By: Nicholas Renard

LISTEN TO THE STORY.

Once the bell rings and the lights dim, seventh-graders at Lawrence’s Liberty Memorial Central Middle School scramble for a comfortable seat, crane their necks and await the commencement of movie day.

The students recently read the Sherlock Holmes caper “The Hound of the Baskervilles” and today are receiving another dose of the tale, this time through film.

In the wake of the recent proliferation of social and visual media, America’s youth are consistently exposed to visual and intellectual stimuli earlier than ever. With online media outlets such as YouTube so easily accessible, our nation’s teachers face the challenge of integrating visual media into the classroom without abandoning pupils in the media vortex.

“In the classroom, movies and YouTube are used as curriculum extensions,” said Carolyn Montney, a seventh-grade language arts and geography teacher at Liberty Memorial Central. “The more removed from a situation a student is, the more visuals are needed.”

She said feature films and videos provide students further insight into their lessons. In language arts classes, films afford her students a novel view of character emotions through tone of voice and facial expression.

Educators encouraged to use digital media.

USD 497 teachers currently have no requirements for visual media use in classrooms, but they say they are definitely encouraged.

“It’s a useful tool and a good challenge for teachers who aren’t that tech-savvy,” Montney said. “But we’re careful when using YouTube – you don’t always know what a video may show.”

Molly Fuller, a student teacher and University of Kansas graduate student studying social studies curriculum and teaching, said her graduate program advocates for in-class visual media.

“Good teaching pedagogy involves multiple forms of representation,” Fuller said. “Use of text, audio and visuals are encouraged because they incorporate every sense into learning.”

Movies trump maps.

For geography teachers like Charlotte Prosser, videos depicting foreign countries and cultures make a stronger impression than globes and atlases.

“A lot of my students have never even been outside of Lawrence,” said Prosser, who also teaches seventh-grade language arts at Liberty Memorial Central. “I’m trying to teach them about another country and some haven’t even seen the Rocky Mountains.”

Because of her students’ geographic isolation, Prosser said she does her best to include visual media in her lesson plan at least once a week.

“You need to be able to show kids what countries look like,” she said. “And they can’t visualize or conceptualize them without traveling.”

Expert opinion.

In a 2010 International Examiner article, Dr. Patricia Greenfield, a professor of developmental psychology from UCLA, said exposing children to visual stimuli increases visual reasoning and improves multitasking skills.

However, Greenfield’s research also revealed that technological stimuli decreases youth’s attention spans, which can reduce children’s ability to focus in the classroom and evaluate information.

But both Prosser and Montney concur that their students appear more interested and engaged when visual media are exhibited; however, every student is different.

“Most students are very receptive but it definitely varies between classes and students,” Montney said.

Taking it further.

Montney said some advanced students are given enrichment assignments that go beyond classroom work and improve multimedia and video literacy. After reading “Red Midnight,” a novel about Guatemalan conflicts in the 1980s, her advanced students went a step further by synthesizing visual projects.

“Some were able to find Guatemalan war footage and integrate it into PowerPoint presentations,” she said. “They later used their presentations to educate their peers.”

Almost all of her seventh-grade students are now comfortable with producing PowerPoint presentations, a useful skill to whet at a young age, she said.

For students at Liberty Memorial Central, the presence of visual media will remain consistent and continue to complement their curriculum.