Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 3, 1993 TAG: 9311030014
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BETHESDA, MD. LENGTH: Medium
It's just that type of curiosity that C-Span hopes to generate when it takes the bus to high schools and colleges across the country.
"This bus is literally a drive for education," said Brian Lamb, C-Span's chairman and chief executive officer. "We want to bring the resources of our programming and personnel directly to local communities' doorsteps."
C-Span launched the bus tour with an "Electronic Town Meeting" with Education Secretary Richard Riley and nearly 40 Whitman students.
Riley touted the Clinton administration's proposals for voluntary academic standards, and discussed with the students such issues as school violence, drugs, technology and the high cost of college.
The session was taped for broadcast later.
Gathering program material is just one of the purposes behind the school bus.
"It is important to educate people to use technology to better understand democracy and government," Lamb said.
That's where C-Span comes in.
C-Span, available in 59.8 million homes nationwide, televises entire sessions of the Senate and House of Representatives, and provides coverage of the White House and other branches of government. It also hosts viewer call-in programs.
Seven thousand high school and college teachers participate in C-Span in the Classroom, which encourages them to tape programs for educational use.
Marafatsos, who works with students in Whitman's cooperative work-education program, asked for material on C-Span's programming.
"I think it would be very beneficial having a link between the community and school," she said.
With computers and televisions and videocassette recorders throughout the building, Whitman is well-equipped to take advantage of what C-Span is offering.
"It's enrichment for our kids," said Principal Jerome Marco. "I'm glad it's happening."
The 45-foot bus, which cost $500,000, has video equipment and computers on board that can access information services.
It will tour the country for a year, stopping at historical spots like the Antietam Civil War battlefield and the Truman and Eisenhower presidential libraries. The trip concludes in Coudersport, Pa., next June.
The network also provides lessons plans and gives teachers access to C-Span's video archives at Purdue University.
by CNB