Your class ought to be in pictures (Part 1 of 2)

As we approach the New School Year we may think of the many new ways that we can approach curriculum. One great activity made possible by advanced technology is movie production. Movies can be made on a specific topic in the form of a report, or as a culmination of a screen play writing unit. One thing is certain, that you can create a learning activity that your students will never forget.

So if we decide we are going to make movies as a class what software should we use? Although there is not one single answer to this question, I hope that in this post I can shed some light on this subject so that you can make an informed choice. We will first look at free solutions, and then a few paid solutions for more advanced needs.

For basic easy to use video editing software the choices are pretty clear. Movie Maker 2 for the PC and iMovie for the Mac are both very capable programs for basic editing and fairly easy to use. They both allow you to drag and drop clips in the time line and add music and titles. Although they lack in composting special effects aside from a few transitions, you can learn to create a simple movie in minutes. For Elementary grades it is likely to meet most of your needs. Although basic operation of these programs is straight forward there are some advanced capabilities that with a little know can really improve the movies and the learning experience. I recommend reading Microsoft Windows Movie Maker 2: Do Amazing for Movie Maker 2 and iMovie HD and iDVD 5 for Mac OS X for iMovie

If you want to start your students on the right foot but still need a free solution Avid Free DV is feature-streamlined, standalone software which includes basic video and audio editing capabilities, up to two streams of real-time effects and support for both Windows XP and Macintosh OS X platforms. Although it is a stripped down version of it’s professional sister software it introduces students to a professional interface that is very effective. Avid also provides you with some downloadable training videos that get you up and running quickly at http://www.avid.com/freedv/tutorials/index.asp

Visit us tomorrow as we look at commercial software choices.