ROAD TRIP has hit the public broadcasting airwaves and middle and high school students in classrooms throughout Georgia are tuning in and learning why “staying in school is worth the ride.”
ROAD TRIP is a unique new television series from the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education (DTAE) that’s airing right now on Georgia Public Broadcasting. ROAD TRIP combines educational reality with a fictional TV storyline that follows two high school counselors as they work to keep their students interested in school. ROAD TRIP derives its name from the real-life trips the students take to see the programs and courses at each of Georgia's 34 technical colleges.
Each month, a new episode of ROAD TRIP is broadcast directly into many of Georgia’s middle and high schools via Georgia Public Broadcasting’s education satellite network.
In the December ROAD TRIP, the counselors prove to a reluctant father that Georgia’s technical colleges are nothing like his old vo-tech stereotype, especially when it means preparing his ambitious daughter for a nursing career.
Included in the story are visits to three college road trips: at Central Georgia Technical Collegein Macon, were viewers learn about the orthopedic technology program and see another course where cartoon and movie characters come to life through 3-D computer animation and the use of a “motion capture suit.” Then it’s on to Columbus Technical College were viewers see two programs where students gain the knowledge and skills to be surgical assistants and pharmacy technicians. And a trip to Coosa Valley Technical College in Rome features students being trained to operate hi-tech sonography and echocardiography equipment that uses sound waves to reveal blocked arteries, heart irregularities and more.
The general public can view this episode and others online at Georgia Public Broadcasting’s website, www.gpb.org/public/education/roadtrip. ROAD TRIP will also air on GPB’s nine public television stations on Monday mornings beginning in January.
Why ROAD TRIP?
DTAE created ROAD TRIP with two purposes in mind. It exposes students to the new age of technical education and the outstanding programs that can lead to highly rewarding careers. ROAD TRIP also delivers a strong message about the importance of staying in school.
“It's never been more important for the future of Georgia’s youth that they stay in school then choose a college of their choice and get a quality postsecondary education,” said Mike Light, DTAE’s executive director of communications. “ROAD TRIP is an interesting, fun way for students to not only learn more about what the Technical College System of Georgia has to offer, but also see why it's essential that they stick to their studies.”
Future episodes of ROAD TRIP will feature the wide variety of offerings from Georgia’s technical colleges, including the in-demand and high-paying fields of health care, biotechnology, aerospace, energy and the environment, agribusiness, and transportation.
Some not-so-ordinary programs will also be profiled in upcoming shows. On a trip to the motorsports technology program at Lanier Technical College near Gainesville, the ROAD TRIP audience gets behind the wheel of a NASCAR speedster on the race track at Road Atlanta.
In later episodes, viewers learn about heart surgery on a sea turtle during a veterinary assistant class at Athens Technical College, map open farm land via satellite with the Geographic Information Systems program at Ogeechee Technical College in Statesboro, and even apprehend virtual bank robbers in a criminal justice class at Savannah Tech.
So hop on the next ROAD TRIP and see why staying in school is worth the ride!
A DVD of this month’s ROAD TRIP episode is included with this release as well as a brochure about the program. For additional ROAD TRIP DVDs or for more information, email snerenbaum@dtae.org or call 404-679-1600
