Intimate and Lyrical, It's the Making of Guitar #1711

Guitar #1711 is a documentary film about Rhode Island guitar maker Otto D’Ambrosio, directed by Rhode Island-based filmmaker Guy Benoit. The film is an intimate and lyrical portrait of the artistic process, following D’Ambrosio through the creation -- start to finish -- of an acoustic archtop guitar, hand made for renowned jazz guitarist and Berklee College of Music Instructor Julian Lage (Gary Burton Band, Nels Cline, Jim Hall). The film culminates with a live concert performance by Lage, playing guitar #1711. Rhode Island PBS shares this documentary with you on Wednesday, December 4 at 10:30 p.m.

In October 2010, D’Ambrosio and Lage first discussed the making of a custom crafted instrument -- a unique design, perfectly suited to the guitarist’s highly individual style. It took 206 days for D’Ambrosio to make the instrument, entirely by hand, using traditional tools and techniques. From the start of the build to the completion of the project, filmmaker Benoit was there to document every step of the construction. When guitar #1711 was finished, Lage premiered the instrument in concert, before a small and spellbound audience at the guitar maker’s workshop/studio in an industrial section of Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

“Guitar #1711 is an atmospheric film, and the story drifts along with a dreamy grace,” says filmmaker Benoit. “It begins and ends in a workshop, in a lonely brick mill. Along the way, D’Ambrosio and Lage take the audience on a passionate journey with their hands, as the luthier builds and the guitarist plays the extraordinary instrument in the making — guitar #1711.”

Guy Benoit is an award-winning filmmaker, whose credits include Atomic Brain (writer), and Exhumed! (writer), He has directed numerous music videos (Six Finger Satellite, Scarce, Marissa Nadler, Mark Cutler), and his work has been featured on MTV.

2014 RISCA Fellowship recipient, Rhode Island-based videographer William Smyth is the film’s director of photography.

Otto D’Ambrosio began his training in Staten Island, New York, and apprenticed with legendary guitar makers “Flip” Scipio, John Monteleone and Carl Thompson before working for Guild Guitars in Westerly, Rhode Island. Since setting off on his own to build instruments in 2001, D’Ambrosio has designed and crafted 87 unique guitars and basses. In 2004, the design of his El Rey model guitar was licensed by the Eastman Music Company for worldwide distribution.

Study: PBS KIDS Content in the Classroom Improves Early Math Skills

We at Rhode Island PBS are so pleased to share this news with you:

Study Finds that Use of PBS KIDS Content in the Classroom

Improves Early Math Skills in Preschool Children

Combining engaging media with interactive

technology and teacher training improves learning

CatintheHatHuffPuffaTron.jpg

Note: this is an image of the Huff-Puff-a-Tron game, located at: 

http://pbskids.org/catinthehat/games/huff-puff-a-tron.html

Credit:The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!© 2013, 

CITH Productions, Inc. and Red Hat Animation Ltd. Underlying 

characters © 1957, 1985 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P.

New York, NY and Menlo Park, CA: A new study conducted by Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), and SRI International found that the acquisition of essential early math skills, such as counting, recognizing numerals, recognizing shapes, and patterning, increased significantly among economically disadvantaged four- and five-year-old children who participated in a 10-week PBS KIDS Transmedia Math Supplement initiative. Transmedia includes the use of familiar characters, settings, and stories across different media formats.

 The materials featured videos and interactive content from several PBS KIDS properties, such as Sid the Science Kid, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, Curious George, and Dinosaur Train, as well as non-digital activities, including books and foam shapes, designed to support the growth of math understanding.

Key findings of the 2013 Ready To Learn study include:

• Children who used the PBS KIDS math supplement, which incorporated videos, digital games, interactive whiteboards, laptop computers, teacher support, and hands-on math materials, improved significantly in their understanding of the targeted early mathematics skills compared to the control group.
• Children who used the same technology without the integrated math materials did not experience the same learning gains compared to the control.
• Teachers who used the math supplement reported significant changes in their confidence and comfort with early mathematics concepts and teaching with technology.

BuddysGemHunt.jpg

Note: this is an image of the Buddy’s Gem Hunt game, located at: 

http://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain/games/buddysgemhunt.html

Credit: TM and © The Jim Henson Company. All Rights Reserved.

“With this study, we have a better understanding of the contribution transmedia resources can make to early learning settings,” said EDC’s Shelley Pasnik, vice president and director of the Center forChildren and Technology. “Children living in traditionally under-resourced communities were able to build foundational math skills when given necessary supports—in this case engaging digital content, opportunities to practice both on and away from screens, and knowledgeable adults—leaving them better prepared for kindergarten.”

“Although early mathematics achievement has been widely recognized as a strong predictor of later school achievement, many preschool teachers have received limited training when it comes to supporting mathematics,” added Carlin Llorente, senior research social scientist in SRI’s Center for Technology in Learning. “This study’s positive findings are the direct result of giving teachers resources that support the vital role they play in orchestrating children’s learning experiences with media.”

The study was commissioned by the CPB-PBS Ready To Learn initiative to evaluate math learning via interactive media. The initiative creates educational programming and outreach activities for local public television stations and their communities. This study builds on a 2009 Ready To Learn study conducted by EDC and SRI, which showed that young children’s use of digital media led to gains in literacy skills.

CuriousGeorgeApplePicking.jpg

Note: this is an image of the Apple Picking game, located at: 

http://pbskids.org/curiousgeorge/busyday/apples/

Credit: Curious George is a production of Imagine, WGBH 

and Universal. Curious George and related characters, created 

by Margret and H.A. Rey, are copyrighted and trademarked by 

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and used under license. Licensed 

by Universal Studios Licensing LLC. Television Series: © 2013. 

Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

The study is based on a sample of 92 classrooms (46 in New York City and 46 in the San Francisco Bay Area) from preschool agencies and centers serving three- to five-year-old children primarily from low-income households. A total of 157 teachers (84 in New York and 82 in the San Francisco Bay Area) participated in the study.

The 2013 study was funded by the U.S. Department of Education through a Ready To Learn grant to CPB and PBS. The initiative was developed to enhance the reach of, and access to, innovative early math experiences for U.S. children, especially those from low-income families, who often fall behind in mathematics skills at an early age and have difficulty catching up.

“These findings are particularly significant given the growing recognition of the positive relationship between early math skills and later educational achievement,” said Debra Sanchez, senior vice president for Education and Children’s Content at CPB. “Educational leaders are seeking new ways to level the playing field for disadvantaged preschoolers. The study shows that PBS KIDS content, which reaches millions of children each year, can play an important role in enhancing children’s learning opportunities.”

To access the full study and related materials, go to: http://cct.edc.org/rtl.

# # #

About EDC
Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), is a global nonprofit organization that creates learning opportunities for people around the world, empowering them to pursue healthier, more productive lives. EDC manages 250 projects in 30 countries. EDC’s Center for Children and Technology (CCT) investigates the roles technology can play to improve teaching and learning. Its work covers a range of activities, from prototype design of technology applications to professional development for teachers to strategies for ensuring equitable access to technology resources. Visitwww.edc.organdwww.cct.edc.org to learn more.

About SRI International
Innovations from SRI International have created new industries, billions of dollars of marketplace value, and lasting benefits to society—touching our lives every day. SRI, a nonprofit research and development institute based in Silicon Valley, brings its innovations to the marketplace through technology licensing, new products, and spin-off ventures. Government and business clients come to SRI for pioneering R&D and solutions in computing and communications, chemistry and materials, education, energy, health and pharmaceuticals, national defense, robotics, sensing, and more. Visit SRI’s website atwww.sri.com and Timeline of Innovation atwww.sri.com.timeline to learn more.

About The Ready To Learn Initiative
The Ready To Learn initiative is a cooperative agreement funded and managed by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement. It supports the development of innovative educational television and digital media targeted at preschool and early elementary school children and their families. Its goal is to promote early learning and school readiness, with a particular focus on reaching low-income children. In addition to creating television and other media products, the program supports activities intended to promote national distribution and effective educational uses of the programming, community-based outreach, and research on educational effectiveness.

The contents of this release were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

The Real McCoy, the Story of the Prohibition Era’s Most Famous Rum Runner

The Real McCoy, the story of the prohibition era’s most famous rum runner, premieres Thursday, November 21 at 9 p.m.

The 1920s - it was the age of prohibition, which gave birth to such iconic characters as the flapper, the private eye and the Mob boss. For many people, it was an age of opportunity.

The Real McCoy tells the fascinating story of William “Bill” McCoy, one of the most famous and respected bootleggers of the prohibition era. McCoy began as a modest boat-builder, but became a national symbol for defying the most unpopular legislation in U.S. history. He was the most wanted man in America, despite the fact that he never actually broke the law.

Born in Syracuse, New York, and a transplant to Florida, Bill McCoy loved sailing and built up a successful career as a skilled yacht builder. But during Prohibition in the 1920s, his business fell on hard times and he found that transporting alcohol could make him richer than he ever imagined. Transporting $28 cases of liquor from the Bahamas to New York, McCoy could make as much as $20,000 in profits from each trip – which was equal to five years salary for him at the time.

Docking his schooner three miles off the coast in international waters, McCoy’s ship Arethusa acted as a floating liquor store for smaller boats to come out and transport the illicit stash to the speakeasies of New York. The quality of McCoy’s spirits were as famous as his ability to transport them along New York’s “rum row.” McCoy’s whiskey, gin and rum were always uncut and of the highest quality. He never dealt in homemade moonshines, only genuine top-quality imported spirits, and his patrons loved him for it. His business practices earned him the nickname “The Real McCoy” and the expression caught on. But this gentleman crook couldn’t run from the law forever.

In November of 1923, the Coast Guard was ordered to arrest Bill McCoy, even if he was in international waters. McCoy tried to flee, but the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Seneca pinned him in off of Seabright, New Jersey and McCoy surrendered. He pleaded guilty and spent nine months in a New Jersey jail. After he was released, he retired to his family in Florida. He was never involved in rum running again. His extraordinary life would make him a household name and forever entwine his exploits as “The Real McCoy” into the fabric of American folklore.

Set for Life: Baby Boomers Over 50 and Out of Work

Set for Life follows three Baby Boomers who struggle to recover from the devastating impact of losing their jobs during the Great Recession. Rhode Island PBS airs the documentary at 8 p.m. on November 21.

Boomers came of age during an ear of prosperity, hope and optimism. They grew up confident that their future would be guaranteed if they worked hard and followed the rules.

Their expectations seemed justified until the Great Recession decimated the economy and 15 million Americans lost their jobs. In clips, Baby Boomers, who are now in their fifties and sixties, express their shock and disbelief. The economic downturn shocked them by exposing that the American Dream is no longer guaranteed.

Joe Price, a third-generation steelworker from Weirton, W.V., has been laid off seven times over the course of his 25-year career in the mill, but his most recent two-year layoff, which began in 2009, appears to be permanent.

Deborah Salim from Conway, S.C. worked for 15 years in the records department at a local community college until she lost her job due to government budget cutbacks in 2008.

George Ross, a Vietnam veteran and an information technology project manager from Livermore, Calif., lost his job in 2008. He searched for work until he was notified that his son, Jason, a Marine, had stepped on a buried IED in Afghanistan while on patrol.

The three main characters they suffer financial woes, self-doubt and health concerns during through the daunting job search process that older unemployed workers face today. Thrust by the Great Recession into a quest they never expected to face at the age of 50-plus also opens deeper questions that are relevant for every individual: What defines my self-worth? What is my definition of happiness? Can I reinvent myself? Can I prepare for and accept change?

As the U.S. economy continues to falter, the themes and issues explored in Set for Life remain timely and topical not only for boomers, but for all Americans.

Brian King, one of our hundred Over 50 and Out of Work interviewees, is the narrator of Set for Life.

Set for Life won “Best Feature Documentary” at the 2012 Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, the Spring 2013 New Jersey Film Festival and the 2013 Northern California International Film Festival. It is also an official selection of Louisville’s International Film Festival, the New Jersey Film Festival, the Northern California International Film Festival and the Queens World Film Festival.