We all know that movies shown in class can be a very valuable tool in furthering a student's understanding in a given area. We all also know how time consuming movies can be and that it is usually unfair to award extra credit to those seeing it outside of class. How frequently do you plan on showing movies, in what context, and what movies in particular do you plan on showing (if any)?

Cheesey as it is the "Bill Nye the Science Guy" vids stick with me and could be a very useful tool, though no matter how good the vids may be I think we must use caution not to overdo the use of video.

I agree with David:

I think that videos can be an amazing teaching tool, but they can also be abused. In my elementary ed classroom, I think I'll use a few simple guidelines before choosing to show a video:

Is this video just a filler or does it positively add to my lesson plan?

Does this video specifically and creatively address aspects of my lesson?

Is this video less than 20 minutes? (Any longer, and you'll lose their attention)

Will there be time to discuss and build on the video once it's over?

Videos are a great way to break up the day, but it's important that they're seen as a rare treat by the children, and a nice way to add to the lesson plan by you!

I think it's important to try and reach out to all the different learning types that will be present among the students in your classroom. Movies can be a very useful tool if used correctly. Morgan gave some good tips. Movies can portray somethings more effectively and give students a stronger sense of certain lessons. It really depends on the subject in regards to how often you should incorporate videos into the classroom.

i want to use movies as another source of literature. i think that in our society today it is important to let students see where the concepts we are teaching are in the world they will see outside of school. i'm excited to see how creative i can be in the classroom with technology like this.