Selected Films for American History and Problems by William H. Hartley
This book was published in 1940 and provides a handbook written to help overcome the “irritations” which “accompanied fourteen years of searching for classroom films suited to specific teaching situations.” The primary complaints are the quality or applicability of the material. Hartley said that “all too often it turned out to be either useless drivel or fine material unrelated to the subject at hand.” This handbook was intended as a guide which evaluated material and provide instructional strategies.
The Audio-Visual Handbook by Ellsworth C. Dent
This book, published in 1939 by the Society for Visual Education was written by E.C. Dent provides strategies for teaching with film as well as a history of visual education. It is interesting to note that even in 1939 this book has two sections devoted to film, one for silent and one for sound. The provocative first line in the section titled “The Sound Motion Picture” reads “The battle rages on!” indicating that this battle still was not settled ten years after the introduction of sound.
How to Use the Educational Sound Film by M. R. Brunstetter
This book, published in 1937, provides tips and techniques for using sound film in the classroom. Some suggestions include showing the film multiple times as well as using the sound film as a silent film with either teacher or student commentary as displayed below.
The Sound Motion Picture in Science Teaching by Justin Rulon
This book, published in 1933, begins with a detailed summary of the research on educational film done prior to this book. Then details his research on a science unit which showed an increase in “pupil-achievement …ascribable to the use fo the film may be expected to exceed 20 per cent” and that these gains did not come at the expense of “more important but less definable educational values, such as good habits of thinking” (p. 106). Sensitive to some of the criticisms laid out in the Ellis and Thornborough text, the author “reiterated that our findings do not indicate that the motion-picture presentation, when accompanied by good classroom procedures, tends in any way to cause the child to remember at the expense of stimulation of thought” (p. 105).
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b72894;view=1up;seq=1
Motion Pictures in Education: A Practical Handbook for users of Visual Aids by Ellis and Thornborough
This book was published in 1923 as the authors sought to responding to the “obvious and pressing need” of teachers seeking “concrete, definite information as to the use, for instructional purposes, of the newest and least tried of visual aids, the cinema” (ix). The authors devote 22 pages in chapter three to cataloguing the various objections to the use of film from eye strain and fire hazard to the fear that film will “dull the imagination”. The authors address each objection and offer some additional advantages for the use of film.
How We Advertised America: The First Telling of the Amazing Story of the Committee on Public Information that Carried the Gospel of Americanism to Every Corner of the Globe by George Creel
This book, published in 1920, was authored by George Creel, the chairman for the Committee on Public Information which was created at the start of World War I. This chapter, “The Battle of the Films” tells the story of how the film division not only created several films to promote the war effort, but also set up distribution channels to distribute the films.
Educational Film Magazines
Two magazines of this era were devoted entirely to film and Visual Instruction: Educational Screen and Visual Education. Selected volumes of each magazine are linked below.
Educational Screen
The Educational Screen was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and featured regular contributions from F. Dean McClusky and William Lewin. A typical magazine has a feature article, a tour of a Visual Instruction department, Film Estimates which feature ratings of various films, editorials and a trade directory.
Volume 1: 1922 https://archive.org/details/educationalscree01chicrich
Vol 7-8: 1928-1929 https://archive.org/details/educationalscree07chicrich
Vol 9-10: 1930-1931 https://archive.org/details/educationalscree09chicrich
Vol 12 1933 https://archive.org/details/educationalscree12chicrich
Vol 20: 1941 https://archive.org/details/educationalscree20chicrich
Visual Education
Visual Education was also headquartered in Chicago and was published by the Society for Visual Education. The magazine lists three officers, 12 directors, and 26 other members of the advisory board.
Vol 1: 1920 https://archive.org/details/visualeducation01soci
Vol 3: 1922 https://archive.org/details/visualeducation03soci
Vol 4: 1923 https://archive.org/details/visualeducation04soci
Victor Directory of Film Sources
This directory of Film Sources produced by the Victor Animatograph Company in 1930 was “believed to be the first attempt every made to provide a complete, accurate listing of all known sources of 16 m/m Films.