Beyond The Textbook: Documentaries As Tools For Teaching

This essay was originally published in the Spring 2010 issue of POV Magazine. Excerpt: “Documentary has a critical role to play in education. The rapid advances in media technology have forced educators like myself to rethink notions of literacy and adapt our curricula accordingly. If students are watching, listening, and producing even more than they are reading, we must ensure they have critical frameworks for analysis. We can use documentaries to raise questions around voice, truth, ethics, and a range of themes relevant to the shifting literacies of the 21st Century.”

Beyond the textbook: film as text

Documentaries can be great learning tools for students – and sometimes, their teachers. In a society where film is often the new “text”, educators are harnessing docs in innovative ways. Read Point-of-View's special Education issue.