Lesson 12

THE POWER OF FILM, VIDEO AND TV IN THE CLASSROOM

“Next to the home and school, I believe television to have a more profound influence on the human race than any other medium of communication.”

INTRODUCTION

The appeal of visual media continues to make film, video and television as educational tools with high potential impact. They are now more accessible and less cumbersome to use.

1. The Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) gave us flexibility. We could watch the first exciting twenty minutes, stop the tape and discuss elements of introduction, mood, suspense and characterization – and view it again.

2. Watching the final countdown for an American astronaut’s first orbital flight in space was far more exciting than most science-fiction movies.  All the viewers shared John Glenn’s concern about the outcome of the trip.

3. A survey was conducted to find out which news version are people more inclined to believe if they got conflicting or different reports the same news story from radio, television, the magazines and the newspapers. Most respondents answered “the news on television.”

ABSTRACTION

The film, the video and the TV are indeed very powerful. Dale (1969) says, they can.

·         Transmit a wide range of audio – visual materials, including still pictures, film, objects, specimens and drama.

• Bring models of excellence to the viewer. – We can see and hear the excellent scientist like John Glenn the excellent speakers and Master teachers who lecture and demonstrate a teaching method for professional development of teachers.
• Bring the world of reality to the home and to the classroom through a “live” broadcast or as mediated through film or videotape. – Not all of us have the opportunity to see life underneath the sea. But with TV, we are able to see life at the bottom of the sea right there in our sala or bedroom through Discovery Channel, for example.
• Make us see and hear for ourselves world events as they happen. With a sense of helplessness, we witnessed the fire that engulfed homes in San Diego, California in October 2007 as it happened through TV. When the strong earthquake shook Bagiuo, Agoo, Dagupan and Nueva Ecija, Philippines on July 16, 1990, the aftermath of the earthquake was shown live in TV.
• Be the most believable news source.
• Make some programs understandable and appealing to a wide variety of age and educational levels. Literate and illiterate, young and old – all benefit from the common experiences that the TV transmits.
• Become a great equalizer of educational opportunity because programs can be presented over national and regional networks.
• Provide us with sounds and sights not easily available of the viewer of a real event through long shots, close ups, zoom shots, magnification and split screen made possible by the TV camera.
• Can give opportunity to teachers to view themselves while they teach for purposes of self-improvement
• Can be both instructive and enjoyable.

While the film, video and TV can do so much, they have their own limitations, too.

·         Television and film are one-way communication device. Consequently, they encourage positivity. Today, however, we talk about and work on interactive classrooms for effective learning. We are convinced that learning is an active process and so the learner must be actively engaged.

·         The small screen size puts television at a disadvantage when compared with the possible size of projected motion pictures, for example.

·         Excessive TV viewing works against the development of the child’s ability to visualized and to be creative and imaginative, skills that are needed in problem solving.

·         There is much violence in TV. This is the irrefutable conclusion, “viewing violence increases violence”. (American Psychological Association Youth Communication)

BASIC PROCEDURES IN THE USE OF TV AS A SUPPLEMENTARY ENRICHMENT

            For enrichment of the lesson with the use of TV, we have to do the following:

·         Prepare the classroom. (If your school has a permanent viewing room, the classroom preparatory work will be less for you.)

-          Darken the room. Remember that complete darkness is not advisable for tv viewing. Your students may need to take down notes while viewing.

·         Pre-viewing Activities

-          Point out the key points they need to focus on. It helps if you give them guide questions which become the foci of post-viewing discussions.

·         Viewing

-          Don’t interrupt viewing by inserting cautions and announcements you forgot to give during the previewing stage.

·         Post-viewing

-          To make them feel at ease begin by asking questions.