Summary: Although facial and body hair are the most visible signs of male puberty, the process of becoming a man actually involves major organs like the heart and lungs. No one demonstrates that better than 14-year-old Jesse, whose physique is developing rapidly-while Mark, at almost the same age, poignantly awaits even the first hint of change. Meanwhile, 12-year-old choir member Dominic struggles to...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: Everything is wrong, complains Claudia-who, until her changing body lost its sense of balance, envisioned no obstacles to becoming a professional dancer. Identical twins Jessica and Rebecca prepare for high school and the social stress it will bring, with bra shopping at the top of their worry list. And Alex, now 13, sheds light on the trauma of starting puberty at age seven. Incorporating...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Internet offers vast possibilities for learning, making a living, and having fun-but it can also destroy reputations, empty bank accounts, and ruin lives. This program cautions students about potential hazards to their computers-not to mention their careers, finances, and futures-that exist online. Highlighting the importance of setting up a firewall and keeping one's operating system...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Most people learn traditional standards of behavior and respect for others by the time they are teenagers-but many don't realize that those rules are just as valid in cyberspace. This program helps students take the high road on the information superhighway and avoid the temptations of the fast lane, pointing the way toward an ethically sound Internet presence and lifestyle. Guidelines for the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: What harm could come from sitting leisurely at the computer, chatting with online pals? Unfortunately, many young people who spend hours in chat rooms or post sensitive information on the Internet have little or no idea of the risks involved. This program warns students about how vulnerable they are whenever they venture into the cyber realm-even when they think they're among "friends."...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: As the North American colonies of France and Great Britain continued to spread, friction and outright violence between New France and New England became inevitable. Placing the French and Indian War in its larger political context, this program traces the war's progress to the Battle of Quebec. In a bold stroke, the British deployed on the Plains of Abraham under cover of darkness-and a mere...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Outwitted and outmaneuvered by Lord Howard of Effingham and Sir Francis Drake and thwarted by the weather as well, the Duke of Medina Sidonia's once-mighty Armada returned to Spain in defeat, signaling the end of Spanish naval supremacy. This program analyzes the political and military aspects of Philip II's attempted invasion of England through expert commentary, battle maps, and reenactments...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Although Hernan Cortes hardly considered himself the reincarnation of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztecs did-and his conquest of Mesoamerica utterly destroyed their world, exactly as prophesied. In this program, Spanish historian and Oxford University professor Sir John Elliott and cultural historian Dr. Elizabeth Baquedano survey political, cultural, and religious aspects of Aztec civilization; analyze...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Using large-scale reenactments of 15th-century warfare, detailed maps, graphics, and expert commentary by Dr. David Chandler, military historian and former Head of War Studies at Sandhurst, this informative program explores the roots and the results of the brutal and exhausting civil war between the houses of York and Lancaster. From St. Albans to Bosworth Field, the program provides a...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: October 14, 1066, was a day that saw the history of England and Europe change forever. This program describes the Battle of Hastings in its entirety: the position of Harold II's Anglo-Saxon army near a village that today is simply called "Battle," William of Normandy's surprise attack from Telham Hill, the cavalry charges and hand-to-hand fighting that steadily weakened Harold's troops, and the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: At a time when revolutionary France was assailed from all sides, there emerged a young military officer whose genius and ambition assured him of great fame-and notoriety. In this program, Dr. David Chandler-world-renowned authority on the Emperor Napoleon and author of The Campaigns of Napoleon-provides full commentary on the strategies and tactics of the Napoleonic Wars. Large-scale...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program explores the biological reasons why humans have the most amazing sense of taste on the planet. Persuading a family raised on Chinese food to try ripe Stilton cheese and a group of gourmet cheese lovers to try a Chinese delicacy of fermented raw duck eggs, host Nigel Marven assesses how we end up with such extraordinary tastes that vary across different cultures. Yale University...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Why are humans so responsive to touch? This program calculates the different sensitivities of the body's most receptive parts. The density of touch sensors in the skin explains why some parts of the body seem to have a much lower pain threshold-a microscopic splinter in a finger can be extremely painful, while a cut on your leg may not hurt as much. University College London professor Tony...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program argues that the human visual system is skillful at some things, but that we miss an amazing amount of what is going on right in front of our eyes. Whether spotting attractive people in a crowd, gauging depth and distance, or even predicting where things end up, the eyes are at their most perceptive. But clever experiments conducted at a nightclub by scientists from Sussex...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program deconstructs the emotional effects evoked by music and other sounds. Experiments by Dr. Mark Blagrove at the Sleep Laboratory in Swansea show that our sense of hearing is constantly alert, even while asleep, and Dr. Sarah Collins, from Nottingham University, explains why deep voices are so attractive to the opposite sex. Scientists assert that we have certain automatic responses to...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The origins of the Book of Kells are uncertain; it was written and illustrated around the year 800, but the monastery where it originated has not been identified. It contains the Latin text of the four Gospels, with some pages in elaborate color; almost every page has brightly-colored birds and animals, and there are portraits of the four evangelists. This program not only shows but identifies...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: A contemporary interpretation of Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece, this beautifully crafted program scrutinizes what is colloquially referred to as the battle of the sexes. Production values convincingly re-create the world of the Bronze Age, but commentary from modern scholars evokes themes easily recognizable in the 21st century: Who holds the real power in male/female relationships? Why...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program focuses on the components of our sense of balance. Stunt coordinator Marc Cass demonstrates how the balance organs inform us of how we are moving. At the Circus School, in San Francisco, a troupe of acrobats illustrates how eyes control balance by calculating what our bodies are doing in relation to the outside world. Dr. Ros Davies, from the National Hospital for Neurology and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program investigates how psychological principles determine a smell's level of repellence. After testing natural smells found to be offensive to most people, scientists at Monell Chemical Services Center and the University of California propose that our reactions are heavily shaped by personal experience. Demonstrations of how olfactory lobes work are featured. Host Nigel Marven observes...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: After introducing early Athens, this classic program examines the rule of Pisistratus and the growth of Athens, the slide into chaos that followed Pisistratus' death, the alliance between the Athenians and Sparta to overthrow Hippias, and the subsequent Athenian revolution that saw the birth of democracy.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1999
View online at AVOD
Summary: Beginning with a spotlight on Socrates, this program addresses the Plague of Athens, which struck like an omen during the second year of the Second Peloponnesian War, and the resounding defeat of the Greek invasion of Syracuse. Socrates' trial and execution complete the program.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1999
View online at AVOD
Summary: This classic program presents the Battle of Marathon, Persia's ill-fated campaign against Greece in the aftermath of the Ionian revolt; the Battle of Salamis, where the Greeks decisively defeated the Persian navy; Pericles, "the first citizen of Athens"; and the building of the incomparable Parthenon.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1999
View online at AVOD
Summary: Contemporary Western society revolves around celebrity-and ancient Greek culture was no different, as this program demonstrates with perceptive comparisons of the two worlds. Scholarly analysis and splendid re-enactments bring new life to Homer's epic, giving it both a historical and personal context. For long-ago Greek listeners enraptured with famous warriors and athletes, Homer fashioned a...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Looks, personality, intellect, bank account-the reasons for attraction can't be predicted. Or can they? This program investigates ways that men and women evaluate potential lovers and life partners, and shows how male and female criteria may be more similar than many think. Creating a relaxed, club-like setting in which a small group of singles meet, flirt, and discuss their goals, the program...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006