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information viruses----to change the typical profiles of foreign aid provision and govern- ment spending.

A small step in exploring the topic was re- cently taken in Indonesia by the Inter-University Center for Improvement and Development of Instructional Activities of the Indonesian Open University, which sponsored a one-day seminar on information viruses. While the seminar was exploratory, it was an opportu- nity to provide and receive comments, partic- ularly from librarian colleagues and subject matter specialists, on the issue of minimizing information viruses.

Summary

In industrialized nations, information anxiety and information overload are topics of discus- sion. Books have been written about how to evaluate literature reviews where hundreds of items are being assessed.

In many developing nations, information starvation is more the norm. The authors have begun exploring how information viruses can cause invalid content to work into an instruc- tional design and permeate deeply into an ed- ucational system, ultimately producing good learning of subject matter that is out of date, contains serious omissions, or is inaccurate or misleading.

There are ways to forestall information vi- ruses from entering instructional materials. Much could be achieved by using new infor- mation search technologies and telecommu- nications links, fostering better appreciation of basic information technology, and upgrad- ing the role of librarian in the instructional de- sign process. Changes are needed in attitudes of government ministries and foreign aid fund- ing agencies in order to support efforts to pre- vent information viruses from occurring. []

Dr. David Giltrow is an independent consultant specializing in the application of educational technology in developing countries. He is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Pauline Pannen is Program Secretary, Inter-University Center for the Improvement and Development of Instructional Activities, at the Universitas Terbuka (Indonesian Open University), Jakarta, Indonesia.

The "Countrywide Classroom": Reaching India's Rural Residents

Connie Howard

[] Suppose that you live in a country where over 70% of the population lives in villages and you want to find a way to reach them with educational materials. Obviously, you could send teachers out to make the rounds, but that strategy would take too long, par- ticularly when you consider that many of the villages are quite remote and the roads lead- ing into them are less than ideal. You could blanket the villages with hundreds of pieces of printed material, but then you'd have to consider the villagers' low literacy rate and the difficult logistics of distributing the material. These are just some of the options that the Government of India considered when attempting to reach its vast village population with information about irriga- tion, nutrition, farming methods, and related fields.

The solution? In India, it is called the "Countrywide Classroom": two hours of spe- cial educational programming per day, pre- sented via a national television hook-up. Television sets were installed in the common room or community center in villages. Several universities throughout the country were des- ignated as production centers for producing the material to be presented. The Countrywide Classroom has been programming since 1985 under the direction of the University Grants Commission in New Delhi.

Suppose you are an American with a yen for India and that your job involves produc- ing educational videos at a U.S. university that has an exchange program with one of the In- dian universities designated as a Countrywide Classroom production center. Aha! Now you know why a number of productions seen on India's Countrywide Classroom carry the credit line, ' ~ joint production of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (USA) and the University of Poona (India).

When I made my first visit to Pune, India, in 1984, the Countrywide Classroom concept

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was still in its planning stages, and at that time the University of Poona was conducting classes for faculty from all over India as one of the first steps in getting material and personnel ready to go on the air. I, among many other Instructors, worked with these visiting faculty to show them how to design and write televi- sion scripts and programs built around their own disciplines. For many faculty, this was their first introduction to the idea that pre- senting material via television is quite differ- ent from standing in front of a classroom, addressing students in person. Faculty were generally enthusiastic and discussions and re- writes often lasted late into the night.

By 1985, when I returned for my second trip to India, the necessary facilities for produc- tion were in place at Poona. I started work- ing with Dr. P. R. "Jake" Karmarkar on the first of what was to become a series of annual productions. That video, "Indigs Challenge,'" took a close look at five successful types of rural development efforts and demonstrated what can be done in rural development by in- dividuals, private industry, and the govern- ment. It was submitted by the Educational Media Resource Center of Poona, which sup- plied the camera crew and editing facilities for the program, to the University Grants Com- mission (UGC), which reviews all program- ming and determines what will go on the air. That program, as well as subsequent pro- grams, was shown repeatedly on India's na- tional television. It went on to become a popular presentation (with some updates) in U.S. classrooms.

While the initial plan was to limit the pro- g ramming strictly to educational/instruc- tional material, the two hours of programming a day quickly proved to be a veritable monster at gobbling up programming. Lengths of pro- grams now vary, but originally most were 20 minutes long, thus requiring six new pro- grams per day, six days a week. Using the Uni- versity of Poona as an example, as many as five or six producers work full time to grind out the required programming. As with edu- cational institutions the world over, Poona has limited editing facilities and camera equip- ment, so product ion days are usually ex-

tended to seven days a week. Since it can take up to three months for a program to be re- viewed by the UGC, the material has to be general and not likely to become quickly dated.

Additionally, p rogramming can be de- scribed as "edu-tainment" rather than pure education. While many of the programs have specific topics, such as physics, medicine, or specialized research, in general the produc- ers are allowed to give their imagination free rein. This allows considerable diversity in the program offerings, and, as educational tele- vision producers the world over have discov- ered, also makes the long hours a lot more palatable.

In addition to providing information, the programs that Jake Karmarkar and I have pro- duced aim at also edu-tainment. On each trip we have tried to come up with something that was interesting as well as something that would qualify under the guidelines for required pro- gramming. This has meant spending a great deal of time in rural villages, but it also has provided many valuable opportunities to get a behind-the-scenes view of India that the av- erage visitor is not likely to see.

Productions to date include programs on the first sugar cooperative (a real success story!); women entrepreneurs; Indian folk and classical dance; mallakhamb, a truly unique Indian physical education program that com- bines yoga principles with athletic competi- tion; and, most recently, social forestry in the state of Maharashtra.

One of the interesting sidelines of the joint video productions has been the learning ex- perience it has provided, both to the Indian camera crew and to me. Looking at each topic or situation through both Indian and Ameri- can eyes has allowed us to contrast each oth- er's opinions and impressions. There were several situations on location when I was told by the crew, "You can't do that." I would re- ply, "Let's try anyhow," and invariably we dis- covered that the thing could, indeed, be done. On one occasion I wanted to videotape a woman doing puja, an Indian prayer ritual. The crew told me repeatedly that no Indian woman would allow us to videotape her at this ritual. After I insisted that we at least ask, we

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found that not only did she allow us to vid- eotape her, but she willingly repeated the rit- ual a number of times so we could shoot it from different angles. The village people were often fascinated by an American w o m a n traveling with an Indian camera crew, and therefore would go out of their way to meet me and cooperate with whatever I was trying to do. I quickly discovered that extending the hand of friendship is a typical Indian trait, and I never had an unpleasant encounter anywhere I went in India, no matter how remote the area.

The "educational" side of our projects is rather subtle. For example, social forestry in India is a program similar to the American con- cept of a federal or state park, but applied on a community level, where the village takes full responsibility for the forest's use and protec- tion. Social forestry is a fairly controversial topic in India. Most USAID and World Bank con- sultants I talked to are against the concept. Nevertheless, it has been a real success story in Maharashtra, and villagers watching our video in other parts of the country can see what was successful in Maharashtra and, hopefully, adapt that part of the program to their own village.

Likewise, during the taping of "Into the Mainstream," a program on women entrepre- neurs, we visited an extremely poor and re- mote village where a well-to-do widow has not only undertaken the education of the young girls, but has also launched a thriving cottage industry packing spices for sale in the nearby city of Pune. The small industry gives village

girls the opportunity to learn and make money at the same time, giving them options that are unheard of for young girls in most villages. Again, sharing this experience on video can help convince men and women in other vil- lages that small-scale industries can thrive in the most unlikely locations, given the right mix of imagination and hard work.

As of the fall of 1991, the U.S.-based Cable News Network (CNN) and other outside pro- gramming has finally come to India. Only time will tell whether the Countrywide Class- room will continue to be as popular with vil- lage residents, or whether they will switch to game shows, soap operas, and American foot- ball. In the meantime, the joint video produc- tion efforts between [UP and UOP will continue and expand. In fact, Jake Karmarkar and I have realized that, while we set out to pro- duce programs that educate and inform Indi- ans, the same programs, or slightly edited versions of them, can be used to educate and inform American students about India. So, as we continue with co-productions for India~s Countrywide Classroom, we are also explor- ing ways to make the programs available to classrooms in the United States.

(Oh yes, in case you ' re wonder ing, this television producer 's yen for India is just as strong now as it was before I made that very first trip!) [ ]

Connie Howard is the Director of the Office of Video Services, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania.