The Power of Film, Video and TV in the Classroom

“ If Muhammad cannot go to the mountain, bring the mountain to Muhammad”

INTRODUCTION The appeal of visual media continues to make film, video and television as educational tools with high potential impact. They are now more accessible and less cumbersome to use. Let us take advantage of them in the classroom.

ACTIVITY: Read the following comments then reflect to your answer to the given question below: 1. “The Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) gave us flexibility. We could watch the first exciting twenty minutes, stop the tape and discuss elements of introduction, mood, suspense, and characterization- and view it again.” 2. Watching the final countdown for American astronaut’s first orbital flight in space was far more exciting than most science-fiction movies. All the viewers shared John Glenn’s concern about the outcome of the trip. You had the feeling about that you must know you couldn’t wait for the lift-off time, and then you heaved a sigh of deep pride when friendship 7 zoomed skyward on course and all was well. (dale, 1969)

3. A survey was conducted to find out which news version are people more inclined to believe if they got conflicting or different reports of the same news story from radio, television, the magazines and the newspapers. Most respondents answered “the news on television”.

QUESTION FOR REFLECTION: 1. What do the three situations above tell about the film, video and TV? 2. Can you remember another spectacular event that you watch in the TV live? 3. Would agree that the news version to the television was most believable? Why?

ANALYSIS 1. What do the three items in the activity phase reveal about the capacity of the film, video and TV? 2. Passive spectacular! That’s what we become when we view TV. How this overcome with the coming of the VCR?

3. Can you think of some limitations of the film, video and TV?

ABSTRACTION The film, video and the TV are indeed very powerful. Dale (1969) says, they can: Transmit a wide range of radio- visual materials, including still picture, film, object, specimen and drama, bring models of excellence to the viewer- we can see and hear the excellent scientist like John Glenn, the excellent speaker and master teachers who lectures and demonstrate a teaching method or professional development of teachers.

bring the world of reality to the home and to the classroom through a “live” broadcast or as mediated to through film or videotape.- Not all of us have the opportunity to see life underneath the see. But with TV, we are able to see life at the bottom of the sea right there in our Sala or bedroom through discovery channel, for example: make us see and hear for ourselves world event as they happen. With the sense of helplessness, with witnessed the fire that engulfed homes in San Diego, California lst year as it happen through TV. When the strong Earthquake shook Baguio, Agoo,

Dagupan and Nueva Ecija, Philippines on July 16, 1990, the aftermath of the earthquake was shown live in TV. be the most believable news source make some programs understandable and appealing to a wide variety of age and educational levels. Literate and illiterate , young and old – all benefits from the common experience that the TV transmits become a great equalizer of educational opportunity because program can be presented over national and regional networks.

Provide us with the sounds and sights not easily available even to the viewer of a real event through long shots. possible by the TV camera- afraid of the mammoth crowd every time Baguio celebrates the Panagbenga (Flower Festival), I prefer to say home and watch it in TV. With the versatile camera, I can have more close up view than those watching it from Session Road. can give opportunity to teachers to view themself while they teach for purposes of self-improvement- Teachers can view themselves while they teach with videocam and TV they can view themselves while they teach after.

can be both instructive and enjoyable can be both instructive and enjoyable.- With sight and sounds and motion, TV is much more enjoyable.

While the film, video and TV can do so much, they have their own limitations, too. Television and film are one-way communication device consequently. They encourage passivity. Today, however, we talk about and work on interactive for classroom effective learning. We are convince that learning is an active and so the learners must be actively engaged. the small screen size puts television at the disadvantage when compare the possible size of the projected motion pictures,

Excessive TV viewing works again the development of child ability to visualize and to creative and imaginative, skills, that are needed in problem solving. There is much violence in TV. This is the irrefutable conclusion, “viewing violence increases violence”.

Basic Procedures in the Use of TV as a Supplementary Enrichment Prepare the classroom.(If your school has a permanent viewing room, the classroom preparatory work will be less for you.) - Darken the room. Remember that complete darkness is not advisable for television viewing. Your students may need to take down notes while viewing. - The students should not be seated too near nor to far from the television. No student should be farther from the set than the number of feet that the picture that represent in inches. A 24-inch set mean no student farther than 24 feet from the set.

Pre-viewing Activities - Point out the key points they need to focus on. It helps if you give them guide question which become the foci of post viewing discussions. Omit this, if you are using an interactive video and the source speaker himself/herself give the question for interactive discussion in the process of viewing. Viewing - Just make sure sight and sound are clear. You were supposed to have checked on this when you did your pre –viewing. Post-Viewing - to make them feel at ease begin by asking the following questions:

1). What do like best in the film? 2).What part of the film makes you wonder? doubt? 3). Does the film remind you of something or someone? 4). What question are you asking the film?(Write them down . You have not to end the class without answering them to make your students feel that everyone and everything matter. Nothing or nobody is taken from granted.) Go to the question you raised at the pre-viewing stage. Engage the student in the discussion of answers. Check for understanding. Tackle question raised by students at the initial stage of the post-viewing discussion. Involve the rest of the class.

If questions cannot be answered, not eve you can answer them, motivate the class to do further reading on the topic and share their answers the next meeting. You will not be exempted from the assignment. Asked what the student learned. Find cut how they can apply what they learned. Several techniques can be use for this purpose. A simple yet effective technique is the completion of unfinished sentence .E.g From this film I learned _____.I can apply the reason I learned in/by _____. Summarize what was learned. You may include whatever transpired in the class discussion in the summary but don’t forget your summary on your lesson objectives.

APPLICATION 1.How do you counteract one disadvantage of television , film and video- development of passivity in the classroom? 2. Go over your RBEC. Find out which lessons can be taught with the television 3. If Muhammad cannot go to the mountain ,”bring the mountain to the Muhammad.” Come up with an analogy to show the power of television to bring reality to the home or to the school. E.g. If the class cannot go to the sae, bring the sea to the class.

The film, video and television are powerful tools The film, video and television are powerful tools. When they era used appropriately and moderately, they can make the teaching- learning process more concrete, lively, colourful and interactive . It contributes to a more lasting learning fun. However, misuse and abuse of their use in the classroom and even at home has far reaching damaging effects in the development of children’s imaginative and thinking powers and sensitivity to human life. The most significantly cited weakness of the television is the effect of television violence on people’s aggressive behaviour. With the coming of the VCR,, viewing need not be passive anymore. We can have interactive viewing with VCR..

Making the Connection Some Filipinos want to be where the action is even if it would mean risking their lives in the crossfire. Perhaps for curiosity’s sake? Or is this not more an evidence of the desensitizing effect of violence in television? There are three types of TV teaching- total TV teaching, TV as a complementary basic resource an TV as supplementary enrichment. How are they different ? Here is a comparison of the effects of TV viewing and reading: Surf the internet for the educational TV programs which you can use to supplement your lesson s. This can help you in your listening of materials for RBEC competencies .(You are asked to do this in item #2 of the application phase of this lesson.)

Postscript- The Effect of TV The effect of TV depends on how it is used. We agree that the TV can give a more accurate, more lively and more colourful presentation of a difficult topic in physics for instance when the one who teachers the topic is inexperience and can only make use of still pictures in black and white as visual aid. We are aware of the numerous educational benefits of the use of the TV as enumerated in this lesson. But when use in excess, it can also impair the development of the children’s ability to visualize, to be creative and imaginative. Worse, is when children gets exposed to violence in TV.

The damage has far reaching effects. Social psychologist Craig A The damage has far reaching effects. Social psychologist Craig A. Anderson gave this testimony to the US Senate on March 21, 2000: The media violence effect on aggression is bigger than the effect of exposure to live on IQ score in children, the effect of calcium intake in bone mass, the effect of home work on academic achievement, or the effect of asbestos exposure on cancer...High exposure to media violence is major contributing cause of the high rate of violence in modern U.S society.

Let us use to view the TV appropriately and moderately so that we can take advantages and mitigate its advantages.