Cable in the Classroom

Member programming services and cable companies provide over 360 hours per month of educational programming, plus free cable connection and free monthly cable service.

CITC programs are available to teachers for taping at school or at home. Simply record the CITC programs that interest you, then use the programs to support the curriculum.

Programming is available across a wide range of subject areas for both elementary and secondary students, as well as professional development for teachers.

Officially launched in 1995 by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, CITC was developed in response to teachers’ requests for access to cable television programs for use in the classroom.

CITC is endorsed by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) and many other educational associations across Canada. “ Cable in the Classroom is a valuable tool for teachers. It is educationally relevant, commercial-free programming that provides students with broad exposure to a wide variety of viewpoints, values and political orientations,” said Jan Eastman, President of CTF 1997-1999.

Tune in QITC

Local cable companies provide free cable connection and free monthly cable service to publicly funded schools in their service areas.

Programming services obtain copyright clearance for specific programs and make them available to teachers through CITC. Many programming services provide lesson plans to support their programming. These can be downloaded through the CITC web site.

Check the programming schedule published in “Cable in the Classroom.” This glossy magazine is mailed to all publicly funded schools across Canada. The publication is also available free of charge to individual teachers by subscription. The CITC magazine contains detailed program listings and articles of interest to educators. If you miss the magazine, weekby- week schedules of upcoming CITC programming air each Sunday at 5:45 p.m. (EST) and Monday at 6:45 a.m. (EST) on CPAC and are also posted on the CITC website.

Select, then tape, CITC programs to use in your class. CITC recommends that taping one show (or series) per tape, makes it easier to note the copyright clearance. Most shows are cleared for use up to one year following the date of airing.

Preview the show, segment or series, then decide how to make the best use of it. Whether as a springboard to other class activities, or as the basis of a question-and-answer period directly related to the video, you’ll find it’s easy to fit the material into your lesson.

Tune in immediately to Cable In The Classroom, or, for more information, call: 1-800-244-9049 or visit the CITC web site at www.cableeducation.ca.

Tune out YNN

CITC is quite different from the Youth News Network (YNN), which is a commercial enterprise headed by Ron MacDonald of Athena Educational Partners in Montreal. In fact, ETFO is committed to working with other provincial and national partners to make sure YNN stays out of Canadian schools.

In return for placing televisions, VCRs, satellite dishes and computer equipment in schools, YNN forces students to watch 10 minutes of single-bias news and two and a half minutes of advertisements. While the programming available through CITC is produced by 36 established television networks, YNN programs are produced by Telescene in Québec.

Choose your channel. The following stations contribute to C1TC:
A&E Access BET Bravo! CanalD Canal Famille Canal Vie CBC CNBC CNN
CPAC Discovery Channel" Food Network History Television HGTV
Knowledge Network Life Network MétéoMédia MuchMusic MusiquePlus
Newsworld RDI (Réseau de l’information) RDS (Le Réseau des sports)
Showcase Television Space: The Imagination Station TFO TLC TSN
Treehouse TV TV5 TVO Vision TV The Weather Network WTN YTV