The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 166 The Educational Screen Week of October 6-10 Monday, Oct. 6 General Ed. "Middleton Family." Trip to New York World's Fair. This excellent color film used last year. Biology "Alimentary Tract." Demonstrates motility phen- omena of the gastro-intestinal tract. Tuesday, Oct. 7 Movie Club "Mayaland Today," "The Big City." "Roy- hood Memories," and "All's Fair." Auto Mech. "F'acts behind Performance." The various oper- ations involved in raising principal farm crops form the basis for showing how improved farming methods have made farm life more profitable and more attractive. Mech. Drawing "Testing T-Sguare and Triangles." Wednesday, Oct. 8 General Ed. "Photography." News cameramen present some of the whys and hows of their work. "How Motion Pictures Move and Talk." Background of "motion" so clearly shown that a child can repeat the demonstration. Thursday, Oct. 9 French "Bits of Brittany." Castles, stone-walled fields thatched cottages, megolith fields, fishing, wood carving, and church going. Music "Walter Damrosch." Tlie great music master shows how even very young children respond to the beauty of music when sympathetically taught. American Hist. "Declaration of Independence." The picture opens with a dramatic foreword to the eflfect that if American Independence had failed the signers of the Declar- ation of Independence would be signing their own death warrants. Friday, Oct. 10 Chemistry "The Wonderful World of Chemistry." Biology "Digestion." "Digestion of Foods." Presents such aspects of digestion as mastication, swallowing and glandular activity. Classroom Procedure When the weekly bulletin is placed in the hands of the teachers, one teacher of each department arranges the periods and rooms in which the film is to be used. Glass-blowing, one of the crafts demonstrated in the Bell and Howell reel, "American Handicrafts." A frame from the Erpi film, "Beach and Sea Animals.' on the day assigned. This film schedule is placed on a weekly operators assignment sheet in the office of the teacher in charge of the films. The teachers of the classes who expect to see the film prepare their classes in advance telling them what is expected from each individual who sees the film. Some teachers require written reports following the showing of the film. These reports are sometimes supplemented by librarv reading and class discussion. Other teachers follow the show- ing with a short test covering the high points of the fihn. \Mien the period for the film showing arrives, the operator is assigned to handle the equipment. We have three small carts which carry the necessary black shades, for darkening any room in the building, the motion picture projector, and the glass bead screen. These carts are run into the room, and the black shades put in place over the usual tan shades. This is made possible l)y small hooks placed at the top of the window frame in each room in the building. The machine is then set up and the film shown. Short films are occasionally run a second time. Many points are seen by the students on a second run that were not observed the first time. At the finish of the picture if no further films are to be shown in that room later in the day, the shades are taken down and equipment returned to the storage room. Records After each film is shown, the operator in charge lists the number of classes, approximate number of students seeing the films, and the number of reels of films put through the projector. These records are then totalled at the end of each week and month to give a close esti- mate of the number of students seeing the pictures and the departments using the various films. Some films are used in two or three different departments. This is particularly noticeable in General Education with its wide variety of interests. Some films are restricted to particular departments and are not allowed in any other. For example, films on pre-natal care, syphilis, and child care are used only in Homemaking classes. Film records give us an estimate as to the cost of opera- tion of the projectors and the life of the projection