KET EncycloMedia: Learning Without Limits
News and Updates | Frequently Asked Questions
Imagine you’re an elementary teacher planning a unit on desert biomes. Or a high school English teacher whose students are reading The Red Badge of Courage. Then imagine a single online source that lets you choose among hundreds of related instructional resources—full-length videos on desert environments or the Civil War, brief video clips, digital photographs, clip art—and then lets you easily incorporate those materials into your lessons.
It may sound like a fantasy, but KET EncycloMedia, a comprehensive Internet-based learning service offered free to Kentucky public schools, turns this fantasy into reality. The result of a partnership between KET and the Kentucky Department of Education, KET EncycloMedia offers teachers and students more than 5,000 videos, 50,000 video clips, and thousands of digital images, all searchable by keyword, content area, grade level, and Kentucky academic standards.
For more about what KET EncycloMedia offers and how to access and use it, see our list of Frequently Asked Questions.
News and Updates
- Writing Portfolio Scoring Training: The 90-minute 2008 Writing Portfolio Scoring Update can now be viewed or downloaded from KET EncycloMedia (logon required). This 90-minute professional development workshop from the KDE is for cluster leaders who will be training others on how to score students’ writing portfolios. Accompanying teaching materials may be downloaded from the KDE web site.
- KET Videos Available on EncycloMedia: KET productions
recently added to the resources available via KET EncycloMedia include Electronic
Field Trip to the Dentist (Primary), Electronic
Field Trip to the Post Office (Primary), Electronic
Field Trip to Fort Harrod and Fort Boonesborough (4-8), and
KET
School Video Project 2007: My Kentucky Home (K-12). Accessing
the videos requires a login password.
- Need Help Viewing or Downloading Captioned Videos? See
our downloadable Closed Captioning
How-To (PDF format).
- In-School EncycloMedia Workshops: Contact your KET
Education Consultant to learn how to incorporate the services and features
of KET EncycloMedia into classroom instruction with one of these two workshops:
- “KET EncycloMedia—Basic” offers an overview of resources, instructional tips, and hands-on experience with the web site and its features.
- “KET EncycloMedia—Advanced” is designed for users who are familiar with KET EncycloMedia but want to learn about more sophisticated ways to integrate it with various software programs, research techniques, and Internet resources.
- ACT Training: Two programs on administering the ACT test,
now required in Kentucky schools, are available for downloading from KET
EncycloMedia. The first is a general
overview of timetables, guidelines, facility and staff requirements,
and sources of information and support throughout the year (90 minutes).
The second describes the responsibilities of the Test
Accommodations Coordinator in each high school (64 minutes). Presented
by ACT Inc., the KDE, and KET, both programs may also be viewed online from
our ACT information page.
- Notes on Student Access: When students log in to KET
EncycloMedia, they must add “.student” to the username. Do not
include the “.student” extension in the username when registering
or creating student accounts; it is required to be added at login for the
login process to work. To obtain passcodes for your students, contact your
district Technology Coordinator or Chief Information Officer.
New Video Production Resource: The American Film Institute’s
Screen Education workshops provide teachers with filmmaking-based tools
and skills to incorporate video making into their curriculum. Students write,
shoot, edit, and ultimately exhibit original videos as part of their core
classroom studies. The activity transforms the classroom for both teachers
and students and has proven successful in English, social studies, history,
math, science, special-needs, gifted and talented, Advanced Placement, and
English as a Second Language classrooms. A Screen
Education handbook, including instructions for classroom projects, can
be downloaded from EncycloMedia.
- Having Trouble? If you experience technical difficulties
with your KET EncycloMedia service, your KET
Education Consultant may be able to help. Or call Discovery Education
Streaming at (800) 323-9084 (press 2 for Customer Support) between
the hours of 9:00 am and 6:00 pm ET.
- Help Page: The EncycloMedia Specialists in the Scott
County Schools have created their own KET
EncycloMedia help page with information on using the online service,
including contact information for district and school EncycloMedia trainers
and a FAQ.
- Contact for Non-Public Schools: Private, parochial, and home schools who want to use KET EncycloMedia should contact Andy Schaefer at Discovery Education. E-mail Andy_schaefer@discovery.com, or call (847) 425-7312.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is KET EncycloMedia?
- How can my students and I use KET EncycloMedia?
- What special features does KET EncycloMedia offer teachers?
- How do I access KET EncycloMedia?
- What training is available for KET EncycloMedia?
- Whom do I contact for help with KET EncycloMedia?
What is KET EncycloMedia?
KET EncycloMedia is a comprehensive online multimedia learning service offering downloadable/streamable video, a library of still photos and clip art, quizzes and lesson plans, a “this day in history” calendar, and many other related resources. It includes the popular Discovery Education Streaming multimedia service, which has already been used successfully in several Kentucky school districts, as well as 63 hours of KET-produced video on Kentucky subjects. All of the materials—including the Discovery library of more than 50,000 video clips—have been indexed to Kentucky academic standards. Best of all, thanks to a partnership between KET and the Kentucky Department of Education, KET EncycloMedia is free! KET has negotiated and paid a statewide license fee that allows all Kentucky public schools to use this wealth of teaching and learning resources.
To ensure that Kentucky teachers and students will always have reliable access and the highest possible video quality, the Kentucky Department of Education has purchased “local host” software that allows video and audio clips to be stored and indexed locally. School districts can build electronic libraries of resources from KET EncycloMedia within their own buildings. Schools can then access those resources via high-speed local networks—even without real-time access to the Internet. Statewide implementation of local hosting means that Kentucky teachers and students “will have much more reliability and quality when it comes to accessing electronic audio and video material,” explains David Couch, KDE associate commissioner for education technology.
How can my students and I use KET EncycloMedia?
Teachers and their students can use KET EncycloMedia in a variety of ways: to introduce a unit, to visualize an unfamiliar place or concept, to supplement independent or small-group learning, or to create dynamic PowerPoint® presentations. Since teachers can log on to the service at school or home, it’s easy to plan lessons using KET EncycloMedia resources.
What special features does KET EncycloMedia offer teachers?
KET EncycloMedia offers a wealth of “teacher features”:
- an interactive atlas
- a calendar with links to historical, cultural, and scientific milestones that occurred on a given date
- a Quiz Center where teachers can download, modify, create, and share quizzes
- an area for creating and sharing lesson plans
- a collection of historical speeches
- a collection of songs and sound effects
... and much more! All resources are correlated with Kentucky’s Academic Expectations, Core Content, and Program of Studies.
How do I access KET EncycloMedia?
Public schools: Your district technology coordinator or chief information officer will assign you a passcode. Once you have the pass code, go to streaming.discoveryeducation.com to create a user account.
Private, parochial, home, and other non-public schools: Because the KET EncycloMedia contract was funded with state dollars, it covers Kentucky public schools and preservice teachers only. To find out how you can take advantage of this wealth of instructional resources, please contact Andy Schaefer at Discovery Education, (847) 425-7312. He will be happy to work with you.
What training is available for KET EncycloMedia users?
KET EncycloMedia is a user-friendly product that includes a 30-minute online tutorial. For more in-depth training, you can participate in interactive WebX online seminars. When you complete one of these free hour-long training sessions, you will receive a certificate of completion that can be used to obtain professional development credit.
KET’s regional education consultants are also eager to help you get started using KET EncycloMedia with consultations or free in-school workshops. E-mail your consultant from our education contacts page, or call KET at (800) 432-0951.
The downloadable EncycloMedia Quick Reference Guide (PDF format) makes a handy “cheat sheet” to keep by your computer. It includes instructions for accessing the most popular features of KET EncycloMedia as well as troubleshooting information and contacts.
Whom do I contact for help with KET EncycloMedia?
KET has sponsored a series of regional “train-the-trainer” workshops for key district personnel throughout the state. If you have questions about the instructional use of KET EncycloMedia, these individuals will be able to help. If you have technical questions about KET EncycloMedia, contact your district technology coordinator or chief information officer.
If you are experiencing technical difficulties with your EncycloMedia service you can call Discovery Education Streaming's Customer Support at 1-800-323-9084 between the hours of 9:00/8:00 am CT and 6:00/5:00 pm CT (press 2); or email education_support@discovery.com.
You can also contact your local KET Education Consultant for help with the instructional use of KET EncycloMedia or if you are having technical difficulties.