Taking education home

Educational videos have been a staple of classroom instruction for years, but a new program in Indiana will now make many of these learning tools available for home use. Comcast and the Discovery Channel will collaborate to provide this material at no cost to families in Indiana. No doubt these videos will serve homeschooling families as well as those enrolled in schools. The value of the availability depends, of course, on how good the resources are and how well children are able to use them. When teachers use videos they usually supplement them with commentary and follow them up with questions and discussion. How effective the resources will be without teacher guidance remains to be seen, but for reference and reinforcement of previously viewed material, they will undoubtedly be helpful.