Program Overview
In accordance with the provisions of House Bill 1 of the 128th General Assembly, funding is available for qualified Ohio Public Television Stations to support Technical and Instructional Development.
In fiscal year FY11 up to $658,099 is to be allocated equally among the 12 eligible Ohio Public Television Stations. The legislation further states that with the advice and approval of eTech Ohio, funds shall be used for the production of interactive instructional programming series with priority given to resources aligned with the state academic content standards, in consultation with the Ohio Department of Education. Additionally, the programming shall be targeted to the needs of the poorest two hundred school districts as determined by the district’s average per pupil valuation as defined in section 3317.0213 of the Ohio Revised Code as that section existed prior to June 30, 2005.
For the past two fiscal years (FY09 and FY10), consultation with the Ohio Department of Education has led to a focus on the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects of math and science in grades 3-8. In FY11, eTech Ohio intends to broaden its focus on STEM with STEM Careers, engineering and technology, as well as the science and mathematics topics. Content from prior year’s projects can assist with remedial learning. STEM is a strong initiative in Ohio which promotes and supports the creation and nurturing of creative students who are problem solvers, innovators, inventors, logical thinkers, and strong communicators.