It'll take decades before children get the benefit of this new knowledge about learning. So we're trying to use TV to give the teachers some help and to apply what we know directly to the kids. Called Minds of Our Own , the three one-hour segments are being been sent to public broadcasting stations nationwide, which in turn air them on their own schedules. These are hosted shows put together with material created by Schneps' group and Annenberg. In Massachusetts, schools are wired up through the Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications.
Teachers can ask for help or make suggestions via telephone, fax, e-mail, or the Web.
Getting them out of the trouble, or getting them into it more deeply, depends on responses from the viewers. Each plight involves what, at first, looks like a simple problem. Of course, it turns out to be not so easy to solve. For example, one episode finds our heroes out at sea on a floating device that isn't working as it should. To many viewers, the obvious answer will be to add air.