SE Valley Times

Arizona State University (ASU) has announced a new initiative aimed at advancing media-based teaching and learning through the use of PBS content. Elisa New, a distinguished professor of practice at ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (MLFTC) and founder of the television show "Poetry in America," will lead the new Educational Media Innovation Studio.

Since joining ASU in 2021, New and her team have collaborated with ASU Learning Enterprise to offer courses and programs to thousands of learners outside the university, particularly K–12 students and educators. Her flagship high school program, Poetry in America, has connected over 5,400 learners from 210 high schools with low-cost college credit.

The Educational Media Innovation Studio aims to create engaging materials that empower educators to use, critique, and create educational media. It seeks to enhance learning experiences for various types of learners and broaden perspectives on education.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and to be bringing my team’s skills to bear on the important, groundbreaking work the college is doing,” said New.

Presented by Arizona PBS, Poetry in America is produced by Verse Video Education. The series features diverse individuals discussing American poetry.

The studio will leverage Verse Video Education's production capacity and focus on five priorities:

- Distributing Poetry in America content for ASU degree programs and lifelong learning options.

- Developing professional learning resources for K–12 educators available on the ASU Professional Educator Learning Hub.

- Creating high-quality educational media supporting K–16 learning.

- Partnering with various ASU units to develop interdisciplinary courses.

- Maintaining a reservoir of multimedia educational resources for educators, scholars, and learners.

“We’re excited that Elisa New and her team will be joining us,” said Carole Basile, dean of MLFTC. “They bring expertise in using media to enhance the learning experience.”

Basile added that she expects the studio will advance MLFTC's partnerships with pre-K–12 schools. “As we continue to design innovative models of learning, we require sophisticated storytelling skills,” she said.

ASU President Michael M. Crow emphasized that this initiative aligns with ASU's commitment to innovation in education. “ASU is an innovation leader because we are always looking at the future of education,” he said.

New stated that MLFTC provides an ideal platform for expanding their activities. “Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College’s public-facing orientation makes it the ideal partner for scaling our work,” she said.

The announcement coincides with the fourth season of Poetry in America airing nationally on PBS. Content from this season will feature in forthcoming offerings from the new studio.