Pete 
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Teachers on TV
By By Wannapa Phetdee
Daily Xpress
Published on October 1, 2009
Computers equipped with teaching-aid software are helping students in the remotest parts of the country receive top-quality education, even when their teachers haven't majored in the lessons' subjects.
The electronic Distance Learning Television (eDLTV) project at Hua Hin's Wang Klaikangwon School under the patronage of His Majesty the King has been satellite-broadcasting its Grade 1-12 class lessons for 14 years to thousands of schools nationwide.
But as Wang Klaikangwon's broadcasts don't always match lesson times in remote schools, several organisations decided to provide an offline alternative. In 2007, school computers in areas where the Internet and satellite connections are unreliable or unavailable were installed with the new program.
'An enormous help'
Among them is Wat Pho Tan School, where Suchaya Bumroongkij has been assigned to teach Grade 8 students science even though her master's is in education.
"I began teaching science 15 years ago but spent all my time reading up on the subject," says Suchaya. "Since July, the eDLTV software has helped enormously, giving my students a good grounding in theory and allowing me to apply Wang Klaikangwon School's excellent teaching techniques. The students watch the eDLTV lessons on a TV connected to my computer but I pause them to explain anything they don't understand."
Wat Pho Tan eighth-graders Siriwan Sanerjai, Nattarika Boonyoungprasert and Thanyarat Khwansuk are happy that the "TV teachers" are helping out.
"It's like we have two teachers for a class, which helps us to understand stuff better," says Thanyarat. "Teachers also let us watch repeats of the lessons to catch what we've missed."
Wat Pho Tan is among 33 pilot schools in the province given hard disks installed with the teaching-aid software. Additionally, computer servers given to 76 schools under HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's IT projects enable students to access the eDLTV lessons on different computers simultaneously.