2022

We have wrapped up another great year at GPB Education! In 2022, we launched a wealth of new resources for parents, teachers, and students, hosted insightful professional development sessions, and engaged with communities across Georgia. Check out our 22 favorite memories from 2022. 

1. Classroom Conversations season 1 
We kicked off the new year with a new podcast! Classroom Conversations is developed and produced in partnership with the Georgia Department of Education. Season one has 10 episodes that cover a variety of school-related topics, and each episode features a Georgia educator. 

2. Start It Up!
Start It Up! is our newest game-based learning experience. Developed in partnership with the Georgia Council on Economic Education and FableVision Studios, Start It Up! is a fun way for secondary students to try their hands at creating a successful small business and learn about the world of entrepreneurship along the way. 

3. Mobile Virtual Reality 
2022 was the first full year our mobile virtual reality lab has been back up and running since the pandemic. This year, we shared the experience of learning in VR with 3340 students, educators, and community members at 27 school visits, professional conferences, and community events! 

4. Georgia Home Classroom expansion 
We are continuing our partnership with the Georgia Department of Education by expanding Georgia Home Classroom, including new videos in our Let's Learn GA! collection. This year, we produced 38 new episodes, which covered topics like computer science, nutrition, math, and classroom engagement. Watch all episodes of Let's Learn GA! here. 

5. Won TWO Southeast Emmy Awards
The GPB Education team was once again honored to be recognized the Southeast Emmy Awards. We received Emmys for our "They Missed Out on All This" episode of Hope Givers and for Georgia Peanuts Live Exploration. 

6. 2022 GPB/PBS KIDS Writers Contest
We continued our annual GPB/PBS KIDS Writers Contest in 2022. We received hundreds of stories from K-3 students in Georgia, and selected a few winners to receive prizes and to have their stories published on our website.  

7. Georgia Studies Digital Course refresh 
Five years after our last redesign in 2017, and ten years after our free Georgia Studies digital course was originally published in 2012, GPB Education has launched the latest and greatest version of our comprehensive and interactive learning resource for Georgia’s 8th grade social studies curriculum, Our State and the Nation: A Georgia Studies Course. 

8. Learn and Grow Together Family and Community Learning Workshop
In October, our Early Learning team partnered with Dorothy Height Elementary School in Columbus to host our first Learn and Grow Together Workshop. For four consecutive weeks, we met with families to engage with PBS KIDS videos, games, and resources that all centered around life lessons. Our topics included self-confidence, empathy and compassion, friendship, and responsibility. The goal of this workshop was to have families truly engage with one another using digital tools to foster learning while also having fun!

9. Won two NETA Awards
Georgia Public Broadcasting's education division received two Public Media Awards this year. Georgia Peanuts Live Exploration, a live virtual event highlighting the state's robust peanut industry, took home the "Learning Events" award in the education category. Georgia Public Broadcasting was also awarded "Overall Excellence in Education."

10. Classroom Conversations season 2
After a successful first season of Classroom Conversations in January, we launched season two just in time for the new school year. Each episode features a new educator and discusses timely topics in education. 

11. A Christmas Carol: The Making of an Atlanta Tradition
There's a new twist on an old classic at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre. In this special documentary, take a look behind the curtain with the latest adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Hear from the play's director, playwright, set designer, and more as they discuss what makes this version of A Christmas Carol so timely and unique.

12. Hosted STEM Day
We visited two preschool classrooms at Harper Archer Elementary to engage in a fun science and engineering lesson. Using PBS KIDS videos, students learned about how boats are constructed and why objects float and sink. Using a variety of materials, they then worked to build their own boats with the goal of creating something that could float. We are looking forward to bringing STEM Day to other schools and classrooms in 2023! 

13. New episodes of Camp GPB
In 2021, we launched our new digital video series, Camp GPB, and added new episodes in 2022. Each episode includes a fun lesson and activity kids can do at home during the summer months, or teachers can use them in the classroom. 

14. National Prisoner of War Museum Virtual Learning Journey
In this digital experience, students can explore the National Prisoner of War Museum in Andersonville, Georgia, the only museum solely dedicated to the American POW experience. The museum is one of three features at the Andersonville National Historic Site, along with the Andersonville National Cemetery and the former Andersonville Prison.

15. Launched School Stories series
School Stories is a collection of videos that highlights innovation in teaching and learning in classrooms across Georgia. Developed in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Education, witness how schools around Georgia are engaging their students in STEM and STEAM through project-based learning and other learning strategies. 

16. GPB Backpack Distribution
We launched a multi-faceted outreach and awareness initiative in five communities across the state that included billboards and the distribution of 3,500 backpacks full of school supplies and learning resources. We worked closely with community partners, including the Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP), to ensure the backpacks reached kids and families who needed them most. All resources directed families to our new welcome page created specifically for this initiative.

17. Georgia Cotton Live Exploration
In collaboration with the Georgia Cotton Commission, GPB Education was live on May 11, 2022, from 1888 Mills in Griffin, Georgia. During the program, students heard from various experts as they learned about farming cotton, the historical significance of cotton in Georgia, products made from cotton, and the crop's impact on Georgia's economy.

18. Let's Learn GA! Jimmy Carter mini collection
Our team visited the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains, GA, to produce a four-episode collection of Let's Learn GA! videos that ties into elementary math, science, and social studies concepts. In these videos, students learn about President Jimmy Carter's upbringing and life before he became president. 

19. Hope Givers: Teen Mental Health Roundtable Special
In this special episode, Hope Givers brings together six high school students from across Georgia for an honest discussion about depression, anxiety, social media, COVID-19, trusted adults, and rising suicide rates with youth.

20. 3D virtual walking tours landing page
This year, we created a new landing page to host all of our 3D virtual walking tours. Navigate through some of Georgia's most unique museums, historical buildings, and more. Each tour offers a 360-degree view of the space and clickable hotspots to learn more about specific items. 

21. PBS LearningMedia U.S. History collection
GPB was one of a handful of stations selected to contribute to PBS LearningMedia's robust U.S History resource collection. Our team developed a wealth of new support materials, such as student activities and background readings, to existing videos. 

22. Hosted a PBS KIDS Virtual Kindness Festival
In February, we hosted a virtual kindness festival and celebrated all things winter with DIY craft activities, games, PBS KIDS winter episode, a raffle, and more!

As say goodbye to 2022, we are excited for what's to come in 2023. Be sure to follow us on twitter and Facebook for our latest and greatest free resources for your classroom!