What the heck is Realia?

So what the heck is realia, or did that guy just spell the word wrong?
Look at this YouTube video. Click here 

As some of you may know from my profile, I started by teaching English in Japan. The problem is I was a Canadian teaching American English in Osaka. The books were okay, except that I had to spell words wrong sometimes. But my biggest problem teaching was that the students did not always get the full benefit of their studies, because it was not tangible for them. It was at this time that I heard about using real examples of English documents (such as a menu, or magazine) instead of the text book. The idea of brining a real situation into the classroom to learn the language seems to work more effectively. The concept is called Realia.
Well, I don't teach much English these days, and my wife might joke that I could use some lessons myself. However, the idea of Realia still works with teaching IT skills. There are some contracts that I have wanted staff to learn MS Excel. In cases like this, I have found that utilizing the actual documents that the student will be using gives more purpose and understanding to the lessons that I could have taught out of the text book. And besides, they do not have to interrupt  my lesson to their work, which makes me look like a better teacher.
What about you guys? do you use realia?