Chicago’s New Dimension Media Releases Classroom LIVE!
To “Keep The Learning Going” When Swine Flu Closes Schools
(CHICAGO)—This spring, swine flu (H1N1 virus) led to the closure of more than 700 schools across the country. To provide guidance to schools at the start of the 2009-10 school year, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan in late August called upon schools to have technology solutions in place to make sure that any necessary school closures did not stop children’s education.
“We must make sure the learning continues if the flu virus spreads,” Secretary Duncan said. “There need to be online resources for students to learn from home. Teachers need to provide tutorials…online.”
Secretary Duncan’s call to action for technology solutions to school closures was already answered last September by Chicago-based New Dimension Media (NDM) when it released Classroom LIVE!™ —
a virtual, interactive classroom for homebound students—as a new feature on its CCC! Video On Demand™ server-based media system for schools. Classroom LIVE!™ can help school districts keep learning going when the Swine Flu pandemic strikes their community. *Click here for NDM Video News Release clip.
NDM’s Classroom LIVE!™ allows students working from home to see a teacher via a webcam video feed. It also has the capability to display a PowerPoint presentation that focuses the instructional objectives, and students are able to view and download important learning materials or media that support their “homebound” classroom. Students click an icon to “raise their hand” to ask questions and participate in discussion using a text-based chat.
In April, NDM issued communications to schools served by CCC! VOD systems on how they could use Classroom LIVE!™ to keep the learning going in the event of a school closure. Currently, more than 300,000 U.S. students are served by CCC! VOD media systems featuring Classroom LIVE!™
Schools in the U.S. are advised to have a disaster or emergency plan in place to deal with extreme weather or other emergencies. Classroom LIVE!™ is being integrated by schools into many of those plans as a way to keep the learning going even if the school has to close for an extended period of time.
“The students of Bellwood School District 88 in Illinois count on us to fund and use tools to help them everyday—especially when challenges occur,” notes District 88’s Director of Curriculum & Instruction. “Streaming video platforms that incorporate distance learning tools like NDM’s Classroom LIVE!™ are helping us be prepared to keep students learning beyond schoolhouse walls before an emergency occurs.”
New guidelines released by the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outline situations when a school closure would be warranted. The World Health Organization classifies H1N1 as an unstoppable pandemic: by year end, the H1N1 virus could kill as many as 90,000 Americans and hospitalize nearly 2 million people. For more information, visit http://www.flu.gov.
ABOUT CLASSROOM LIVE!
Released last September as part of the CCC! Video On Demand™ software v2.5 update, Classroom LIVE!™ is an interactive, virtual classroom designed to “keep the learning going” for homebound students and when schools are forced to close because of an emergency or epidemic—such as the H1N1 “Swine Flu.”
ABOUT NEW DIMENSION MEDIA:
Founded in 1978, New Dimension Media, a division of Questar, is an award-winning producer and distributor of classroom programming to more than 100,000 K-12 schools, and 300 regional education media centers and Instructional Television Offices. NDM’s catalog features 1,000s of core curriculum standards-based, original programs from NDM and its content partners—including Weston Woods, National Science Foundation, Britannica, Nature on PBS, National Geographic Education, Reader’s Digest, Discovery Channel, and Disney Educational Productions. NDM programs have won over 100 of the industry’s most prestigious honors, including the CINE Golden Eagle and the Golden Apple. For more information on NDM, please visit www.ndmquestar.com.
ABOUT CCC! VIDEO ON DEMAND:
CCC! Video On Demand,™ developed by New Dimension Media, is a server-based interanet media system loaded with over, 3,000 K-12 programs accessible in just seconds with no buffering—for Mac, PC, or download onto iPod.
New Dimension Media created its CCC! VOD portal Classroom LIVE!™ as an interactive, virtual classroom—designed to “keep the learning going” for homebound students. Classroom LIVE!™ can be used effectively even when schools are forced to close because of an emergency or epidemic. Teachers and students are able to interact from their homes and keep the learning going. For more information on CCC! Video On Demand™, please visit www.cccvod.com.
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