The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

June, 1943 Page 205 and miniature representation of the museum habitat group, museum workers have gone one step further and have brought this type of visual representation into the classroom by designing the diorama as a portable aid. Thus the diorama has been serving the same specific and unique purpose in the classroom that has been achieved by a habitat group in the museum, namely, the recon- struction and representation of a scene in third-dimen- sion. Two inherent characteristics of the diorama makes it especially valuable in arousing and holding student interest. First, it provides a setting in its natural en- vironment. It has greater interest than a flat picture. Secondly, through faithful reproduction, it presents details of objects, people, and of the environment to such a degree that the spectator is challenged to stop and make careful ob.servations. The diorama has been found to be particularly appropriate for use in the teach- ing of hi.story. geography and nature study, where the introduction of accurate reconstructions of historical .scenes and environmental conditions were instru- mental in vitalizing and awakening a new interest in these subjects. However, it should be remembered that the diorama is designed essentially to represent a scene in third-dimension and should be used particularly when that factor is essential to the learning process. The selection of dioramas as a tool of instruction must receive considerable attention by educators, in order to insure the correct use of an aid wliich will be of material help in the educative process. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of research data on dioramas. Few criteria for their selection and use have been developed. Specific questions which should receive consideration are: 1. Is the subject or theme of the diorama of sufficient teaching merit to warrant a detailed study of the scene ? 2. Is the scene selected one which is particularly adapted to three-dimensional visualization? Would a two-dimensional presentation l)e equally effective? 3. Is the factual content of the scene accurate and authentic in detail ? Have the proper colors been used? Are the objects in the round or in the flat? Has this factor any bearing on the appeal and in- structional value of the diorama? 4. Are the scene and its details sufficiently large for students to be able to see them clearly? 5. Is the diorama light enough in weight to be port- able? 6. Is the diorama simple in construction, thus encourag- ing student con.struction of dioramas of their own ? 7. Is the cost of materials low enough to warrant student production? Trends in Audio-Visual Instruction {Concluded from page 199) ticular fields and in planning teaching' methods which will capitalize on the unique contributions of each type of aid to the learning situation. The scope of the film library service should be ex- tended to include .slide films, sets of miniature slides and flat pictures, phonograph records and radio trans- criptions ; object specimens, models and exhibits: graphic materials, such as, posters, charts, and graphs; Put Your Projector to Work This Summer! The Office of War Information is urging schools and other owners of 16mm sound projectors to make these projectors serve in the war program this summer. All available projection apparatus should be used to the fullest in ways which will in- sure maximum benefit to the war eflFort for the longest time. Here are five ways schools can put their projectors to work: 1. Take your projector into war plants. Offer its use to plant managers, to labor organizations. Both Industry and Labor know the value of war films in increasing production, in giving workers a greater sense of partici- pation in the war. 2. Work with the civilian defense organization in your community. Offer the use of your projector in warden meetings, in first aid classes. Get in touch with the Victory Speakers' Bureau in your town. Make use of your experience in films by arranging programs for civil- ian groups. 3. Make your projector available to adult clubs and organizations meeting during the summer. Arrange regu- lar weekly or monthly .showings of war films to luncheon clubs in your community, women's clubs, fraternal or- ganizations, church groups. 4. Arrange showings of films at public meetings— band concerts in public parks, war rallies in courthouse squares. 5. Fit pictures into the summer school program. Special care should be given to projector care and maintenance. Cleanliness cannot be over- emphasized, because in addition to the life of the projector, it aflfects the life of the film and quality of projection. and a classified file of learning situations in the com- munity available for class visitation. The department should carry on an experimental productiori pro- gram of sound motion pictures, radio programs and other types of audio-visual aids. A sound film pro- duction unit and a FM broadca.sting station can be acquired for less than $15,000 each. According to the inventor of Frequency Modulation it will be possible to allocate to "every community one or more channels on the air so that stations particularly adapted to local needs can be set up and operated without interference."* Workers and students in audio-visual instruction believe that not only will these aids affect educational methods but they may also exert an important influence on selection and organization of content used by schools as a stimulus to learning. If audio-visual aids are to play an important role in the teaching process, then producers and teachers need to know more about the probable effects each type of aid will produce. De- partments of teaching aids mu.st undertake studies, "to find out whether and to what e.xtent a given ty])e of aid affects the attitudes of students, their acquisition of information, their sensitivity to social problems, their ways of thinking, their interests or their appreciations."'" "Armstrong, Edwin H. "Frequency Modulation and Its Future Uses." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, January. 1941. 213:153-61. "'Tyler, Ralph W. "The Classroom of the Future." Educatiottal Srnvii, June, 1939, 18:197-8.