The Reshaping of an Innovation. ACSN-The Learning Channel, 1974-1982. An Executive Summary Prepared for National Institute of Education [microform] / M. Jay Douds

This summary describes the development of the Appalachian Community Service Network (ACSN), an educational cable television network that was originally launched as an experimental demonstration in the use of the latest telecommunications for the delivery of educational services. In describing how the stage was set for the eventual development of ACSN, the first chapter reviews the program's original funding as the Appalachian Education Satellite Project (AESP) by the National Institute of Education through a grant to the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) in the early 1970s. Individual sections focus on the AESP experiment, which began with 15 receive sites in 8 Appalachian states; the plan for its transition into an expanded, self-sustaining organization; and the use of the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) ATS-6 communications satellite. The second chapter traces the development of ACSN into an independent, nonprofit organization using a commercial satellite to provide 3,300 hours of programming annually to a nationwide audience, and the changes for the organization produced by the addition of cable television distribution. A look at ACSN and the future discusses its new name, ACSN-The Learning Channel, and its business plan, program services, program syndication, and corporate development. (LMM)