper maintenance of equipment as well as on the provision of good viewing and listening facilities in schools and teachers have to be trained in the provision of such conditions. Further, class teacher's involvement ultimately determines how much pupils learn from a TV programme.

Selection of Television programmes

          Important points to be borne in mind while selecting educational television programmes are stated below.

1.    It should be judged how far the television programme is superior to instructional programme presented through other media.

2.    The range of its effective use is also to be assessed.

3.    The availability of suitable educational programmes locally produced and the equipments and devices for telecasting etc. are also to be taken into consideration.