Documentaries
I love to watch documentaries. I think it is my favorite form of learning. I love sharing what I learn with my students, so I tend to watch things that are relevant. I also love using Instructional Technology. So I search the web to find power point presentations to use in my lectures, because who has time to recreate the wheel. Hey, I admit it...teachers steal what works. We have to. The pay SUCKS!!!
So, even though technology has improved the way teachers can introduce content, nothing beats a teacher's favorite...a movie! And there are some OUTSTANDING documentaries on the Sundance Channel, however, I always catch them after they start and then it is not on again for days or weeks or ever. For example, with my young students, we read a portion of Anne Frank's diary in their anthologies. I found some really good things on the web, but I do not have the time to do the research and create exactly what I need. I was a research assistant for three years and that was my job...research and presentation. It takes time to compile and create and I do not have it. So the day after the Armenian Day of Genocide Remembrance is the Jewish Day of Holocaust Remembrance, and I will be damned if I didn't miss 2 great documentaries, two nights in a row.
The specific documentary was I'M STILL HERE: REAL DIARIES OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO LIVED DURING THE HOLOCAUST. It was incredible and synopsized what my students needed to understand in one package. BUT I MISSED the first few minutes and then couldn't find a tape. I went online but that was the only airing and there is no way to purchase the film. *SIGH*
I did a bit better for my college students and managed to get Hooked: Illegal Drugs and How They Got That Way - Marijuana from The History Channel to help in our discussion about medical marijuana and an episode of Penn and Teller's Bullsh*t! dealing with Numbers to help us gain a real understating of statistics.
But I swear it happened again this morning but I got lucky because it will be on again at the end of the month! I will be teaching a course on patient assessment soon and there was an amazing documentary on The Origins of Aids. It is VERY plausible that AIDS can be traced to just one person - Hilary Koprowski, who created a polio vaccine in the Belgian Congo using chimpanzee kidney. This vaccine was given to over one million people. Although there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Hilary Koprowski denies ever using chimps, which by the way, had the SIV virus, the chimp version of HIV. The work was researched by Edward Hooper and it is tough to argue, although many do. It will be a good eye opener. And maybe, just maybe….I should check the schedule and future rants like this one could be avoided!
So, even though technology has improved the way teachers can introduce content, nothing beats a teacher's favorite...a movie! And there are some OUTSTANDING documentaries on the Sundance Channel, however, I always catch them after they start and then it is not on again for days or weeks or ever. For example, with my young students, we read a portion of Anne Frank's diary in their anthologies. I found some really good things on the web, but I do not have the time to do the research and create exactly what I need. I was a research assistant for three years and that was my job...research and presentation. It takes time to compile and create and I do not have it. So the day after the Armenian Day of Genocide Remembrance is the Jewish Day of Holocaust Remembrance, and I will be damned if I didn't miss 2 great documentaries, two nights in a row.
The specific documentary was I'M STILL HERE: REAL DIARIES OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO LIVED DURING THE HOLOCAUST. It was incredible and synopsized what my students needed to understand in one package. BUT I MISSED the first few minutes and then couldn't find a tape. I went online but that was the only airing and there is no way to purchase the film. *SIGH*
I did a bit better for my college students and managed to get Hooked: Illegal Drugs and How They Got That Way - Marijuana from The History Channel to help in our discussion about medical marijuana and an episode of Penn and Teller's Bullsh*t! dealing with Numbers to help us gain a real understating of statistics.
But I swear it happened again this morning but I got lucky because it will be on again at the end of the month! I will be teaching a course on patient assessment soon and there was an amazing documentary on The Origins of Aids. It is VERY plausible that AIDS can be traced to just one person - Hilary Koprowski, who created a polio vaccine in the Belgian Congo using chimpanzee kidney. This vaccine was given to over one million people. Although there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Hilary Koprowski denies ever using chimps, which by the way, had the SIV virus, the chimp version of HIV. The work was researched by Edward Hooper and it is tough to argue, although many do. It will be a good eye opener. And maybe, just maybe….I should check the schedule and future rants like this one could be avoided!
posted by Criss @ 8:59 AM
1 Comments:
At 11:01 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hi Criss,
I too love documentaries and there really are some very good ones out there & they do seem to be getting better. They are a great to use in the classroom & I have used a few myself. Thanks for your post by the way.
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