CTAN Spotlight

Describe your role at your organization and/or the mission of your organization.

I am Director of Educational Services at KLRU-TV, Austin PBS. I have been in this role for three years. The overall mission of KLRU is to KLRU’s mission is to present quality multimedia content that engages people in the thoughtful exchange of ideas, the expression of the arts, and enjoyable lifelong learning opportunities.

Specifically for our educational outreach, our mission is slightly different – it is to bring awareness of the full range of resources that we offer for joyful learning in formal and informal settings, and to build a foundation of smart digital media practices.

What is one program or best practice that you are proud of? 

There are many – I am proud of the clever and fun programming and games that we offer on TV, online and on mobile media. I think we are unique in our Smart Screen Time® / La Pantalla Inteligente® messaging. As non-commercial media, we have the luxury of saying that our work is not complete until kids move away from our programs and games into activities where they can put their learning to work. In other words, we are perhaps the only media company in kids’ lives that will say, “Please turn us off!”

What has changed most since starting in 2011?

Definitely the proliferation of screens in kids’ lives, across all income brackets and age levels. That presents a tremendous opportunity for learning but it needs guidance. Tablets and phones naturally lend themselves to production more than consumption, so we need to make sure we don’t have kids zoning out, or becoming “screen zombies”

What does success look like for your organization?

One key is when kids and families eagerly choose educational media for viewing or play during leisure time. That shows that they’re being selective about the content they choose and it’s an important indicator for us of a continuous, lifelong learner. Another key is when kids put into action the information that they’ve acquired from our content. And a third, and perhaps the strongest indicator of lifelong learning, is when kids and families embrace leisure-time reading as a joyful choice.

What is the key to great organizational partnerships?

We love working with out-of-school partners! Great partnerships occur when the partners embrace the notion that our content offers something of value to them for a variety of reasons—to extend learning in a fun and engaging way; as a way of providing choice to youth while still offering safety and trustworthiness of content; as a way of sparking youth creativity and production; and as a means of connecting what they’re doing in the out of school context with the home (since 98% of homes can connect to us via TV, online, or mobile media). We know that OST providers are under pressure to be more “academic,” and rather than turn to a worksheet-driven, replication of school activities, we know that we can help them accomplish their goals while still keeping that fun OST atmosphere.

What do you think the future landscape looks like for Out of School Time providers in the Austin area?

I’m glad to see that there is a growing recognition that OST is critical in the growth of well-being of youth. It’s an important transition time between school and home and an absolutely essential, formative during the summer months. I think we will collectively have to withstand the pressure to turn this OST into “more school.” I think we all know that kids, our clients, will not be wild about a turn to more traditionally academic work and this may be bold, but I think that we may have a thing or two to say about learning in more open-ended and exploratory ways.

What is something you have learned that you would like to impart to other organizations in the Out of School Time community?

When we have provided resources to OST providers, we often hear a “thank you,” but it’s not for the specific items we’ve brought. It’s because at a more fundamental level, our resources can give everyone a break. Especially during the long, hot summer months, kids need down time and so do the adults! Sometimes kids need to go off by themselves in a corner with headphones and a tablet. Sometimes that’s the best way to diffuse crankiness and power struggles. My dream is that such down time for all kids includes not only our stuff, but a true browsing library, and lots of hands-on resources: Lego, Tinker Toys, markers, scissors and paper. Boredom can produce great things when the tools are there!