Education by Radio (1937)

broadcasting systems of other nations; international relationships in broad¬ casting. As a result of all of these activities the Committee was looked upon as a source of information and leadership. A heavy volume of corre¬ spondence was built up. By this method considerable individual assistance was rendered to institutions and educational groups in developing patterns for their own radio activities. On the more technical aspects of radio the Committee was not so active. However it did authorize a study of foreign broadcasting sys¬ tems by Armstrong Perry. The results of this study were summar¬ ized in the February 18, 1932 issue of the bulletin, Education by I Radio, and were printed in the Congressional Record. Beginning March 17, 1933, the Committee provided the services of an outstanding consulting engineer. Commander T. A. M. Craven, to assist the United States delegates in preparing for the North Amer¬ ican Radio Conference which was held in Mexico City in the sum¬ mer of 1933. The Federal Radio Commission expressed approval of the Committee’s action and commented favorably upon the work done by its technical expert. Commander Craven was later appointed chief engineer of the Federal Communications Commission and is now one of its members. On behalf of the Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Univer¬ sities, the National Association of State Universities, the U. S. De¬ partment of Agriculture, and the U. S. Office of Education, Dr. Tyler undertook a study of radio broadcasting in the land-grant colleges I and state universities. The study required the better part of a year. I A report was published and distributed widely, under the title. An i Appraisal of Radio Broadcasting in the Land-Grant Colleges and State Universities. By 1936 the extent of interest in radio on the part of schools and colleges had become so great and so many inquiries were being re¬ ceived about courses of training which might be available in the field that the Committee, in cooperation with the U. S. Office of Educa¬ tion and the Bureau of Educational Research of the Ohio State Uni¬ versity, prepared a syllabus to cover all phases of the subject of educational broadcasting. The syllabus attempted to summarize the developments in the field and to create a practical and authentic guide for colleges interested in developing new courses of their own. Altho by its nature it has limited appeal, the syllabus has been eagerly sought after by institutions and individuals planning radio education courses. While the Committee was carrying on these activities as part of its program to make people aware of radio, it was also actively en¬ gaged in the protection of the educational broadcasting stations. As stated previously, the Committee maintained a service bureau speci¬ fically to look out for the interests of these stations. In a report on the service bureau’s five years of activity Mr. Perry said: Since our Committee was appointed more than SOOO applications for facilities have been made to the Federal Radio Commission and to its successor, the Federal Communications Commission, that affected the facilities of educational stations. Our Committee has helped by continuously following these applications, by keeping the educational stations informed concerning them, and by providing competent legal advice. During a large part of the existence of the service bureau, a recognized radio attorney was retained for consultation and advice to educational stations. While this did not at any point involve actual defense of the stations in legal actions, it did keep them informed as to their statutory rights and the steps which they should take to protect themselves. While the Committee was eager to safeguard the existing facilities STATION WSUI, State University of Iowa, Iowa City, and WOI, Iowa State College, Ames, began on September 27 what is probably the first two-way educational network in the United States. The two stations join together to rebroadcast each other’s programs. Each station purchased and installed a specially designed re¬ ceiver in order to pick up the other’s signals. Programs being broadcast jointly by the two stations include those of the Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Radio Child Study Club, the Iowa Congress of Parents and Teachers, the American Legion Auxiliary, the Iowa State Medical Society, and the Iowa Junior Academy of Science. WOI picks up from WSUI two classroom courses, “History of Romance” and “Classical Music.” “Stories Out of Iowa’s Past,” a program by William J. Petersen of the department of his¬ tory, is being rebroadcast also. From WOI, WSUI picks up service broadcasts, organ recitals, book chats, “The Magazine Rack,” and “Far Lands,” a travel program. According to Mrs. Pearl Bennett Broxam, pro¬ gram director of WSUI, “We have without ex¬ ception had wonderful success with the rebroad¬ casting experiment. We have received a state¬ wide response of appreciation of the plan.” • More than 5o,ooo boys and girls listened regularly every week last year to the radio programs of the Rochester School of the Air. They listened, they participated, and they learned about science, art, music, books, and cur¬ rent affairs. With the cooperation of radio stations WHAM and WHEC the Rochester Board of Education has been planning and presenting radio programs since 1929 for use in the classrooms. The care¬ fully planned concerts of the Rochester Civic Orchestra have been broadcast to schools for eight years. Since 1933 the radio science lessons by Harry A. Carpenter, specialist in science for the Rochester schools, have not only added im¬ measurably to children’s learning in science, but also have contributed uniquely to the advance¬ ment of education by radio. Other program series have become indispensa¬ ble to the success of this radio project. The pro¬ grams about books broadcast by Julia L. Sauer of the Rochester Public Library and the stimulating art programs that have brought the special abili¬ ties of Elizabeth W. Cross regularly to thousands of children for the last four years are among the genuine achievements in radio education. — Paul C. Reed, supervisor of visual and radio education, Rochester, N. Y. The national council oe teach¬ ers OF ENGLISH is again cooperating with the American School of the Air in producing a series of broadcasts of particular interest to Eng¬ lish teachers. The programs, which deal with “Aspects of American Literature,” may be heard on alternate Tuesdays from 2:30-3pm, EST, over the network of the Columbia Broadcasting System. [59]