What do you think about allowing students watch movies instead of reading books?

There is a certain depth that books provide. You can really feel the story when you are reading. I have always preferred reading the book first and then watching the movie. But I wouldn't disregard the movie either, because some students learn better when they are visually stimulated.
 
This actually depends on what specific skill you would like your students to develop and the type of learning style they best respond to. Both materials can improve your students' comprehension, analytical and communication skills. With students' attention span averaging at 10 minutes max, teachers are now finding creative ways to keep their students interested and engaged. I still believe that reading provides more details and information that trigger your imagination than movies, but we have to admit that movies get you focused due to how it is being presented. Most importantly, making your students watch movies can also be beneficial as this can make some of them get interested on the original story and develop a love for reading.
 
I think it's important that they read more than watch movies, but it's not wrong to let them watch movies. Watching educational movies is great (YouTube, SkillShare, etc.) and can be hyper beneficial to one's education. Book recommendations: The Little Prince and The Alchemist.
 
I remember my Philosophy class. We just watched movies and make a reaction paper out of it. It's a good tool to use but make sure that the movies has any relation to the class. Some nerds in my school watch Big Bang Theory and they learn a lot from it. If you use technology wisely, it can speed up the process of learning :) Balance it out. Some days, watch movies, some days, lecture and group activity. I think that's the best technique in class.
 
NewbieGainers said:
I remember my Philosophy class. We just watched movies and make a reaction paper out of it. It's a good tool to use but make sure that the movies has any relation to the class. Some nerds in my school watch Big Bang Theory and they learn a lot from it. If you use technology wisely, it can speed up the process of learning :) Balance it out. Some days, watch movies, some days, lecture and group activity. I think that's the best technique in class.
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Haha I am one of those nerds that watches The Big Bang Theory and have a lot of fun watching it. Consistent laughs throughout all the episodes. I love engineering and physics, sometimes it seems like magic.
 
Watching movies is also a learning process. People tend to easily remember what they watch. I will prefer watching movies to reading.
 
Watching movies can be educative depending on the type of movie the learner is watching.Some movies are beyond their scope and that's why they should be censored before allowing children to watch.Besides,watching movies can be very addictive.
 
I think it depends on what book/movie it is. There are some books that are still educational even when adapted to movies. For instance, To Kill A Mockingbird is impactful and gets its point across in both versions. Of course, I think they should read the book too. With a book like Twilight, the movies don't really have any educational value. While Twilight is not an educational book, it will still be beneficial in that it might encourage them to read other books. Also, reading is just beneficial for your brain in general, regardless of whether it's Twilight or To Kill A Mockingbird. I don't think it's the same case with movies!
 
This is a very interesting approach, considering that not all people are motivated in the same way and also considering that messages do not reach us all in the same way, for example, there are those who prefer to listen to the audiobook than to read it and also the opposite case.

But when it comes to movies and books, although I like reading a lot, I think that watching a movie before reading the corresponding book, could in many cases motivate the viewer, to read the book too , although not all will do it considering that you do not always have the necessary time to do it, in the case of all the movies that we see.
 
I think watching movie and reading book cannot replace each other but instead be used both in learning. There are different kinds of learners and every individual has his/her own way to learn faster depending on how they will accumulate knowledge. It is better to expose the learner with both ways.
 
I agree that the written text should come before the film version. Simply because, the book is almost always better (popular modern fiction being the occasional exception here)

Part of the problem with the filmed version is that the "suspense" and the motivation to find out how the story works itself out is stolen. This is a shame, but with today's easy access to media online I would think many students race to see the film rather than do the reading, unfortunately.

Also, the filmed version raises discussions regarding the design of screenplay and other logistics of a visual representation that differ from the written. Conversely, this could be useful in the study of written forms such as screenplays... a valid yet under-looked area of literature studies in primary education.

I keep thinking back to when I finally got around to opening Mary Shelly's Frankenstein as an older teenager, after having seen all the old black and white "monster movies" and worse Hammer House of Horror versions... I thought to myself, not even half way through the novel... "Why didn't they just film the book as it is?" That's a fine example of the book being leaps and bounds superior to the film...
 
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