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

FILMSTRIPS by Irene F. Cypher Every evidence of filmstrips coming into their own makes us feel good. This year's American Film Festival certainly helped that feeling, for there was concrete evidence that there was greatly increase d awareness of the place of filmstrips in both the field of education and of industry; and those in attendance were apparently looking at filmstrips for the sake of filmstrips, and not as substitutes for motion pictures. If we can only keep up this state of affairs, we may arrive at the time when users stop apologizing for filmstrips. It was also good to note that the filmstrips receiving awards were those which were designed to do a specific thing but were presented in a manner that had visual appeal, freshness of technique and story sparkle. The producers receiving awards were those who had departed from the same old patterns and dared to be originators— or at least to use some imagination! This same fact is true of much of the material which has come to us lately for review: new producers are coming to the field, and older producers are putting a "new look" into some of their material. If this keeps up, filmstrips may even attract attention and be accorded the consideration they should have. They may indeed have been somewhat like Cinderella, but we should not forget that Cinderella did not stay in the kitchen forever; she became the reigning princess of the kingdom as her permanent position. SCIENCE FILMSTRIPS SINCE 1931 SINCE 1931 MADE BY TEACHERS FOR TEACHERS 1 ■lOLOGY ATOMIC ENERGY PHYSICS GENERAL SCIENCE CHEMISTRY MICROBIOLOGY ■IKE SAFETY BUS SAFETY Sciancs filmstrips available under NDEA — Title III. VISUAL SCIENCES Box 599E Suffern, New York Labor— Management Relations (4 filmstrips, black and white; produced by S t a n b o w Productions, Valhalla, New York; $13.30 per set, $3.50 single strips.) Any understanding of our modem economic problems makes it essential to appreciate the elements involved in successful labor-management relations. The student of American industry in particular needs to have a grasp of the human problems as well as the strictly business matters involved. Filmstrips such as these help to focus attention on the roles played by both labor and industry leaders; they point to the ways in which both groups have learned to work together for mutual benefit and more efficient operation. The material is good for students, and should prove helpful for employee training gi-oups. As various industries set up employee training courses, this material will find a place as a training aid, in many progressive companies. Life History Of A Bean Plant (single filmstrip, black and white; produced by Folkways Records and Service Corp., 117 West 46th St., New York, N. Y.; $6.75 single strip.) For years, hundreds and hundreds of eager science students have tried to watch the development of plants but have all too often missed certain specific steps in the growth and unfoldment of a seed. In this filmstrip the photographer has given us a record of the important steps in the growth of the plant, from time of germination to the 99th day of development. The pictures are clear, and it is possible to see each step— from the appearance of the first sprout to the blossoming of mature leaves; we are also able to see how tiny pods emerge from the flower, how the mature pod splits open, and how seeds are released to form new bean plants This filmstrip should prove helpfu used in conjunction with actual exper imental work in the classroom, anc make it possible for students to keej an accurate record of the growth o plants in their classroom experimenta projects. A manual gives a wealth o information about plant growth. Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan (3 stud) kits; produced by International Com munications Foundation, 9033 WiJ shire Blvd., Beverly Hills, Calif.; Pak istan, $45; Iran, $49.95; Afghanistan $29.) Material such as this gives an> teacher a real resource unit that wil enliven classroom work. In the kil dealing with Iran, for instance, samples of three types of rugs are put together, so that they may be compared and studied. In each kit there is a collection of excellent study prints, showing us life and work in the particular countries described. Color filmstrips bring us scenes from city and country life, homes and villages, workers at their occupations, and examples of the arts and crafts of the country. There are also records, samples of clothing, stamps and coins, and such items as musical instruments, typical examples of clothing. Our major interest in this column, of course, is the filmstrips, and they are good. But we feel that it is the coordination of different types of material to supplement the filmstrips that make these kits so valuable. Children like to feel samples of cloth; they like to handle toys and musical instruments, and the inclusion of different types of materials and objects gives collections such as these special value for purposes of helping to make life in other countries real for the boys and girls in our own schools. Passover For Little Children (single! strip, color; produced by Union ol ] American Hebrew Congregations, 838 Fifth Ave., New York 21, N. Y.; $7.5C single strip.) The pictures includeel in this filmstrip are deliglitful and make the storj come alive. Although intended foi pupils in the kindergarten and grades one and two of Hebrew schools, it filmstrips anel material such as thi.'' 4 No. 40 Units lock-slocked on o table. THE NEW STANDARD FILMSTRIP TABLE-fi/e 1. Keeps filmstrips at your fingertips 2. Offers instant, visible filmstrip selection 3. Displays filmstrips in a neat, orderly, handy arrangement 4. Saves the instructor time and trouble in locating filmstrips $12^ Sttjndord Filmstrip Table-files are to a ftlmitrip what o bookcase is to a book . . . practical for almost any small or growing single or multiple ins tol lotions. — ^ Filmstrip library — for SEE YOUR AUDIO-VISUAL EDUCATION* DEALER Write for cotolog JACK C. COFFEY CO., In« 710 Seventeenth Street NORTH Chicogo, III. 358 Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide — July, 196!