In 1986, the board of trustees for the public schools in Great Falls, Mont., adopted a districtwide goal to integrate technology into all curricular areas. In partial fulfillment of this goal, the decision was made to utilize laserdisc technology in the social studies curriculum of the district's secondary schools.

Seventeen Pioneer laserdisc players and six videodisc-format sets of The Video Encyclopedia Of The 20th Century, published by CEL Educational Resources of New York, N.Y., were purchased for implementation of the program. The project now involves more than 38 teachers and is coordinated by Dr. Terri Pavlonnis, secondary curriculum coordinator for Great Falls' public schools.

Literally Relives History

The Video Encyclopedia Of The 20th Century comprises 38 laserdiscs of primary-source video material that has been teamed with a comprehensive index system and four hardcopy volumes of research background information. The more than 2,000 units of film footage vary in length from one to nine minutes and are unencumbered by commentary, music or sound effects.

The index system includes a master index, which features an alphabetical index listing people, subjects and categories, and a daily index listing significant events for each day of the year. A disc index identifies the disc, disc side and chapter number for each film unit according to its reference number contained in the master index. The material is also available on videocassettes.

Instructors use the index to locate appropriate segments from the 75-hour historical film library to bring historical and cultural events to the classroom as they actually happened and were captured by motion-picture cameras.

"Imagine being able to bring any historical event from 1893 to the present into a social studies clasS," explains Pavlonnis. "Imagine being able to show students who were not yet born the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, the first man walking on the moon, the inauguration of every president since William McKinely in 1901, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and John and Robert Kennedy."

Since all sound has been removed from the film footage, students view the events in an objective environment and can draw conclusions independent of bias.

Active Viewing Is Key

Pavlonnis believes that laserdisc technology requires very intentional use on the part of the teacher to make it an effective classroom tool. It differs greatly from running a film for the class to watch because of the laserdisc's absence of narration.

"Because the students are not passively viewing a television program but instead analzying, interpreting and actively seeing actual events, the capability to learn on their terms--actively and visually--is far-reaching," says Pavlonnis.

Instructors using the laserdisc material report that coupling visual imagery with lectures and reading seems to give pupils a better opportunity to remember the facts than does rote memorization.

The 'New Wave' of Term Papers

One of the exciting capabilities of this technology is the ability for students to produce video term papers. A video term paper is a 10-to 30-minute visual documentary made up of video segments from laserdisc courseware and recorded onto videotape with an accompanying audio-dubbed narration by students. An example best demonstrates this strategy.

A group of six Great Falls High School juniors in a U.S. history class opted for the opportunity to develop a video term paper in lieu of the traditional, typewritten, five-page report required by the class. "Social Issues of the 1960's was the topic they chose.

While investigating the subject, the students narrowed their focus to four areas: the civil rights movement, the hippie era, the space age and the Vietnam War.

The juniors worked in groups of two, dividing the topics among themselves and researching the areas fully. Their research involved not only reading traditional reference material but also previewing all of the related visual footage in The Video Encyclopedia Of The 20th Century.

Once the group had a firm understanding of the background of the decade's events, they began to piece their "video paper" together. They duplicated onto a videotape the footage from the laserdiscs that represented the theme they wished to impart. Once the visuals were spliced and edited, the students prepared a narration that was dubbed onto the audio portion of teh tape. The end result was a 35-minute documentary on the 1960s concentrating on the four areas previously mentioned.

The 1960s--An Age of Change

From the tape, here is what these high school juniors conclude about the 1960s: "All in all, the areas of change with the blacks, the hippies, the war and space [exploration] intermingle with each other, and all had effects on each other.

"To summarize the whole '60s movement under one category would be to say that America had an unwillingness to stagnate itself, and most everyone put forth the effort in one way or another to create growth through change.

"This era and the people involved concerned themselves with an uprising that sparked riots and brought about a turmoil that eventually surrounded our nation in change. In the fight for freedom and democracy, progress was most certainly attained. The nostalgia of the past, prejudice, conformity and tradition that had been ingrained in our past was overriden by a new approach and a new direction."

Reactions

The students showed their video term paper to Pavlonnis. "It was the highlight of my year," she says and then comments further that, being a product of the 1960s herself, the video brought a tear to her eye.

"What really struck me," she continues, "was the cooperative learning that went on with the students that worked on the project--the team problem-solving and coordination that was required."

One of the juniors involved in the project, Lance Nussbaum, was queried about his reaction to the courseware. "From the laserdisc you get the whole perspective," he responds. "You can see what they were doing and how they were acting, whereas in the book it just says the words and you have to visualize it yourself. The laser [material] gives you the whole view of what it was like."

Pavlonnis feels that these high school students came away with an experience that will last a lifetime and will help them to better understand how all past history affects modern life and society.

New Approaches Required

Pavlonnis believes it is safe to say that the youths in today's classrooms are a generation of "television babies." Since they have been bombarded by visual images that are delivered with every attention-getting device--from sex and music to celebrities and humor--they have become deadened to the traditional classroom lecture.

"Educators must respond to that challenge and improve learning, retention and problem-solving skills for the future citizens of tomorrow," says Pavlonnis.

"We have the means available to us to meet that challenge," she continues. "The decision is ours on how we take the steps to meet it."

News

CD-ROM Development

Is Focus of Seminars

A series of nationwide seminars will be conducted to teach potential CD-ROM developers how to produce CD-ROMs.

Teaming up for the project are Meridian Data, Inc.; Philips and Du Pont Optical; and Microsoft Corp.

Each one-day session will offer a step-by-step approach to creating a CD-ROM product. Key technical areas addressed will include data conversion, formating, indexing, use of build and retrieval software, premastering, mastering, replication and delivery.

Seminar locations are Arlington, Va.; New York City; Chicago; Boston; and Atlanta. Meridian Data, Inc., Capitola , CA.

Scanner Is Hooked Into

Mac Retireval System

A high-speed document scanner has recently been incorporated into MARS (Multi-user Archival and Retrieval System) software for the Macintosh.

The flatbed scanner is able to digitize a letter-sized page at 200 dpi in approximately three seconds. B-size engineering drawings can also be scanned. This scanner offers resolutions of up to 400 dpi as well as 64 steps of grey scale.

The scanner was demonstrated in conjunction with MARS software at the MacWorld Expo, held in San Francisco from January 15 through 17. Micro Dynamics, Ltd., Silver Spring, MD.

Workshop Offered on

Designing Videodiscs

The Videodisc Design Workshop provides an in-depth look at the instructional design process as it relates to videodisc material.

Held July 12-16 in Lincoln, Neb., the session is intended for educators who have attended the Basic Videodisc Design/Production Workshop.

The focus is on four key areas and the relationship of each to the total design process. The topics are instructional design, project management, cognitive considerations and hardware and software considerations. Each of the four modules cover theory, examples and problem-solving.

The number of participants is limited. Additional information is available from The Nebraska Videodisc Group, P.O. Box 83111, Lincoln, NE 68501, (402) 472-3611.

Boston-Area Firms Win

National Merit Award

Butler, Raila & Co. and Telematic Systems have received a national Merit Award for their development of five interactive high-tech exhibits for the National Scouting Museum in Murray, Ky.

The 1987 Nebraska Videodisc Awards Competition presented the award to the companies for creative excellence and technical sophistication.

The two firms jointly designed and developed the hands-on exhibits, which combine computer and video technologies to create presentations that are controlled by museum visitors.

Exhibits include an interactive, life-sized robot named Murray. Also featured are two interactive video theaters, Patrol Theater and Values Theater. Touch-screen monitors register viewer choices as part of the other two presentations. Butler, Raila & Co., Somerville, MA.

Interactive Video Used

For Teacher Induction

A consortium of nine educational institutions from Lancaster and Lebanon counties, Pa., and ISC Educational Systems have agreed to jointly develop an interactive videodisc-based course for teacher staff development.

The 25-hour course will be used to help school districts meet Pennsylvania state requirements for teacher induction, introducing new teachers to classroom management methods and procedures.

The interactive video course, which will utilize microcomputers equipped with touch-screen monitors and used in conjunction with videodisc players, is expected to be ready by November. International Signal & Control Group, Lancaster, PA.

Products

Book Is Structured

To Be Like I/V Show

A new book titled Interactive Video describes how to design educational and training materials for presentation on videodiscs operating under computer control.

Like a videodisc presentation itself, the book contains numerous pathways through the material. Readers are expected to make certain choices as to how they progress through the text, jumping forward to new items and backward to places where previous items can be reviewed.

The book is authored by Richard Schwier. EDucational Technology Publications, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Help for CD Searchers

Is Coming Online

An online help system for CD-ROM search and retrieval software has been announced.

The help system enhances the SilverPlatter CD-ROM software by providing assistance at the press of a key. The user selects the appropriate topic from a displayed list and presses the Return key to activate a window with either inforamtion or subtopics.

If a command function is in use when the help menu is accessed, the system automatically opens the window appropriate to that function. The user can also choose to have context-sensitive help messages displayed in response to system messages. These messages provide supplemental information, explain the reason for the system message and suggest the appropriate action to take.

The help system will be released to all existing customers and will be included in new subscriptions to SilverPlatter databases: ERIC, OSH-ROM. Ca-CD, Agricola, CIRR, LISA, sociofile, A-V Online, Chem-Bank, PsycLIT, Compu-Info, NTIS and Medline. SilverPlatter Information, Inc., Wellesley Hills, MA.

New Compact CD-ROM

Drive Doubles Storage

A half-height CD-ROM drive which allows two drives to be fitted into a single full-height space has been announced.

The CDR-3500 has a basic capacity of 552M, allows horizontal or vertical installation and uses disc cartridges.

The unit incorporates a two-channel audio playback circuit with a headphone jack in the front and audio terminal output in the rear. MS-DOS CD-ROM extensions and an SCSI controller are also available.

In addition to the CDR-3500, the CDR-1503-SUY, which is bundled with the MS-DOS extensions package, has been released. Hitachi Sales Corp. of America, Compton, CA.

Updated Directory Has

Timely I/V Information

The Interactive Video directory is a comprehensive guide to the world of interactive video.

First published in 1984, the new edition has been totally revised and has the latest information on videodiscs, CD-ROM, CD-I, WORM and erasable optical discs.

The single-volume directory contains references to more than 1,000 creators and users of interactive video, with brief descriptions of their respective projects, products and personnel.

Educators searching for specific topics can use the book's index, which is categorized by subject and cross-referenced to the groups that designed or sponsored the materials.

One section of the directory is a guide to periodicals, reports and other interactive video-related documents; another part has examples. Applied

Video Technology, Inc., St. Louis, MO.

New CD-ROM Targets

K-8 Science and Math

Close to 1,000 lesson plans for K-8 science and math classes make up a new CD-ROM product called Science Helper K-8.

Developed over a period of 15 years and funded by the National Science Foundation, these handson lessons emphasize process skills. All exercises are current and have been extensively tested in the classroom.

Science Helper comes with a complete retrieval system. This system allows the searching of lesson plan titles by a combination of these criteria: grade level, academic subject, curriculum project, words or phrases, science process, and content theme.

Also provided are all of the necessary software and instructions for installation on a CD-ROM player in conjunction with an IBM PC or compatible. PC-SIG, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA.

Interactive Videodiscs

Offered Via Catalog

A wide range of videodiscs, selected because of their interactive quality, are available for ordering.

Some of the titles include: Audobon Society's Video Guide to the Birds of North America: 1; Dream Machine--The Visual Computer; The Incredible Storydisc and The First National Kiddisc, both suited for kids; and Grolier's Knowledgedisc. Interactive Videodiscs, Irvine, CA.

Video Explains How to

Develop an I/V Program

This one-hour videotape offers educators and administrators a shortcut to understanding the many aspects of interactive video projects.

"Building an Interactive Solution" takes a how-to approach toward the development of a typical program from design to implementation.

The material covered by the video consists of an overview of the technology, the seven stages of development, and schedule and budget considerations.

Interviews with experienced designers and developers contain their keys to success and common pitfalls.

Supplementing the visuals is a 67-page companion guide that includes a glossary of terms and hardcopies of the flowcharts and forms seen in the tape. U.S. Productions, Inc., Huntington Woods, MI.

See also

The music of term paper

Alternatives to the Term Paper

Buy term paper now!