51³Ô¹ÏÍøPBS Supports Home Learning for Families, Educators During School Closures
51³Ô¹ÏÍøPBS seeks to support all 51³Ô¹ÏÍø citizens affected by the coronavirus outbreak, providing support through our educational programs and resources available on television and online. The MTPBS education department is collaborating with PBS stations across the country to curate digital and printable resources to support home learning for children ages 3-18.
“51³Ô¹ÏÍøPBS is proud to provide quality digital resources that can be accessed across multiple platforms and printable materials to support student learning,” MTPBS Director of Education Nikki Vradenburg said.
Teachers and families are invited to join MTPBS closed groups on Facebook, where they are sharing information for supporting student learning. Find these groups by searching for “MTPBS Teachers” and “MTPBS Parents” on Facebook.
“51³Ô¹ÏÍøPBS wants families and educators to know that all of our programs and resources on air and online are created for the purpose of educating adults and children of all ages,” Vradenburg said. “Furthermore, all PBS KIDS content for children ages 3 to 8 is aligned to learning goals in literacy, STEAM, social studies and social and emotional learning.”
Parents can visit the to find a description of PBS KIDS programs and the content areas and learning goals they support.
As many schools are exploring options for distance learning during school closures, MTPBS recommends using the as a resource for sharing educational media with students.
The website hosts hundreds of thousands of media resources, including videos, images, interactive games, self-paced interactive lessons and learning activities to support exploration.
51³Ô¹ÏÍøPBS LearningMedia integrates with tools such as Google classroom Remind and Clever to help teachers plan and implement engaging lessons for students. For teachers new to using the platform, free webinars are offered by PBS and other member stations. Educators can refer to the MTPBS website for this information.
The 51³Ô¹ÏÍøPBS Education department is led by two certified teachers who each have over a decade of classroom teaching experience. They are available to support and consult with educators, who are interested in exploring how to support student learning during school closures.
“We know these are uncertain times for 51³Ô¹ÏÍø families and educators and hope we can continue to be a trusted resource for learning across our great state,” Vradenburg said.
51³Ô¹ÏÍøPBS (KUFM-TV in Missoula, KUSM-TV in Bozeman, KUKL-TV in Kalispell, KBGS-TV in Billings, KUGF-TV in Great Falls and KUHM-TV in Helena) is a service of UM and 51³Ô¹ÏÍø State University. For more information, visit .
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Contact: Nikki Vradenburg, 51³Ô¹ÏÍøPBS director of education, nikki@montanapbs.org; Deanna Mydland, 51³Ô¹ÏÍøPBS early learning specialist, deanna@montanapbs.org.