The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 44 The Educational Screen make cheap and ready reference books which may be used by teacher or pu])ils. The books provide handy references for the teacher. It aids pupils, who have been absent, in making up any lost work. Pupils, for instance, who have missed a regular test can come into the classroom, during any one of their study periods, and make it up. One decided advantage, here, lies in the fact that the ]5upil may take the test individually while the teacher conducts the regular recitation, with- out any appreciable loss of time by either student or teacher. As one wa\' in which these easily made slides may be used along with regular class room procedures, a Reproduction of a group of six cellophane slides, about half actual size ninth grade lesson on the reflection of light will serve to illustrate how cellophane slides may supplement and lend variety to instruction, demonstration, review and testing. Ninth grade pupils usually do not have clean-cut conceptions of such geometrical terms as "angle." They have probably never heard the word "normal." Frequently they fail to clearly distinguish between "ray of light" and "beam of light." The terms "in- cident ray" and "reflected ray" are entirely new to them. These new terms are introduced to them by means of class demonstration. The slide projection lantern is set up in a darkened room. The word "ray" is in- troduced to them by using a piece of cardboard or metal the size of a slide. This opaque slide has a small hole in the middle of it and the light shines through the hole onto the screen or wall. This gives a pencil of light which serves to illustrate a ray of light, when properly explained. By removing the metal slide the word "beam" is illustrated. Chalk dust in the air makes the course of the ray or the beam visible. The convenience of the use of rays in studying light is explained. The ray is then reflected from a mirror and more chalk dust used to make its course visible. The incident ray and reflected ray are clearly seen. A yardstick perpendicular to the mirror at the ]X)int where the ray strikes it illustrates the normal. The angle of incidence and the angle of reflection are seen, and are seen to be equal. The room is then illuminated with daylight by rais- ing the shades, except the shade nearest the screen. The .screen is in shadow. The lantern is turned on, the first slide is projected on the screen and may be copied in the notebook of the pupils. The same pro- cedure may be followed for each slide in the series. As shown in the accompanying blueprint illustration the slides follow each other in numerical sequence. The slides of objective tests are of course based upon the preceding instructional slides used in the visual demonstrations and classroom experiments. Thus, does cellophane become an inexpensive and readily accessible medium that may be used in a great variety of ways for translating, quickly and conven- iently to the lighted screen, facts, concepts, and prin- ciples that all can see and understand. Student Camera Crew Makes A "Scoop" {Coiuludcd from page 42) of this kind. The film served its purpose admirably at Eagle Rock, but new titles and editorial material would have to be introduced to make the film altogether acceptable in other places. The Eagle Rock camera crew is now working on a teaching film on avocado culture. Here again they are working on a unit of study in practically unexplored territory. And here again it is fitting that they, as Californians. should make this study. The crew is en- gaged also in completing a film on historic spots of early California. Field trips already taken have yielded excellent pictures of Monterey and several others of the more important missions. The crew is given training in phot()gra])hy. motion picture projection, motion picture camera operation, unique camera angles, light and color values, balance, subject relationships, continuity, sequences, composi- tion, and editing. And. as may be expected, the stu- dents, struggling to obtain excellence in their own pictures, are found to be imusually critical and ap- ]>reciative of the commercial films they see. The equipment used at Eagle Rock, much of it pri- vately owned, is of excellent C|uality. Careful use of this equipment is insisted upon at all times. The crew works with a diligence and regard for responsibility that is noteworthy even for a highly selected group of older high school boys. Yet work is informal and coopera- tive. There is no barrier of a teacher's desk here, either in the classroom or in the field. In this creative activity at Eagle Rock, teacher and students pool their resources in an absorbing study of how the_\' together can make each picture the finest possible educational experience for both producer and user.