Celebrating National VHS Day: A Journey Through Technology

Who knew that National VHS Day was celebrated annually on June 7th? Not me that’s for sure. While this is not a national holiday with cards, decorations and fancy food it certainly gives us a unique opportunity to explore the evolution of technology with our students. (Hands up, how many of you still have a mini disc player in a drawer at home?) As we remember the VHS tapes that once dominated our living rooms, we can also reflect on how far we’ve come in the realm of technology. After all, computers as we know them were only developed in 1980 and a lot has changed since then.  This ‘celebration’ can be an enjoyable way to introduce students from key stage one upwards to the concept of technological advancement and its rapid changes.

Here are some ideas and activities for different age groups that tie into the history and future of technology, including an exploration of big data using recent Netflix viewing figures.

At the beginning

Black VHS on VHS Player Beside Remote Control - used to demonstrate the evolution of technology

Begin with a show and tell session, try to source old technologies (they don’t need to work). A hands-on experience allows young learners to see and touch the technology of the past. Can the technologies be grouped? Can the children describe their purpose? Are they able to match the old technology with a newer version?  Can they draw a technology of the future?  Record the children’s timeline of the devices and compare it alongside the actual evolution of technology.

After exploring these items, discuss how people used to watch movies and TV shows on VHS tapes. Compare this with today’s streaming services. Can children suggest any pros and cons of physical storage over cloud-based content?

Create a classroom timeline that highlights key advancements in the evolution of  media technology. What did physical media look like for each generation? Try to link this to any history topics that have been covered. Ask your class how families would have watched the box office hit during the summer they were born. How would this differ for grandparents or children born now? Students can contribute by researching different milestones and adding them to the timeline.

Moving on

Assign students a research project where they investigate how VHS tapes worked and how we transitioned to DVDs, Blu-ray, and eventually streaming services. They can present their findings through posters or digital presentations.

Explain the basics of how the internet works and how data travels around networks (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z3tbgk7#zypkwnb). Ask your class to create and label their own diagrams using generic (streaming platform, device, user) and specific (Disney+, iPad, Grandma) language to show the journey of a TV show from a server to a sofa.

Digging Deeper

Introduce the concept of big data and its importance in today’s world. Explain how companies like Netflix use big data to understand viewing habits and preferences. Consider the home screen of a streaming service for a range of individuals, how and why might these be different?  Specifically consider differences in age, gender, territory.

Recently, Netflix released their viewing figures for last year, providing a wealth of data on what people are watching. Divide students into groups and give each group a set of data to analyse. Ask them to look for trends such as the most popular genres, or the time-of-day people are most likely to watch.

Have a class discussion on the implications of big data. How does it help companies and consumers? What are the privacy concerns? Encourage students to think critically about how their viewing habits contribute to the data collected by streaming services.

Looking ahead

Ask students to predict the future of media consumption. Will we still be streaming in ten years, or will there be a newer technology? How would they choose to present their ideas if they had the choice?
Organise a debate on the topic of privacy versus convenience. Students can argue the benefits of big data for personalized viewing experiences against the potential privacy risks.

Conclusion

National VHS Day is more than just a nostalgic look back; it’s a springboard for discussing the broader narrative of technological evolution. By exploring old technologies and examining modern advancements, students can gain a deeper understanding of how technology shapes our lives.

Throughout the year our courses are published in Education Services (https://www.educationservices.org.uk/) look out for these sessions in the autumn term.

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Article by

Claire Graham

School Improvement Advisor
ICT Team Leader
claire.graham@northtyneside.gov.uk