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.” – Edgar Dale

The film, video and TV are powerful instructional tools. When they re used appropriately and moderately, they can make the teaching-learning process more concrete, lively, colorful and interactive. It contributes to a more lasting learning because of its visual, audio and motion effects. These effects make learning fun. However, misuse and abuse of their use in the classroom and even at home has far reaching damaging effects in the development of children’s imaginative and thinking powers and sensitivity to human life. The most significantly cited weakness of the tv is the effect of tv violence on peoples’ aggressive behavior.

With the coming of the VCR, viewing need or not to be passive anymore. We can have interactive viewing with VCR.

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 model of excellence to the viewer
• Bring the world of reality to the home and to the classroom through a “live” broadcast or as mediated through film or videotape.
• Make us see and hear for ourselves world events as they happen.
• Be the most believable news source
• Make some programs understandable and appealing to a wide variety of age educational levels.
• 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 even to 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 films are one – way communication device consequently, they encourage passivity.
• The small screen size puts television at a disadvantage when compared with the possible size of projected motion pictures.
• Excessive tv viewing works against the development of the child’s ability to visualize 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”. 

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

 Darken the room but not completely so the students can take down notes.

The students should not be seated too near nor too far from the TV.

Pre-viewing Activities

Ø  Set goals and expectations.

Ø  Link the TV lesson with the past lesson and/or with your students’ experiences for integration and relevance.

Ø  Set the rules while viewing.

Ø  Put the film in context.

Ø  Point the key points they need to focus on.

Viewing

Ø  Don’t interrupt viewing by inserting cautions and announcements you forgot to give during the pre-viewing stage. It disrupts and dampens interest.

Ø  Just make sure sights and sounds are clear.

Post-viewing

To make them feel at ease begin by asking the following questions:

1.     What do you like best in the film?

2.     What part of the film makes you wonder? Doubt?

3.     Does the film remind you of something or someone?

4.     What questions are you asking about the film?                      

Go to the questions you raised at the pre-viewing stage.

Tackle questions raised by students at the initial stage of the post-viewing discussion.

Ask what the students learned.. Find how they can apply what they learned.

Summarize what has learned.