1 ‘Odd Couple’
opens anew
Page 5
ELC pavilion
dedication
soon
Page 8
print
H Wednesday, May 13,1981
Feature
Magazine!
Vol. XIV, No. 25 ~
Telecourse project
planned to water
TV wasteland
MING DISASTER TURNS OUT TO BE A DRIP-The Oregon City fire department
Bushed to the rescue of the Science Building Monday. Steam escaping from a water
neater pressure relief valve set off the fire alarm and the sprinkler system in the men’s
restroom. The fire department promptly responded. Instead of an inferno, firemen
iiscovered half an inch of water on the floor of the restroom. Armed with vacuums,
firement sucked up the “castastrophe.” Stiff photo by Duffy Coffman
Scientific creationism debate tonight
By Tom Jeffries
■Of The Print
I “The real issue of the debate
Is: Is Scientific Creationism
Science?” explained Wally
bohnson, religious studies in
structor, about " the three-day
seminar, presenting both sides
of the scientific creationism
story, that begins today.
I “If it is, why does it disagree
Iso much with evolution?”
IJohnson added.
The seminar, which will con
sist of evening lectures and a
panel discussion, will be open
to the public and will feature
four prominent scientists
speaking on both sides of the
question.
Dr. Donald Chittick, an in
dependent biologist, will open
tonight’s lecture on his belief
from a creationist perspective
and the theory of a relatively
young earth age. Dr. Richard
Thomas, a paleontologist from
Portland State University, will
follow and speak on the evolu
tionary hypothesis from his
perspective.
On Thursday, Dr. Chittick
will again speak, followed by
Dr. Marc R. Feldesman, a
physical anthropologist from
PSU, who will also deal with
the theory of evolution.
cont. on page 3
Television has long been
known as the vast wasteland,
and many people consider it
mindless-escapism at best. But
recent innovations and an in
crease in quality programming
is changing all that. In the last
year alone, the popularity of
such shows as “Cosmos,”
“Civilization,” “The Ascent of
Man,” “Connections,” and
“The Shock of the New” have
proven that educational TV
can compete with laugh, tracks
and sob stories.
Combine quality productions
with the sophisticated
technology of cable television,
communications satellites and
micro-computer communica
tion (Betamax, Selectavision,
etc.) and the possibilities for
education are “unlimited,” ac
cording to Ray Welch, director
of self-improvement at
Chemeketa Community Col
lege.
Welch and more than 100
educators from around the
state who recognize the untap
ped potential for telecourses,
learned much about the newest
educational phenomenom at a
workshop devoted to the sub
ject April 15 at the College.
Oregon’s 13 community col
leges have taken the situation a
step further with the formal
organization of the Oregon
Telecommunications Consor
tium (OTC). Chartered in
March, the OTC is charged
with the selection, purchasing,
and editing of nationally
produced teiecourses tor the
state; a procedure which serves
to minimize program costs for
the individual community col
lege.
The consortium also serves
as a forum where educators
can share ideas and address
the challenges presented by
this potentially explosive
resource.
“Our primary.goal is access,”
said OTC spokesperson, Bob
Wynia. “We see tremendous
potential for the delivery of
educational opportunities to
the remote learner.”
Wynia,
College
ad
ministrator, said the telecourses
will be especially good for peo
ple who are “time bound” by
jobs, children or whatever. It
will also suit the handicapped
or persons otherwise physically
unable to get to a campus.
Hal Bender, a College
science instructor who is cur
rently “teaching” the telecourse
“Earth, Sea, and Sky,” noted
that with the content of the
course set, the weekly class
session becomes a good star
ting point for an expanded
discussion on the program’s
ideas or related topics.
Although the classroom ses
sions are optional, students are
expected to watch at least 20 of
the 30 half-hour programs
broadcast on the Oregon
educational channel, complete
reading assignments in the ac
companying textbook, and
take mid-term and final exams.
Telecourses are expected to
present serious challenges to
the traditional system of educa
tion. Private production com
panies, lured by projected
subscription revenues ap
proaching $150 million by
1985, have already invested
huge sums In educational “soft
ware.” Communications giant
Control Data Corporation, for
instance, already -sports a
catalogue of no less than 700
telecourse titles on subjects
ranging from basic math to ad
vanced medicine.
“It’s now possible to buy
K-12 math for $850,” com
mented Star la Jewell, a televi
sion specialist for the State
Department of Education.
“This means we no longer have
a need for K-12 math teachers.
We don’t even have to send
kids to school anymore.”
However, Wynia suggested
that telecourses represent only
one-third of the class. ‘It’s
essential to have a teacher who
coordinates and integrates the
information
from
the
telecourse, from thé textbook,
and from the accompanying
study guide to make it a com
plete learning process,” he
said.
“Teiecourses are terrific
teaching aids,” he added.
“You just couldn’t do ‘Cosmos’
in a regular classroom.”