The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

As Personal as Possible News from and about the Department of Audio-Visual Instruction, NEA Real Job — Real Program • "Boy, this is going to be a job!" was the comment of one of our betterlooking staif members when we recently had a meeting to look over the things we have to do before the DAVI Conference in Boston February 7-9. Yes, a real program is being planned — one that is going to give every DAVI member who has ever said, "Why doesn't DAVI ever -do anything?" a chance to help us roll up our collective sleeves and get started on an action program the like of which American education hasn't seen since the days of Paul Bunyan. It will be a conference you won't want to miss and one in which you will be needed. May we count on your help? Incidentally, this will be the only national DAVI conference this winter. Our summer meeting will be at the NEA summer convention in Detroit, June 29-July 4. Remember the theme of our Boston Conference — "Implications of Curriculum Study for the Planning of AudioVisual Programs." We are hoping that when you leave the conference, you'll be able to say, "Boy, we really did a job!" "Just Received" • Here is a note we received from Sumner Vanica, Akron, Ohio, A-V Director: "I have just received the booklet 'Television Report, Section II, Visual Aids.' I am Indeed grateful to receive this valuable publication. It contains the type of information we have been searching for. I am sure it will save us costly trial and error methods in the field of television." Sumner's letter is typical of other words of appreciation we've received in response to our recent mailings to DAVI members of several helpful publications. The general reaction has been, "We like these materials, keep sending them!" . . . "Please keep up this service." We do plan to keep up this service — so long as our postage holds out! Thank You, Suhl • In the Audio-Visual Service Letter published by the Film Library of the University of Florida, under the editorship of Miss Hazel T. Morgan, we read that 95% of the Florida audio-visual workers who returned a recent questionnaire circulated by the Audio-Visual Service Letter indicated that they are in favor of the organization of a Florida Division of DAVI. In return we can think of no part of the country in which we would rather have a new affiliated division — especially if we get an invitation to visit them about this time of the year! 392 Straws in the Wind • straw No. 1. Those who attempt to sell educational television short may soon have to make a second guess. Just as an experiment. Western Reserve University in Cleveland recently decided to offer educational television courses for credit. According to Dean John P. Barden, of the School of General Studies, they now have 112 credit students, each paying full tuition and receiving full college credit for courses in Psychology and Comparative Literature. In addition, 650 persons are paying an auditing fee in return for a copy of the syllabus for each course. A survey showed that 27,500 sets were tuned in on these Telecourses on the average during the week of October 1. According to Dean Barden, the written work of the 112 credit students is mailed in for criticism and grading by the faculty and is returned to the students by mail. Six to eight times more written work is required for a Telecourse than for the same course given on campus. Telecourse "classroom" time runs a little less than half of the comparable campus course. Telecourse students will come to the campus for their final examinations in January, 1952. Examinations will be the same as those taken by campus students, and the credits granted upon successful completion of the Telecourses will be applicable on any bachelor's degree offered for undergraduates by the University. The University bookstore has sold in excess of 400 sets of Psychology texts for credit and noncredit students, and local library resources in the northern Ohio area have long been exhausted of the 140 books listed or discussed in Comparative Literature. Local bookstore supplies of these books have also been bought up. People are holding telephone and living room discussions of Telecourse sessions. The veterans in two hospitals are taking the Telecourses by the by J. J. McPHERSON Executive Secretary, DAVI 1201 16th St.. NW, Washington 6, D.C. "ward." It has been necessary to answer more than 3,000 written and telephone requests for course announcements. The offering of these courses has been made possible through the cooperation of Station WEWS-TV of Cleveland, which has contributed the time needed for the course. • Straw No. 2. According to an announcement by Mrs. Margaret Divizia, of the Los Angeles City Schools, 100 television sets have been purchased for use in city schools. • Straw No. 3. TV Magazine for September carries the announcement that i RCA's first 10-kilowatt very-high | frequency television transmitter of i fering broadcasters more than twice | the power of commercial TV trans1 mitters now in use has been announced by the RCA Engineering Products Department. From other sources we have heard that RCA is considerably past the planning stage in the development of a low-power TV transmitter, which can sell in the neighborhood of $10,000 and is suit-, able for use by educational groups, i • Straw No. 4. In a letter to Senator William Benton, Raymond Rubicam, the founder of the world-known advertising agency of Young and Rubi j cam, stated that he was convinced i| that radio broadcasting has come nowhere near serving the American people as well as it ought to have served them because of the domination of radio by the advertiser. In his letter he stated, "I would welcome a reduction of the percentage of radio time available to advertisers and an enlargement of the public's opportunity to hear programs which have little worth for the advertiser but great worth for the public . . ." "What I am opposed to is what j amounts practically to a monopoly ol j radio and television by advertisers to {Continued o» page 394) i ROY WENSER Is a visualiier at heart, uses his hands if nothing else is handy. Here he li discussing some of the plans of the DAVI national committee on Teacher Education in ^ Audio-Visual Methods, of which he is chairman. Just across the room from Roy, and iistenm? with rapt attention, is CLYDE MILLER, recently appointed State Director of Audio-Visi" 1 Education for Ohio. Clyde has recently been carrying on a series of regional conference that have met with considerable success. Educational Screer;