WASHINGTON, D.C. and BOSTON (June 29, 2023) – A comprehensive U.S. History Collection, created by GBH and PBS LearningMedia was named the best social studies instructional solution of 2023 as part of the annual SIIA CODiE Awards. The prestigious CODiE Awards recognize the companies producing the most innovative Education Technology products across the country and around the world.
“We worked with educators and students to create this free collection of resources to support teaching and learning in U.S. history, and confirmed that teachers need digital and video resources to engage young people and to see themselves reflected in the curriculum, said Seeta Pai, executive director of education at GBH. “Receiving this recognition from SIIA is a reflection of the power of having high quality public media resources to draw in students and help educators meet the needs they face everyday in the classroom.”
The U.S. History Collection on PBS LearningMedia is a free, comprehensive compilation of 400 media-rich digital learning resources for teaching U.S. history to students in grades 6-12. It spans the breadth of core topics and periods taught in typical U.S. History courses, and is organized by 16 eras and nine historical thinking skills, while highlighting multiple perspectives and untold stories. The collection was developed by veteran social studies educators, and benefited from research with hundreds of educators and input from students. It draws on major public media producers like American Experience, Ken Burns, American Masters, among others, and also includes several new, interactive lessons, and a video series that connects the past with the present. Funding for the U.S. History Collection was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Recently, working with an external researcher, GBH conducted a randomized, controlled trial to assess the impact of the PBS LearningMedia’s U.S. History Collection on students’ content knowledge and historical thinking skills. The study collected data from more than 1,200 students in 86 classrooms across 17 states. Teachers’ classes were randomly assigned to either be taught with the resources or be taught as they would have otherwise. The findings showed first that teachers think that the collection’s resources helped students better learn history. Importantly, the study also found that students taught with the resources had strong, statistically significant gains in both historical knowledge and historical thinking skills, compared to students who were not taught with the resources. In less than a year since launch, the collection has had over 700,000 users, 5.5 million pageviews, and 3.8 million video plays.
“The 2023 Education Technology CODiE Award winners exemplify the outstanding products, services and overall innovation that enables learners of all types to connect with educators and educational materials,” said SIIA President Chris Mohr. “We are so proud to recognize this year’s honorees – the best of the best – that provide solutions to many of the critical challenges facing learners today – from access and equity, to personalized and tailored learning and beyond. Congratulations to all of this year’s CODiE Award winners!”
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, announced the full slate of CODiE winners during a virtual winner announcement. Awards were given for products and services deployed specifically for education and learning professionals, including the top honor of the Best Overall Education Technology Solution.
A SIIA CODiE Award win is a prestigious honor, following rigorous reviews by expert judges including educators and administrators whose evaluations determined the finalists. SIIA members then vote on the finalist products, and the scores from both rounds are tabulated to select the winners.
Details about the winning products can be found athttps://siia.net/codie/celebrate-finalists/
About the CODiE Awards
The SIIA CODiE Awards is the only peer-reviewed program to showcase business and education technology’s finest products and services. Since 1986, thousands of products, services and solutions have been recognized for achieving excellence. For more information, visitsiia.net/CODiE.
About GBH
GBH is the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America. As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. GBH is the creator of such signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and Arthur and Molly of Denali and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. GBH’s television channels include GBH 2, GBH 44, GBH Kids and national services GBH WORLD and Create. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR; CRB Classical 99.5; CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station and as a partner to NEPM in Springfield. Dedicated to making media accessible to and representative of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to audience members who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. With PBS LearningMedia, GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide. GBH’s local programming includes Boston Public Radio, Greater Boston, Stories from the Stage, Open Studio with Jared Bowen, Basic Black and High School Quiz Show. GBH has been recognized with hundreds of the nation’s premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards. Find more information at gbh.org.
About PBS LearningMedia
PBS LearningMedia, a partnership of PBS and GBH, is a free online service delivering research based, classroom-ready digital learning resources to engage students in exploring curriculum concepts that align with national standards. Nationwide, more than 1.9 million teachers and users have registered access to the service’s tens of thousands of digital assets, which include preK-12 videos, interactives and lesson plans in all academic disciplines.
