BECON-TV Launches New,
Family-Oriented Programming

Broward County School's community broadcast station, BECON-TV (WPPB, Channel 19), recently launched a new programming schedule and new look for 2005. According to Phyllis Schiffer-Simon, director of BECON, "We're filling a niche no other broadcast channel does; all family, all educational, all the time. I call it 'edu-tainment.'"

The re-vamped programming schedule includes new programs such as Sports Blitz and new episodes of Broward School Beat and Broward Teen News. It also includes travel and history programs from other education program producers. In addition, you'll notice a new logo, fresh program promos and station IDs as well as a community calendar that runs periodically throughout the day. Teachers are encouraged to submit event information for possible inclusion in this calendar.

Although the community broadcast channel is relatively new, BECON-TV is part of the Broward Education Communication Network (BECON) that has provided curriculum enhancing, educational programming broadcasts into classrooms since 1966 and also established Broward County Public Schools' award winning Virtual High School. BECON also provides videoconferencing for schools and the community and is the source for all video and print graphic services for the district.

"We use our expertise in producing educational programming for the classroom and translating that into programming that benefits the entire community," explained Schiffer-Simon. BECON-TV programming airs throughout Broward County on Comcast, Advanced Cable and Tele-Media by Adelphia on channel 19 and BellSouth Entertainment channel 70.

More information on BECON classroom and community programming can be found at (www.becon.tv) or by calling
1-877-TV-BECON.

---

Virtual University Receives
Government Funds to Expand
Training
Broward's Virtual University has learned that its earmark request to the U.S. Congress for funds has been approved. A total of $99,200 will be received by the program and used to expand training opportunities for Broward's educators. It is the first earmark request the District has received in the past 16 years.

Courses offered on-line in the convenience and comfort of home are the answer for many of today's educators who are juggling both career and family responsibilities. Virtual University, which serves as a model for other Florida school districts, continues to provide Broward educators with consistent, high quality, on-line training.

The Foundations of Teaching is a series of three on-line courses being offered by Virtual University that will provide teachers with content, strategies and discussions on three key areas of teaching: Classroom Management, Instructional Delivery and Behavior Management.

In addition, a companion series for administrators is also being offered in April, May and June. These three-week courses focus on issues that face administrators and provide background information for reflective conversations with their teachers.

For more information visit Broward Virtual University's Web site at
(www.sbbc-vu.com).

Digital Divide Pilot Project Launched

Look up the noun divide in a dictionary and you will see it is a boundary or gap that stands between two things, conditions, or groups. In our society of technology and the Internet, the Digital Divide defines the gap between families who have technology and those who do not. Although more Americans now own computers, certain groups are still far less likely to have computers or on-line access.

Lack of such access affects:
• the ability of children to improve their learning with educational software
• adults' ability to learn valuable technology skills
• families from benefiting from on-line connections to important health and civic information.
Now Broward is taking the lead to bridge this gap for our students and their families by developing a Digital Divide program. The first objective of the program is to increase the number of "first-time" home computer families. This will be accomplished by refurbishing computers that schools surplus. Every year, Broward schools surplus thousands of computers, many of which are suitable for first time computer users. The computers will be distributed to eligible families after a parent or guardian completes a technology literacy program. 

Education Technology Services (ETS) has teamed up with the Title I Parent Involvement program for a program pilot running from January - June 2005. ETS is overseeing computer surplus and refurbishing procedures, and Title I is distributing the computers to graduates of their technology literacy program.  Using the Sterling Plan-Do-Study-Act methodology, the results of the pilot program will be evaluated to improve the process and to expand the program. 

Schools can surplus computers that meet program specifications to the Digital Divide program via procedures available on the website at 
(www.broward.k12.fl.us/digitaldivide).

Please refer eligible parents to the Title I Parent Involvement program to register for the six-week technology literacy class. For additional information or suggestions, E-mail (diggi@browardschools.com) or contact Mary Baker, ETS Project Manager, at 754-321-0306.