Tulsa Chooses SAFARI Montage for the School District

Tulsa, OK (June 18, 2008) - Tulsa Public Schools is making the classroom VCR/DVD player and TV cart relics of the past thanks to a new partnership with Library Video Company, based in Wynnewood, PA.

Oklahoma’s largest school district will soon have access to Video-on-Demand with LVC’s SAFARI Montage, which comes preloaded with the finest, broadcast-quality educational videos available. "Students, teachers and parents will recognize popular titles from publishers such as A&E Home Video, Disney, National Geographic, Sesame Street, PBS and Scholastic.

“The SAFARI Montage system is just the latest tool in Tulsa Public Schools’ arsenal of classroom technology,” said Dr. Michael Zolkoski, Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools. “We are committed to keeping up with the times by using creative, up-to-date teaching methods that engage today’s children.”

"We are thrilled that after a thorough evaluation through the RFP process, TPS selected SAFARI Montage as their district-wide Digital Media Management solution," said Andrew Schlessinger, CEO of SAFARI Montage.

With the click of a mouse, the classroom teacher can access SAFARI Montage via personal computer. Students can view multimedia presentations at single computer stations, interactive white boards or as via video screen projection. Each and every one of TPS’ 88 sites will have immediate access to the District’s entire digital video library – both internally-created and externally licensed. Students will also enjoy the option of adding self-created video productions for use and access within the District.

Videos are even correlated to Oklahoma state PASS standards so that teachers can search for programs that support specific benchmarks. For instance, teachers who want to focus on a specific concept of state standardized tests can create multimedia lessons using SAFARI Montage’s search engine, which lists results by relevance, alphabetical title or publisher, or by grade level. New, less experienced teachers can tap into the experience of a master teacher by accessing the central database for past classroom lessons or professional development tips.

“This is exciting technology for Tulsa Public Schools,” said Ellen Duecker, Director of Instructional Media and Library Services, “not only for the classroom teacher and students, but for applications throughout the District.”

Dr. Marvin Jeter, Director of Staff Development and Leadership Training said SAFARI Montage offers district administrators the opportunity to address policy and procedure online, and allows teachers to brush up their skills on their own terms.

“SAFARI Montage allows TPS to provide training opportunities that teachers can access via internet from anywhere, at any time. They can revisit the subject whenever they feel the need, without having to make time in their tight schedules to attend a class,” Jeter said.

TPS’ curriculum and professional development staff will soon find out why SAFARI Montage is winning rave reviews from the national School Library Journal and major school districts in Nashville, Baltimore and Chicago. On Thursday and Friday, SAFARI Montage trainers will work with TPS educators on the District’s latest high-tech tool. For more information about SAFARI Montage, contact Nicole Daddario at (800)843-3620 or visit www.SAFARImontage.com.

Tulsa Contact
Tami Marler, Director
Public Information
(918) 746-6298
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