The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

\ world tour. The MSA, he reported, has sent a thousand technical training films to Europe and has encouraged the production of films and filmstrips in such countries as Greece, Turkey, and Italy. Audio-visual experts are facing their greatest challenge, he said, in southeast Asia and other areas where illiteracy and language barriers complicate the task of fundamental education in health habits, farming methods, etc. Out of our broadening ard deepening ties with people everywhere, Dr. Brooker insisted, must coma some n^w concepts for all educators: We mu.;t think globally. We must stop referring to areas of great ancient cultures as "backward" areas. We must encouraga emphasis on man's common values and interests and needs. Educational TV At its final general session, EFLA put the spotlight on educational tphvision — no longer a "should we do it?" issue but rather a "how do we do it?" challenge. Paul C. Reed (Assistant Director, Joint Committee on Educational Television as well as Ed Screen's editor) began the TV session by describ'ng the "evolving idea" of educational TV. He emphasized that there have been to date no bona-fide educational TV stations. He outlined the steps whereby leading educators across the nation gave evidence of their interest in and need for educational TV. So convincing was their evidence that last April the Federal Communications Commission authorized the reservation of 242 channels exclusively for non-commercial educational TV. Whether the channels get used depends now, he pointed out, on the action taken by educators within the coming months (deadline: April, 1953). The most important ' use of the medium, he stressed, will be for adult and out-of-school audiences. The most important element in determining what educational TV becomes, he said, is the programming. In the discussion following his remarks, he emphasized that "TV is A-V", that audio-viiual educators must assume active responsibility for whatever part they are to play in the development of educational television. Helge Hansen of the University of Minnesota reviewed the "telecourse" series at Western Reserve University and the University of Michigan. Ned L. Reglein of Indiana University closed the TV session with a deserlp• tion of the university's work in preparing package film programs. And More The jam-packed EFLA conference program also included field trips to A-V points of interest in and near Chicago, demonstrations of new A-V techniques (magnetic recording, cartridge-packed continuous loop film, etc.), and evening screenings of new and unusual 16mm films. CONVENTION CLOSE-UPS Rev. Thomas Quigley of Pittsburgh at CAVE meeting Charlie Schuller of Michigan State at EFLA reception Walt Wittieh & Floyde Brooker at EFLA session Don Canar receiving Reagan award ■for Chicago Film Council Major credit for the success of this Ninth Annual EFLA Conference goes to program planners Ford Lemler (EFLA President), Charles F. Schuller, Arthur Stenius, Lewis Saks, Wanda Daniel, Frank Sacco, Kurtz Myers, Emily Jones (EFLA Executive Secretary), Robert LeAnderson, Joseph Dickman, and Helge Hansen. CAVE Peak In terms of both attendance and zeal, another convention peak was the meeting of the Catholic AudioVisual Educators. When the idea for CAVE* was born last January, the planners hoped the first meeting might attract 50 or so. Actually, more than 500 Catholic educators came to the convention (sponsored by The Catholic Educator magazine). Leading educators urged greater and better use of audio-visual techniques in Catholic teaching. A-V methods were called "a restoration of the church's ancient teaching methods" by the Rev. Michael F. Mullen of St. John's University in Brooklyn. He •Pronounced as. is the hollowed-out chamber. For thuse tempted to pronounce it in Latin, one of the CAVE speakers had only one word of advice: Beware! pointed to the Biblical imagery, parables, and drama; to the "visualization" in the great cathedrals: the frescoes, stained-glass windows, statuary; to the morality plays out of which grew modern drama. During the centuries, he said, the church has lost much of the dramatic and the visual in its teaching and has put too-early emphasis on the memorization of words. It must return to the close-to-life, dramatic, picture-story, audio-visual method of teaching to give substance to the words. The Rev. Leo McCormick (Superintendent of Catholic Schools, Baltimore) stressed the importance of adequate funds for the purchase of modern teaching tools. Speaking of the role of A-V in informal education, the Rev. Paul E. Campbell, editor of The Catholic Educator, quoted the observation of Pope Pius XI that "there does not exist today a means of influencing the masses more potent than the cinema" ("and television," U. S. educators might add). As the result of this first CAVE meeting, a permanent committee of Catholic educators has been set up to plan ways of increasing and improv 270 Educational Screen