Southeastern Channel telecourse wins national Telly Awards
Tuesday, December 11, 2018 
by: Tonya Lowentritt
TELECOURSE WINS NATIONAL AWARD- A Southeastern Louisiana University telecourse, “Earth and Space Science 102,” recently won two national Bronze Telly Awards for “Editing” and “Use of Graphics.” Pictured, from left, are Rick Settoon, Southeastern Channel general manager; Chemistry and Physics Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator Gerard Blanchard; Jamie Bass, Southeastern Channel telecourse producer and editor; Stephanie Welch, Southeastern earth science instructor; and Dan McCarthy, dean of the College of Science and Technology.
HAMMOND – A Southeastern Louisiana University telecourse has been recognized
with two national Telly Awards.
Produced by the Southeastern Channel, the university course, “Earth and Space
Science 102,” was honored at the 39th annual Telly Awards with Bronze Tellys for “Editing”
and “Use of Graphics.”
The Telly Awards is the premier award honoring video and television across all
screens, and this year received over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents.
This year’s winners included CBS, NBC, HBO, ESPN, PBS, National Geographic, and Nickelodeon.
Southeastern Channel telecourse producer Jamie Bass produced, directed, shot,
edited and created the graphics for the telecourse that was taught by Southeastern
Earth Science Instructor Stephanie Welch. Telecourses are video courses that air on
television and also serve as online courses for both on-campus students and those
unable to attend classes on campus.
Southeastern Channel General Manager Rick Settoon said the winning episode was
the 11th lecture of the course ESSC102 and covered the formation of the solar system
with Welch lecturing in front of captivating, moving images of planetary landscapes
and the travel of heavenly bodies through space. The episode can be viewed at thesoutheasternchannel.com/blog/2018/06/27/southeastern-channel-wins-telly-awards. Bass accomplished the look by videotaping Welch lecturing in front of a blue screen
in the Southeastern Channel studio and later compositing that footage with the solar,
interstellar and extraterrestrial images for the background.
“Jamie took my PowerPoints and brought them to life in a way that I think is
far more entertaining for the students than a traditional lecture,” Welch said. “And
if they are entertained, I think they will learn the material better.”
Chemistry and Physics Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator Gerard Blanchard,
who has also taught telecourses for his Physics 191 and 192 classes, suggested that
Welch teach the class as a telecourse.
“I am happy that this course won these awards, because it lets everyone know
that the quality of production of telecourses at Southeastern is very high,” Blanchard
said. “Good quality production makes it easier for students to receive the content.”
The Southeastern Channel produces several new courses each year and has produced
over 40 original telecourses for distance learning, including physics, chemistry,
biology, earth science, history, marketing, management, education, psychology, sociology,
communication, career planning, environmental business, English, and Occupational
Safety, Health, and Environment (OSHE) courses.
Settoon said the channel’s telecourses were originally produced and aired specifically
for distance learning and non-traditional students, but they now include widespread
application and use via internet for traditional students on Southeastern’s campus,
as well as for traveling students and those deployed globally. More than 5,000 students
enroll in telecourses at Southeastern each year.
“The courses are also used by professors online and for dual enrollment classes
in a number of high schools,” Settoon said. “The beauty is that each lecture of every
course is accessible to any student enrolled in a course an infinite number of times
at any time of the day and on any platform, from Charter Spectrum cable to all mobile
devices, including iPhones.”
The courses air for a general viewing audience on the Southeastern Channel on
Spectrum 199 in Tangipahoa, Livingston, St. Tammany and St. Helena parishes and on
the channel’s live streaming webcast at thesoutheasternchannel.com. In addition, the
courses are archived and viewable for enrolled students via Moodle, the university’s
learning management system.
The Southeastern Channel has now won nearly 400 national, international and regional
awards, including 17 awards from the Emmys and 40 Telly Awards.
