iMovie tips

Fun fact: Kids love to make iMovies.  Last year, our 5th grade students used iMovie to reflect upon their field trip to Gettysburg, some of our 6th graders filmed Bible stories using iMovie (on their own devices), and our 8th graders created their 8th grade slide show using iMovie on the Macs in the Media Center.

I would love to see iMovie used more at HTS this year - it's such a fantastic way for the kids to collaborate and communicate their point of view - while having fun.  Consider the following possibilities:

• film students reading aloud to practice fluency
• film students doing a presentation to review and reflect upon their presentation skills

or create projects such as:

• a video to demonstrate classroom or playground rules, or tips for moving through the hallways safely and quietly
• filming footage at field trips (perhaps to create a travel video upon their return) - they could create a movie using photos, or film footage - or both!
• create a movie to raise awareness about an organization we are supporting on a tag day.
• filming a news report - either for current or historical events
• acting out a Bible story, or historical event.
• really, the possibilities are endless

In any project using iMovie, be sure the kids create a storyboard in advance of beginning the project, so they have a good sense of the sequence before they begin filming.  Films do not need to be long or complicated.  We can help you create a rubric to grade the iMovies

iMovie is available on our iPads.  The iMovie App is relatively simple, very intuitive and easy to use.* Most of the kids are able to work it out by themselves :)     Teachers may need a few tips however.  Catherine and I learned many new strategies in Boston over the summer at our conference, and are happy to help you get started to create an iPad project with your students.

I wanted to share a few slides from the Conference for reference (thanks to the amazing Greg Kulowiec at Ed Tech Teacher:)

*The iMovie program on the Macs in the Media Center is a bit more sophisticated.

These are the basic iMovie tools:

And some tips:

This was completely new to me, but very handy...

Once you finish the iMovie, you can project it from your iPad to the class smart board.  If there is enough interest, we will invest in an HTS Vimeo account, so that we can share items in a password protected way... (not on YouTube or Facebook people...)

Edutopia Summer Rejuvenation Guide

Hi all,

Happy Summer! Edutopia's Summer Rejuvenation Guide landed in my inbox the other day, and I thought it would be a cool thing to share with you all, just in case you need some tips to get the most out of your summer:

Link to the Guide