Wortmann accesses portions of the movie Hollow Man to give students the ability to explore the realities of invisibility and to discover the physiology of the human body. With Pioneer's DVD Bar 'N' Coder software, students are able to instantly access particular segments of the film relevant to the lesson at hand. Wortmann incorporates select clips from Hollow Man into her lesson plan by having students determine if the body portrayed in the movie is anatomically correct. To augment this lesson, she brings life to the classroom model skeleton by placing pre-created barcodes on select bones. When scanned, these barcodes instantly access video from the Hollow Man disc that give students a visual representation of the body part they are studying. To teach students the defining characteristics of bugs, such as the number of body parts, legs and wings, Wortmann creates barcodes that access individual scenes from A Bugs Life. Her students then explore,identify and label the anatomical features of the animated "bugs." To further involve students, they are asked to use the Internet to research and determine if the animated bug depictions are correct.
"Pioneer's DVD-Video Player and Bar 'N' Coder software are important teaching tools in my classroom," said Wortmann. "They give my students another resource over and above the usual classroom skeletons and text books used to teach anatomy and physiology. The technology is not only practical and reliable but students also get a kick out of using it."
Wortmann also incorporates the video blackboard component of Pioneer's DVD-V7400 to further customize her lesson plans. By connecting a keyboard and a mouse to the front of the DVD-Video player, students and teachers can type text right on screen and draw or insert graphics over important elements on the video without permanently altering the DVD content. This feature allows Wortmann to highlight important segments of any DVD disc and insert graphics over specific parts to aid students with learning. For example, with Hollow Man, Wortmann highlights specific muscles that she is discussing by using the mouse to circle or point out the object right on the still video being shown.
"The capabilities of Pioneer's DVD-V4700 brings a highly interactive and important visual technology into the classroom," said Linda Toleno, vice president of sales and marketing for Pioneer's Industrial Video Division. "With the ability to create custom barcodes, educators can easily incorporate DVD-Video into classroom lesson plans for any subject while keeping the students focused on the task at hand."
Wortmann is not only active in the classroom, she is also part of Pioneer's award-winning Mentor Program, which assists and supports teachers who are enthusiastic about integrating DVD-Video technology as well as a variety of other multimedia technologies into the daily activities of the classroom. Through participation in Pioneer's Mentor Program, Wortmann has had the opportunity to learn and teach other educators around the country how to combine DVD-Video into various lesson plans dealing with any core subject. Lesson plans and activities that integrate DVD-Video and LaserDisc technologies can be found at the Pioneer Tools 4 Teachers Web site at www.tools4teachers.com. Educators can get answers to frequently asked questions about the use of DVD-Video technology in the classroom and make contact with more than 20 Pioneer mentors who use this and other multimedia technologies on a daily basis.
The Business Solutions Division of Pioneer Electronics (USA), Inc., headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., is the leader and technical innovator in optical disc technology for the industrial market. Pioneer Electronics (USA), Inc., is a subsidiary of Pioneer Electronic Corporation. For more information on Pioneer's DVD-V7400 player and other industrial products from Pioneer's Business Solutions Division, visit our Web site at www.pioneerelectronics.com, (Business Products Tab) or call (310) 952-2799.