The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

10 The Educational Screen leges and other educational institutions. Milton Sills appears in the film which was recorded at the Warner studio, and had its first presentation as part of a discussion by Ray Kimmel, Dean of the School of Speech of the University of Southern California, at a recent convention of teachers of speech. Much interest attaches to this demonstration of talking pictures for informative purposes. A Picture-Lending Library As an outgrowth of the loan service in lantern slides which has been carried on by the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences for the past ten years, the Society has recently instituted a new service, described in the Decembei issue of Hobbies, the official publication of the Buffalo Society. Il says: With the added facilities for bringing its service to the people, made possible by the new museum building, the Society has added a new service known as a Picture-lending library. This is a logical outgrowth of our lantern slide aids for the study of pictures but a more intimate service which will bring copies of fine paintings to the very fireside. The pictures — some of them faithful colored reproductions of fine paintings, some of them beautiful Alinari or Anderson photographs from Florence and Rome — are mounted on artistic photomounts of standard size. To the back of each mount is attached a large envelope in which there are two typewritten cards, one giving such facts about the artist as will help in understanding his work, the other giving an appreciation of the picture itself. Besides individual borrowers, who will take the pictures into their homes to give pleasure to their family and friends, teachers may take them for lessons in art appreciation in the classroom, and clubs may borrow them for art study. Special arrangements as to the number of pictures that may be had at one time will be made for teachers and clubs. A previous issue of Hobbies gives added facts of interest concerning the work of the Visual Education Division of the Buflfalo Society of Natural Sciences, now installed in commodious quarters in the new Museum. Its lantern slide loaning service is well known the country over, but it may not be so generally recalled that the Buffalo Society was the first institution in the country to offer the lantern and slide service to the public. Schools, churches, organizations, lecturers, and private citizens have easy access to the facilities of this Division and use them in ever increasing volume for educational and recreational purposes. Indicative of the demand for this service is the fact that last year 236,526 slides were loaned. There are at present over 60,000 slides in the collection, probably the largest in the United States. In addition to slides and lanterns, this Division is a depository for the "Chronicles of America" series of moving picture films. The Visual Education Division, in addition to operating the lantern slide service and the Picture Library, also conducts for adults a number of community centers throughout the City of Buffalo, in which, imder the auspices of local committees, are held free illustrated lectures. Last year, there were nine centers. The lectures are given once a week from November through March. All of the lecturers are residents of Buffalo and are selected by the local committees from a list published every fall by the Visual Education Division. Through the cooperation of the Board of Education, these lectures are given in the auditoriums of public schools. Study Made Regarding the Effect of Color "Does Color Enhance the Teaching Value of Lantern Slides"? was the problem studied co-operatively by the Los Angeles Visual Education Division and the Psychology and Educational Research Division. Mr. Alfred L e w e r e n z, statistician, engineered the study with third and fourth grade children. It is very significant this particular study indicated that color in itself has very little to commend it. In a few cases color proved to have negative value. In other cases color made no appreciable contribution, while in other cases color enhanced the teaching value to a measurable degree. While the tests may have been too meagre to be conclusive, they do seem to indicate an error in the popular notion that a colored picture or lantern slide possesses more value than a plain black and white. In Dr. Weber's study* on the "Effect of Perspective and Color", it was noted that color seeined to increase the observation span of the elementary school child approximately 6%, but Dr. Weber qualifies this statement with one equally important. He says : "This statement is not quite trustworthy, for the content of the picture may have caused more of the increase than the element of color". School administrators and commercial producers have an economic interest in the solution of this problem inasmuch as color printing and tinting photographic reproductions increase costs very materially. Visual Instruction at State Meetings News continues to reach us concerning visual instruction meetings held in various states. Mr. H. L. Kooser, in charge of Visual Instruction Service at Iowa State College, has forwarded a copy of the program of the Round Table of the Iowa State Teachers Association, held in Des Moines in November, 1928. The meeting was attended by approximately seventy-five persons — the largest number that have been present in the three years these meetings have been held. "Weber ; Picture Values in Education, The Educational Screen. {Concluded on page 29)