October 17, 2011
SFL Featured On The Discovery Channel

The Source for Learning (SFL; sourceforlearning.org) is the subject of a new documentary segment that will air on the Discovery Channel at 7:00 a.m. EST and PST on November 2, 2011.

The program, in Discovery's Profiles series, focuses on educational organizations taking a leadership role on important issues. The SFL segment can be previewed at sourceforlearning.org/about.cfm.

Introduced by host Lou Gossett, the SFL piece describes the nonprofit organization's thirty-year history of leadership in learning through the thoughtful use of technology.

SFL's professional staff tells how its services--all internet-based--emphasize the value of learning that goes beyond acquiring core knowledge. To succeed in the rapidly changing global economy, adults need not only to know facts, but to be able to evaluate and process information, work collaboratively, think creatively, and write and speak clearly. Those skills must be fostered during childhood, and all of SFL's offerings play a role in promoting enhanced learning.

The program introduces the five services SFL provides to support learning at every level for every child.

The award-winning PreschoolFirst (preschoolfirst.com) is a web-based curriculum and assessment resource that provides thousands of play-based activities for use in preschools, Head Start, public school pre-K, and family child care programs. The activities, for children from birth through 66 months, are correlated to every state's early learning standards, and are combined with an online assessment system that gives teachers and parents a meaningful evaluation of each child's progress.

GrowUpLearning (growuplearning.com), based on the research-based content of PreschoolFirst, is an online service that helps parents help their young children develop the cognitive, physical, and social skills needed for school through play.

Launched in 1998, SFL's oldest service, TeachersFirst (teachersfirst.com), has become a go-to resource for teachers around the world. TeachersFirst provides collaborative tools, thousands of teacher-reviewed web resources, and free online professional development that helps teachers understand how to use new technology for learning--all at no charge.

SFL developed TeachersAndFamilies (teachersandfamilies.com) as a bridge between teachers and schools and families, understanding that what happens at home is vitally important to what and how a child learns. TeachersAndFamilies provides activities that families can do together to enjoy learning, and its TogetheRead feature helps build better readers--preschool through teenager.

SFLMedia (sflmedia.com) is a comprehensive collection of more than 10,000 classroom-ready streaming video clips organized by topic and grade level. The clips are linked to TeachersFirst's extensive library of teacher-reviewed web resources, with powerful, practical classroom usage suggestions. SFLMedia gives even the smallest school the ability to access high-quality resources.

Steven J. Gorski, President and CEO of The Source for Learning, said, "Broad exposure from this Discovery Channel show and last year's program on Lifetime helps many more people learn about SFL's services and their value. We are committed to supporting learning through any technology that is appropriate and effective--we're grateful for the help to spread that message as widely as possible."