Channel 4 Learning
| Company type | Private/Limited |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | April 2007 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | United Kingdom |
| Products | Website and DVD and CD-ROM |
| Owner | Espresso Group Ltd. (Discovery Communications, brand licensed from Channel Four Television Corporation) |
| Website | www.channel4learning.com |
Channel 4 Learning is a company based in London, England, which markets education resources, games and activities to primary and secondary schools across the United Kingdom. It is wholly owned by Espresso Group Ltd., a private company whose businesses also include Espresso Education, Ltd. (UK) [1] and Espresso Education, Inc. (US)[2]
Channel 4 Learning, originally part of Channel 4, was created to produce support materials that motivate and inspire learners aged 4–19 while empowering teachers to create engaging lessons.
Channel 4 Learning resources include:
- Over 310 hours of programming
- DVDs and interactive CD-ROMs
- printed support publications
- free learning support websites
Primary resources cover Early Years, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Subjects include Art, Design & Technology, Early Years, English, Geography, History, Maths, Modern Foreign Languages, PSHE & Citizenship, RE and Science.
Secondary resources cover Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and GCSEs. Subjects include Applied GCSEs, Art, Design & Technology, English, Geography, History, Maths, Modern Foreign Languages, Music, PE, PSHE & Citizenship, RE and Science.
Some of Channel 4 Learning’s popular, award-winning titles include The Number Crew, Life Stuff, Living and Growing (All about us) and extr@ modern foreign language series in English, French, German and Spanish.
In October 2007, Channel 4 Learning Clipbank was launched, an online service specifically for secondary schools in the UK, providing thousands of video clips across 16 subject areas with tools to assist teachers and students in using the content. While most of the video was originally sourced from Channel 4 television programmes, it has since been supplemented with content from ITN and BBC Motion Gallery.
Channel 4 Learning also has an International division that license and distributes the rights to over 320 hours of educational programming, commissioned by Channel 4, into more than 40 countries worldwide. The content, available to broadcasters, publishers, distributors, agents and Ministries of Education, is distributed worldwide across multiple platforms including broadcast, video, DVD, CD-ROM, online, broadband and other digital platforms.
History
After the re-structuring of Channel 4 in 1993, ITV's obligations to provide educational programming on Channel 4's airtime passed to Channel 4 itself, and the new service became ‘Channel 4 Schools’, with the new corporation administering the service and commissioning its programmes, some still from ITV, others from independent production.[3][4]
In 2000, the service was renamed 4Learning and in April 2007, the commercial arm and rights exploitation of its programmes and support materials was sold to Espresso Education and renamed Channel 4 Learning. Information on the acquisition can be found on Espresso’s website [5] and in a Guardian article.[6]
Channel 4 Learning continues to market and sell video-rich resources (DVDs, CD-ROMs) sourced from Channel 4 television programmes to schools across the United Kingdom, mainly through its catalogue and online shop.
Channel 4 Learning is a part of Espresso Group.
References
- ^ "Espresso Education". Espresso Education.
- ^ "Espresso Education, Inc". Espresso Education.
- ^ "schoolsTV.com - CHANNEL 4 SCHOOLS: 1993-1997 HISTORY". Archived from the original on 2007-07-05. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
- ^ schoolsTV.com History of ITV Schools on Channel 4. Retrieved at the Internet Archive on 16 Feb 2008
- ^ "Espresso to acquire Channel 4 Learning to become definitive place for video". Espresso Education.
- ^ Allen, Katie (2007-03-26). "Channel 4 Learning ready for a shot of Espresso". London: The Guardian.