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In 1964, in A Guide to Instructional Television, editor Robert M. Diamond defined "educational television" as a "broad term usually applied to cultural and community broadcasting which may include some programs for inschool use" (p.278). His definition for instructional television was "television used within the formal classroom context on any educational level." Researchers interested in the history of instructional television can explore many topics from program type to school involvement.
In Educational Telecommunications (1977), Donald N. Wood and Donald G. Wylie devoted a chapter to examining eight levels of school television involvement: "single-classroom applications, school-level projects, district administration, metropolitan ITV associations, statewide operations, regional activities, national programs, and international developments" (1977, p. 193). This article will summarize many collections and oral history interviews in the National Public Broadcasting Archives (NPBA) which pertain to all the above levels except single-classroom applications and international developments.
In 1990, under the leadership of Donald R. McNeil, the National Public Broadcasting Archives began as a cooperative effort among several broadcasting organizations and educational institutions including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and National Public Radio (NPR). These organizations, along with the Academy for Educational Development, joined forces with the University of Maryland to preserve the history of public broadcasting in America. The archives bring together the archival record of the major entities of non-commercial broadcasting in the United States including the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), NPR, CPB, the Agency for Instructional Technology (AIT), and the defunct Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (MPATI).
After World War II, with the push for more scientific and technological knowledge, schools started using new technology such as classroom television and providing better training for teachers. With the development of the coaxial cable in 1938 and of microwave transmission in 1945, stations could transmit television signals over large areas. From 1954 to 1963, the Fund for the Advancement of Education and the Ford Foundation tested many instructional television programs at several educational levels. These programs included "the transmission of fifthgrade American history lessons by Montclair State College, New Jersey, to nearby schools" and "the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (MPATI)" (Robert J. Blakely, 1979, pp. 138-139).
Instructional television at the school level
The Warren F. Seibert...