Public Broadcasters Leverage Technology for E-Learning

Indiana’s statewide network of public broadcasting television stations is
preparing to use its over-the-air tv signals to provide a form of internet
service to students who are learning virtually but may not have access to
the internet at home.

The Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations group will be one of the first in
the country to use datacasting to provide educational materials from
teachers into student’s homes.

IPBS says member stations will use their existing broadcast towers.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, IPBS Executive Director Mark
Newman said the educational content is delivered on the same video signal,
or spectrum, as television programming.

“It’s running across the same broadcast spectrum as the stations are using
for all of their other outlets,” explained Newman. “This takes a segment of
that broadcast spectrum. And it is made private. It’s targetable. It’s
controllable. It’s manageable.”

Newman says the technology is not new. He says emergency services in a
community use the same technology, sending encrypted data, when radio and
cellular services can be overwhelmed during a crisis or disaster. But it is
a first for public broadcasters to use it in this capacity.

“So, while you’re watching TV, on your favorite station with that favorite
channel, we’re able to datacast files to student homes,” said Newman.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how the gap in available internet
service, especially in rural parts of Indiana, is limiting the use of
e-learning and online teaching tools.

“It gives them an opportunity to have their schooling experience and really
not miss as much of a beat if they had to drive to the local supermarkets
parking lot where a school bus has been parked with a hotspot. That’s just
inconvenient. That’s impractical. This gives them the opportunity to be
successful,” said Newman.

Households that qualify for the program will use a small antenna and
receiver in their home to receive the signal. It will allow students to log
onto a browser that simulates traditional internet, giving them access to
encrypted data, including educational material and assignments.

IPSB estimates approximately 85,000 Hoosier homes do not have internet
access. The network has secured $6.7 million in federal and state grants
which will allow IPBS to help 8,200 households.

Newman says it is more affordable than schools using hotspot technology. He
says the annual maintenance cost of datacasting for IPBS stations combined
is about $205,000.

In comparison, he estimates one small district could spend at least $20,000
each month for hotspot service with a fee that increases with the number of
users.

“The annual cost for datacasting for hundreds of districts is matched in 10
months of hotspot cost in one district,” said Newman.

The service will be initially launched in Jennings County in January, which
will receive the signal from WTIU-TV in Bloomington.

“Datacasting will enable us to bring our classrooms to about 1,200 students
who don’t have Internet access in their homes,” said Teresa Brown,
superintendent of the Jennings County School Corp. “It’s a sustainable,
cost-effective solution to enable remote learning in the areas of our county
where internet connections have always been a challenge. ”

Newman is working now to provide datacasting to other schools with similar
levels of students that have difficulty accessing online education.

Newman says datacasting won’t replace broadband internet, but it does
provide an immediate solution by using existing technology and
infrastructure

“PBS began as educational television,” he said. “You might say we’re using
technology to get back to our roots.”

Public broadcasters in South Carolina were the first to implement the
technology.

Source: Inside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick