The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 252 The Educational Screen Annual Meeting of Midwestern Forum {Concluded from page 248) materials by teachers. In general, the study suggested that the most serious hindrances are those involved in securing materials and administering and operating equipment. Mr. E. C. Dent of the Society for Visual Education described several new developments in still projection materials. Three-dimensional projection was described and explained. The availability of the Coronet Magazine Picture Stories in filmstrips was announced. Materials and equipment for teaching aircraft identifica- tion by the WEFT method were described and demon- strated. Finally, the outlook on the availability of pro- jection equipment for pre-induction courses was touched upon briefly. Contribution of Visual Aids to Industry and Education The uses of audio-visual materials in industry was the theme of the Saturday afternoon meeting, presided over by Mr. Alvin B. Roberts, Principal, Haw Creek Township High School, Gilson, Illinois. Mr. William Kruse of the Bell and Howell Company talked on spe- cialized uses of visual materials in industry. In em- phasizing his statement that no single audio-visual aid has a right to unrestricted preference in industrial train- ing, Mr. Kruse cited Russian use of motion pictures on servicing and assembling American airplanes and tanks, the use of illustrations and diagrams in training lens grinders, and the importance of motion pictures in build- ing morale among individual workers. An experimental study of the economy of time in industrial training through the use of sound motion pictures was reported by Abram VanderMeer of the University of Chicago. The specific hypothesis tested in the study was that prospective lathe operators whose training included the integrated use of motion pictures would learn the various skills to the required degree of proficiency in less time than those whose training did not include such aids. Approximately ninety-five engine lathe trainees of the Amertorp Naval Ordnance Plant acted as subjects for the experiment. Half of the train- ees were taught by a method which included a carefully worked out series of lessons based upon United States Office of Education training films. The other half of the trainees were taught by the conventional lecture- demonstration-reading method identical with that used in the film group with the exception that the film lessons were omitted. Groups were equated in terms of motor ability, mathematical skill, and technical information at the beginning of the experimental period. On the basis of individual time records it was observed that the film groups on the average finished to rigid, objective spe- cifications each of twelve practice jobs on the lathe in from 50 to 85 per cent of the time required by non- film groups on identical jobs. On the average, the film group had fewer rejections, which indicates that their superior speed in learning was accompanied by equal, if not greater, accuracy of work. This also shows that speed did not require sacrifice materials. Furthermore, the superiority of the film groups was greater on the more difficult lathe operations than it was on the simpler operations which allowed larger tolerances. Mr. Floyde Brooker of the United States Office of Education spoke on the responsibilities of executives and administrators for the wider use of audio-visual aids. The first pre-requisite, said Mr. Brooker, is to provide an adequate budget for the procurement of materials. However, even with adequate materials, leadership in efficient utilization must be supplied if the optimum value is to be obtained from them. Finally, the use of audio-visual materials should be facilitated by the re- moval of the complicated and tedious details so often connected with getting a class, a projector, and a visual aid together at the proper time. These last two respon- sibilities can best be met, said Mr. Brooker, by appointing a well qualified person to act as di- rector of audio-visual education. i Summary The meeting closed with a summary statement by Mr. William Reavis of the University of Chi- cago. Mr. Reavis explained that difficulties of hous- ing and transportation, together with a desire to make the meeting more easily available to school administrators, had been responsible for the fact that this year's Forum meetings were held in July instead of early spring as has been the practice in previous years. An analysis of the registrations at the meetings revealed that the largest single group represented was the school administrators. Approximately two bunded and twenty-five regis- tered for the Forum, but it was estimated that the actual attendance exceeded this figure considerably. The largest number came from Illinois and Indiana, but twenty-five states were represented by one or more registrants. In addition to school adminis- trators, there were large groups of teachers and audio-visual dealers in attendance. Instructors in higher institutions led in attendance among teachers. The presence of sizeable numbers of rep- resentatives of industry and the armed forces pro- vides evidence of the interest of these groups in the Forum. Confirming previous experience, it was evident that the Midwestern Forum groups dupli- cate relatively little of those attending meetings of the Department of Visual Instruction since only about one in seven Midwestern Forum registrants indicated membership in the other organization. The reactions to the 1943 Forum meeting that have come to the attention of the author have been almost unanimously favorable. The program was perhaps the most varied to be oflFered in recent years, and therefore it contained much material of significance for the several professional interest groups attending. The general feeling was that the variety of uses of audio-visual aids described and demonstrated in the two-day meeting was a signifi- cant sign of the increasing importance of these ma- terials in training and in education.