For Immediate Release
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Contact:Heidi Guarino 781-338-3106 or JC Considine 781-338-3112

ESE and WGBH/WGBY Link Online Resources for Educators

Teachers Will Have Access to Free Digital Resources Linked to State Standards

MALDEN - The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has partnered with the WGBH Educational Foundation and WGBY in Springfield to launch a new online resource for teachers to provide free access to more than 2,200 classroom-ready media tools. Massachusetts Teachers' Domain (MTD) is a localized edition of Teachers' Domain, a nationally used database of digital resources for educators, and contains lesson plans and media clips that have been developed to align with the state's curriculum frameworks. MTD is linked directly to MassONE, the state's existing online portal for educators, which offers web-based tools and resources to support and connect teachers across the Commonwealth. The MTD content is pulled from a variety of public television programming including Nova, Frontline, Design Squad, American Experience as well as government agencies, museums, libraries and academic institutions. Most segments contain a multi-media resource, such as a video clip, animated chart or PowerPoint slides, as well as classroom instructions and student assignments. "Public television has produced some extraordinary content, and bringing those multi-media components into the classroom will help bring much of the content to life for our students," said Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester. "We are fortunate to have a media giant like WGBH in our backyard, and I am pleased to be able to partner with them to offer these valuable resources to our educators." "We are delighted to partner with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to extend the services of public broadcasting into all Massachusetts classrooms. This collaboration allows us to better serve our constituents and gives teachers access to award-winning media resources from Teachers' Domain to meet diverse learning styles and educational needs," said Jon Abbott, WGBH's President and Chief Executive Officer. (TBC) This week's launch is the first step in a multi-year plan to expand MTD into a service that can be used by Massachusetts educators, students and parents. Over the next two years MTD will expand its collection to include history, social science and arts resources, all aligned with the state's curriculum frameworks. Educators can now move from MassONE to MTD through links, and will eventually be able to move seamlessly from one to the other using a single sign-on. There are currently more than 400,000 registered users in 187 countries signed up to utilize the Teachers' Domain resources, but only Massachusetts users will have access to the state's special content. Users will also have access to professional development courses and training workshops offered by WGBH, WGBY, and PBS TeacherLine. The development of MTD is the first in a series of projects that ESE and WGBH/WGBY are working on together. Other efforts include the development of the Mass Academic Challenge, a quiz show for high school students that will go into production later this year. For more information on the Massachusetts Teachers Domain, log on to www.teachersdomain.org.



Last Updated: October 28, 2009



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