Educational Media Reviews Online

Advances in Science & Technology is a collection of film segments on over 250 advances in science. Each video is thirty minutes in length and includes four to six of the topical segments. Three of the videos are included in this review and a list of other topics available in this series can be viewed at the Chip Taylor Communications Web site.

Insecticides and Repellants describes how beetles are being used to control vine weevils, how repellants are applied to crops to deter feeding by aphids and how a natural substance from the bog myrtle effectively repels midges. Also included are segments on fish farms that use flashing lights to attract and trap sea lice rather than resort to chemical control methods, a discussion of the alternatives to DEET as a mosquito repellant and an interesting segment on the deathwatch beetle.

Recycling 1 shows how school children are learning the value or recycling and how polystyrene from food packaging is compressed into a material that can be used in place of hardwood. Other segments show how plastic is being converted into crude oil and how plastic cups are being converted into pencils. This video also describes how a tropical fungus is used to ferment wastepaper and produce a usable fuel and how seafood shell waste can be transformed into food for cattle.

Forest Management describes how foresters make use of computer graphics when re-planting a mixed forest and how genetic manipulation can be used to tailor plants to our various needs. For example, poplar trees with modified lignin require fewer chemicals when processed for paper. Also covered are the use of pigs to keep forest floor free of vegetation, and a rather unusual segment on how large trees can be pruned through the use of explosives. The two most interesting segments included in this video are on the "green guitar" which is built with timber from managed forests and the development of crude oil from wood products.

This video series is geared towards the intermediate to adult level audience and, in the videos reviewed, relies on constant narration rather than interviews with any of the profiled researchers. The segments are informative but may fail to hold the attention of adult, let alone junior high or high school level audiences. The narration and attempts at humor are campy and may not be well received by the intended audience. The series itself is a worthy idea and these videos would be appropriate for high school and junior high audiences. However, to use these videos in a classroom setting would require the instructor to tie the various segments together and assist in conveying the intended theme of the video.