Educational Television (Hong Kong)
Encyclopedia
Educational Television shortly known as ETV, is a series of educational television programmes jointly produced by Radio Television Hong Kong
and the Education and Manpower Bureau
(formerly the Education Department) of Hong Kong
. ETV has been an auxiliary means for teaching the primary and secondary school curriculum
on television
since the early 1970s. ETV programmes change with the curriculum from time to time, covering a wide spectrum of topics. Programmes are broadcast during daytime non-peak hours on the English channels of TVB and ATV from Monday to Friday, during the 32 weeks of the school year. As the popularity of the Internet
has increased, ETV has made its programmes available on the world wide web
on demand.
. It began with Secondary 1 and reached Secondary 3 in 1978. There was no major change in range until 1999. ETV extended to Primary 1 and 2 in junior primary and Secondary 4 and 5 on selected topics in senior secondary school. In 2000, ETV also began to broadcast Teacher Resource Programmes for teachers.
, English language
and Mathematics
, and the secondary subjects Social Studies
, Health Education
(absent in secondary school) and Nature
(later renamed to Science). Programme topics are changed weekly for primary school and biweekly for secondary school. The length of a programme is 15 minutes for primary school and 20 for secondary. Later the secondary subjects were merged to General Studies
for primary school as the curriculum changed. As Putonghua has become increasingly important in Hong Kong, it was introduced into the Hong Kong curriculum, and ETV now produces programmes in the language. Social Studies for secondary schools was renamed to Personal, Social and Humanities Education.
and ATV World
, alternately, so that one of the stations broadcasts ETV programmes in the morning (8am - noon) and the other broadcasts them in the afternoon (noon - 4pm) time slot. In each academic year, the two stations' ETV broadcasting periods swap over.
Although each programme is broadcast several times a week, their broadcast times are not adapted to school class timetables. The government therefore provides necessary television and recording equipment for reception of ETV programmes for government schools and aided schools in Hong Kong. The recorded programmes can then be viewed out of the broadcast time frame as required by the school.
Some programmes are distributed in form of VCD
s or interactive multimedia CD-ROM
s to schools.
With the coming of the Internet age, ETV programmes and other materials can be obtained from ETV website eTVonline.
Radio Television Hong Kong
Radio Television Hong Kong is a public broadcasting organisation in Hong Kong that is operated as an independent department in the government under the Broadcasting Authority. RTHK operates seven radio channels, and produces television programmes that are then broadcast through local television...
and the Education and Manpower Bureau
Education and Manpower Bureau
The Education Bureau is responsible for education policies in Hong Kong.The bureau is headed by the Secretary for Education and oversees the Secretariat, University Grants Committee and Student Financial Assistance Agencies...
(formerly the Education Department) of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. ETV has been an auxiliary means for teaching the primary and secondary school curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
since the early 1970s. ETV programmes change with the curriculum from time to time, covering a wide spectrum of topics. Programmes are broadcast during daytime non-peak hours on the English channels of TVB and ATV from Monday to Friday, during the 32 weeks of the school year. As the popularity of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
has increased, ETV has made its programmes available on the world wide web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
on demand.
History
ETV began with the primary school curriculum and developed gradually. In 1972, the first programme was aimed at Primary 3 students. It extended one level up yearly and covered Primary 6 in 1974. In September 1976, ETV started to cover junior secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
. It began with Secondary 1 and reached Secondary 3 in 1978. There was no major change in range until 1999. ETV extended to Primary 1 and 2 in junior primary and Secondary 4 and 5 on selected topics in senior secondary school. In 2000, ETV also began to broadcast Teacher Resource Programmes for teachers.
Programmes
The programmes are closely tied with the curriculum devised by Hong Kong Government. Most of programmes are in the Cantonese language. In the early days, it covered the primary subjects of Chinese languageChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, and the secondary subjects Social Studies
Social studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...
, Health Education
Health education
Health education is the profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health...
(absent in secondary school) and Nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
(later renamed to Science). Programme topics are changed weekly for primary school and biweekly for secondary school. The length of a programme is 15 minutes for primary school and 20 for secondary. Later the secondary subjects were merged to General Studies
General Studies
General Studies may refer to:* Bachelor of General Studies, a degree offered in some Western Universities* A GCSE and A-level examination offered to 16-18 year olds in the United Kingdom and some other countries...
for primary school as the curriculum changed. As Putonghua has become increasingly important in Hong Kong, it was introduced into the Hong Kong curriculum, and ETV now produces programmes in the language. Social Studies for secondary schools was renamed to Personal, Social and Humanities Education.
Media
During normal school terms, ETV programmes are broadcast from Monday to Friday (except some long school vacations like Christmas holidays, Lunar New Year holidays, Easter holidays and Summer holidays) on the free TV channels TVB PearlTVB Pearl
TVB Pearl is one of the two free television services in Hong Kong that mainly broadcast in the English language, the other being ATV World. It is owned and operated by Television Broadcasts Limited, and together with its sister Cantonese language station TVB Jade, is broadcast from TVB City at 77...
and ATV World
ATV World
ATV World , is one of the free-to-air English language television channels in Hong Kong, the other being its arch-rival TVB Pearl. Its sister station, ATV Home, broadcasts in Cantonese language...
, alternately, so that one of the stations broadcasts ETV programmes in the morning (8am - noon) and the other broadcasts them in the afternoon (noon - 4pm) time slot. In each academic year, the two stations' ETV broadcasting periods swap over.
Although each programme is broadcast several times a week, their broadcast times are not adapted to school class timetables. The government therefore provides necessary television and recording equipment for reception of ETV programmes for government schools and aided schools in Hong Kong. The recorded programmes can then be viewed out of the broadcast time frame as required by the school.
Some programmes are distributed in form of VCD
VCD
VCD is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below:* VCD Athletic, semi-professional football team* Video CD* Voice command device* Value change dump * Vocal cord dysfunction* Visual Communication and Design...
s or interactive multimedia CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s to schools.
With the coming of the Internet age, ETV programmes and other materials can be obtained from ETV website eTVonline.