The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

October, 1940 Proceedings of the D. V. I. Meeting Page 329 lantern slides. The possibilities of use in activities programs are unlimited. The use of handmade slides by the teacher in meeting daily needs as they arise fits in admirably with the highest ideals of modern pedagogy. When directors of visual instruction encourage schools to exchange their standard lantern-slide equipment for 2-inch projectors, they are throwing out the window one of the most interesting and valuable types of visual instruction now being used widely in teaching. One of the most recent adaptations of the standard lantern-slide projector is its use with the Flashmeter. This fits in with and builds up the growing use of the standard projector and handmade lantern slides in the teaching of reading. To date the standard lantern-slide pro- jector is the only type of projector satis- factory for the use of the Flashmeter and for the teaching of reading by projection methods. Another use of the standard lantern- slide proje tor now being developed is for the projection of one side of a stere- ograph transparency as a lantern slide. A new stereoscope now on the market accommodates 6 x 13 centimeter color transparencies. Such a transparency is large enough to bring out third-dimen- sion values impossible in smaller ones and is likewise large enough for projec- tion by the standard lantern-slide pro- [jector. Finally there is the jjossibility of prac- ' tical third-dimension projections. Hither- I to projections of stereoscopic quality have I been accomplished by using two pro- [jectors and a lantern slide for each pro- 1 jector. The objection to this double pro- I jection is obvious. It is cumbersome and I expensive, even though done with small projectors. Stereoscopic projections with a single projector and a single slide have ■ now been made successfully in the labor- j atory and will shortly be made available I to classroom users. Photographic Color Lantern Slides What about standard lantern slides in photographic color'-' We have watched carefully for the development of this possibility. As far as the reproduction of Kodachrome or any other color film available at the present time is con- cerned, we are still in the deep woods. Our Research Department finds that con- sistent reproductions from color trans- parencies are out of the question. That such reproductions can be made in cer- tain instances does not mean that it is practical to make them regularly on a commercial basis. When the reproduction of lantern slides in photographic color becomes practical, then the cost of stand- ard lantern-slide reproductions, 2^" square, will be very little more than the cost of such reproductions for 2-incb lantern slides. Furthermore, the larger prints will simplify the matter of getting faithful reproductions, and the projec- tions from the larger size lantern slides will be infinitely superior to those that can be made from the slides of smaller size. Here is another question. Are we sure that photographic color lantern slides are superior to hand-colored lantern slides for teaching purposes ? Only recently Burton Holmes, who probably knows more about lantern-slide making, and lantern-slide uses with audiences than does anyone else in America, said that photographic color lantern slides do not compare fav- orably with hand-colored lantern slides for lecture purposes. The projection re- quirements of the classroom do not differ greatly from those of the successful lecturer. After all are we thinking primarily of the shotving of lantern slides or the use of lantern slides in teaching? The ans- wer to this question is important. The picture-sliow type of teacher is always chasing rainbows — looking for the novel and the sensational. There is, on the other hand, the more reliable teacher who, while appreciating the pedogogical value of color and beauty, first demands practical values that will insure the use- fulness of color and beauty. Sound pro- gress is always deep-rooted in experience. We must not lightly throw away sound practices and practical means of imple- menting these practices without a clear vision of just where we intend to go. This is not to discount progress; it is to counsel real, as opposed to fanciful progress. After all isn't it about time for visual instruction to come of age? It never will do so until it ceases to depend upon the left-overs of Hollywood for its educational motion pictures and as long as it thinks of any sort of pro- jector in the classroom merely as an- other magic lantern. To summarize, then, it seems to the writer that the interests of the user of visual aids — and, therefore, the in- terests of the producer of lantern slides —• require that still-picture-projection programs emphasize projections of high quality under semidaylight conditions; prefer projection equipment simple but highly flexible and adaptable to enough uses to make possible its habitual use in the school and in the teacher's program; insist on a general program of research, development, and educational coopera- tion that may produce equipment and materials worthy of the high standards established in other lines of teaching ma- terials. Visual aids should be prepared with as much thought and care as are school textbooks and school laboratory equipment. An Experiment in Art Education (Summarized) ALFRED G. PELIKAN Director, Milwaukee Art Institute THE Milwaukee Art Institute through its Educational Project is providing the high .schools of Milwaukee with edu- cational exhibitions. The three-year pro- gram made possible by a grant from the General Education Board, New York, has now been functioning for almost one year. Milwaukee Art Institute is one of the five art museums to have received similar grants from the General Educa- tion Board. The other museums are: The Museum of Modern .^rt, New York; The .Albright .Art Gallery, Buffalo; The Cleveland Museum of .Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. The work in each locality is of an experimental nature and various approaches are being made to reach similar aims. Objectives of the Milwaukee .Art In- stitute Educational Project may be sum- marized as follows : 1. To make secondary school pupils more art conscious. 2. To stimulate interest in art through greater familiarity with arts and crafts of all times. 3. To encourage voluntary visits to the Milwaukee .Art Institute. 4. To encourage and support the cul- tural activities of the community. Secondarily, the objectives of the pro- ject are to introduce correlation of art with subjects in the general curriculum such as history, literature, social sciences, geography, etc. Wherever possible the subject matter of exhibitions is so treated as to suggest connections with these studies. .A catalog of exhibitions is being prepared for use by teachers and prin- cipals so that they can draw on the re- sources of the project as visual aids in their teaching. At present the project serves the twenty-two public junior and senior high schools and the junior and senior grade schools. It is hoped that very soon fifteen parochial and two private schools will also be included in the services of the project. The project is unique in its set-up in that it embraces the work of over a hun- dred people who are serving on various committees. The educational committee of the Milwaukee Art Institute also serves as an advisory committee to the project. It is composed of Mr. Fred Dor- ner, Chairman, trustee of the Milwaukee .Art Institute; Dr. C. M. Purin, Director, University of Wisconsin Extension Di- vision ; Dr. Frank E. Baker, President, Milwaukee State Teachers College; Lucia R. Briggs, President. Milwaukee Downer College; Dr. Edward A. Fitz- patrick, President, Mount Mary College; and Rev. Edmund J. Goebel, Superin- tendent of Catholic Schools. E.x officio members; Harry Bogner, President of the Milwaukee Art Institute; and Mil- ton C. Potter, Superintendent, Milwaukee Public Schools. A. G. Pelikan, Director of the Mil- waukee Art Institute and Director of .Art in the Milwaukee Public Schools, is also Director of the Educational Project. His dual (Kisition with the Institute and the schools assures smooth working of the project. Orville Ringer, Supervisor 1)1 the project, is in charge of coordina-