Film as an educational tool

Recently I have been using www.unitedstreaming.com as a resource to show my kids videos of the places in which we are studying. It has had mixed reviews and results. My main purpose for showing the kids the videos is to expose them to the peoples, cultures and places in which we are studying. The main drawback to the film is that they are only partially captivating. The quality of picture is not the best and the videos are along the lines of travel videos. It would be really cool if I had access to the History channel videos or Discovery channel videos and even the programs shown on PBS, that is some good stuff. As a kid I naturally gravitated to that kind of stuff, I guess that is why I like teaching social studies. I have good resources but a wider array of good educational videos would be great.

A video that is definitely not appropriate for school is the movie 300. I saw it last night with fellow MTC mate, Mr. Ebert. It depicts Sparta going to war against the Persians. I will not be able to show clips in class, but if a kid ask me about the film, I will explain that it is rated R and they need to see it with an adult or someone who is over the age of seventeen. Then I will tell the student that the film is a must see.