Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

> Between 1932 and 1935, there were 146 articles ' U'd under the heading of "Visual Education" in Educational Index, with a few of the articles men like McClusky, Dent and Hoban containr^ a new term: "visual-sensory instruction." They rognized that the division of visual from audir\ was artificial, but they were ahead of their lies. Radio was now a much larger grouping ■111 visual education in the Educational Index ith "Radio in Education" a very large subvision, but still no relationship was establish1 between audio and visual education. In the next volume covering the years 1935> )S, the Educational Index listed 164 articles ider the heading of "Visual Education." Of ii'se, some articles contradicted the heading by ^ing the term "sight and sound aids" in their ties and 12 others used the term "audio-visual laterials" for the first time. ( One of the earliest ^<'s of the term "audio-visual" seems to have I rn in the title of an article by Max R. Brunstter in 1936, "The AudioVisual Studio." )» All t this occupied less than three pages, while Hadio" had grown to 13 pages of listings. The sting "Phonograph" had grown to 10 articles. Of nurse, the mention of the term audiovisual here IK'S not imply that it had never been used beic, and no one seems to be able to claim the i'>tinction of being the first one to use the term. lie term "visual-sensory aids" was short lived, lite it seemed to imply a distinction between ■ijsory perception and intellectual perception Kit did not stand the test of practice, although (lid convey the idea that men should he educat(1 through all of their senses. L -\ the 1938 to 1941 volume of the Educational lulcx, 28 of the 255 articles contained the term audio-visual" in their titles. These articles, hough still under the heading of "Visual Educai<iii," began to indicate a wide awareness of the lose interrelationship among visual education, idio in education, photography, phonographs, notion pictures, excursions, etc. Audio and visual oil Id not be kept departmentalized much longer, 11(1 in the 1941-1944 edition of the Educational luh'x the heading "Audio-Visual Education" ppeared for the first time with 68 articles list'1. The influence of the armed services' experiiKes in World War 11 was reflected in this li iiige as well as the growing movement for (iinbining the terms audio and visual. However, \ isual Education" was retained as a separate leading and had 60 listings. Cross references inliuled all of the audiovisual materials. Audioisua! materials were gaining "co-ordinate standuti with such other learning materials as Ijooks, >ainplets, newspapers and the like," and coming o he considered as primary means of comnunicating ideas.'' In the volume for the years 1944-47, the headng "AudioVisual Education" contained 220 listngs, and "Visual Education" another 146. The 1947-50 volume contained 95 items under "Visual Education," and seven pages dealt with materials under the headings "Audio-Visual Aids" and "AudioVisual Education," while cross references were made to "Audio-Visual Demonstration Centers." In this issue "Instructional Materials Centers" was a heading for the first time, but there was no cross reference to the audiovisual field. A new phase of the materials problem had been reached. xVUDIO and visual had been united and had come to include all activities concerned with "types of teaching aids that are not exclusively verbal."" Brown and Vandemeer defined audiovisual materials as those "which do not depend exclusively upon comprehension of words or similar symbols."* This created a special area known as audiovisual education but left as many problems as had been solved. The materials of instruction for teachers to use with students were divided as artificially as ever on a basis of printed vs. non-printed, verbal vs. non-verbal or sensory vs. intellectual. Any teacher could see that such divisions would not help her utilize more easily the materials in the classroom. Many perceptive educators could see this too, and demands for improving the situation came, as usual, long before they were reflected by crossreferenced headings in the Educational Index. As far back as 1928, Anna Dorris had seen the need for concentrating on the child rather than the materials when she wrote that any educational tool or device must be considered only in terms of the "degree that it may help pupils solve their childish problems and stimulate their interest in gaining new knowledge."" In 1937, with a much improved idea of curriculum. Max R. Brunstetter pointed out that educators must "integrate basic instructional materials with the local classroom teaching," both in the traditional program that existed, and in the new areas and methods of instruction that were developing.* In 1944 the University of Chicago established a center for research on audiovisual instructional materials, but set out to "study and develop all kinds of instructional material s."® In 1945, Stephen M. Corey spoke of the need to "develop simultaneously a variety of well-integrated instructional materials to contribute to specific Max R. Brunstetter, "The Audio-Visual itudio," The School Executive, Vol. 55 1936, pp. 215-17, 236. Kinder, op. cit., p. 6. "National Society for the Study of Education, Audio-Vistial Materials of Instruction, 48th Yearbook, Pt. 1, Chicago, Universitv of Chicago Press, 1949. "Ibid., p. 29. 'Anna V. Dorris, Visual Instruction in the Public Schools, Boston: Ginn and Company, 1928, p. 9. "Max R. Brunstetter, Hotc To Use the Educational Sound Film. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1937, p. 73. *V. E. Herrick, "Center for Research on Audio-Visual Instruction Materials, Elementary School Journal, November, 1944, p. 135. Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide — June, 1960 283