movies in the classroom
Many instructors use movies, sme are movies that were shown in theaters, and I think they are mostly a crutch for the instructor and allow the students a rest time. Please enlighten me on the value of movies in the classroom?
Hi Jason - Thanks for your post to the forum. I agree totally - media such as movies must serve an educational purpose in the classroom. We are not there to merely entertain! Still, we can choose media that is educational AND entertaining whenever possible. Susan
If we just remember to keep everything that is used and or entered into our classroom as an educational tool. Movies in my classroom may not be such a luxury since they are quizzed essay style on relating topics in class to the movie itself.
I have used movies or videos that I have made for training or demonstration purposes. Its just another way to show them how a job or process is done. It can be followed by an actual live demonstration that is reinforced by the students being familiar with the job to be done. I call it enabling criteria.
HI Luis- You are so right- editing films can make them really effective tools! Best wishes - Susan
I have used movies in class to demonstrate more complicated subjects where animation of gears or moving parts of an engine are more difficult to explain. I feel that the movie should replace the instruction however be used as a tool. I have also viewed documentary style movies about a particular subject but I always preview them and m only share the important parts instead of boring the students with a two hour long movie.
Hi Gretchen - Welcome to ED 103! Interesting, I would have thought having a movie playing would be distracting to such intricate work. Thanks for your post! Best wishes - Susan
Hi Shirley - Your post gave an excellent desciption of how to effectively use video in the classroom! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career - Susan
Interesting discussion. There are both pros and cons to showing movies/video clips. A good movie that emphasizes the course content should be no longer than 20-30 minutes. If the movie is very long and covers the entire class period, than it seems like a "short cut" way to get out of teaching for that day. But if it is used as another modality on the same day of the class in order to "mix" things up a bit than I think it can be an effective instructional tool.
I believe that showing movies such as business or political documentaries which are current allows the visual student to really picture how a company runs and how certain business theory practices/issues come to life in a visual format.
In culinary school, there is only 1 class I show a movie. When doing gumpaste in the wedding cake module, the class is so quiet and everyone so nervous. It takes a lot of attention to detail , having a movie playing quietly in the background I find helps the students concentrate on their flowers longer without getting frustrated.
Hi Jamie - Thanks for your post to the forum! I completely agree - videos, if used well, can be an excellent addition to your curriculum. Best wishes - Susan
Although, some teachers may use movies as a crutch, some may not, such as myself. It all depends on how you use the video.
For one of my classes, a freshmen level class, I show a video that gives the students an introduction as to what their field is and what jobs are available.
But I then bring up an assignment with it afterward that shows off points of the video.
I feel that movies or videos on an current or upcomming subject are very useful at times.
I do use them as a fill in , but only to introduce a future subject or to expose them to something that they might be intrested in & just not know about. At the end of class if time permits.I will put it on as a "reward".
In my previous post to the forum I fogot to include the link to the site that shows how movies can be useful in the classroom.
http://www.classbrain.com/artmovies/publish/cat_index_12.shtml
Best Susan
Hi Ron - that's a good question. I agree that some times instructors do use movies just to fill blanks in thir lesson plans. Similarly sometimes they show a movie as a reward for the class. However, I do believe that movies can be a useful addition to the classroom. It may be better to just show a scene or two that is related to your course material and then get a discussion going about what the scenes depicted. Here is a website that has a section on movies in the classroom. The page is from their Sociology section. They used the movie "The Pianist" to be part of a lesson on Censorship. Interesting stuff! Best wishes - Susan
