As a teacher I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to teach lessons. I'm looking for lessons where students do the work and I'm merely the guide helping them along the way. Using iMovie is a great way to increase student achievement and knowledge.
iMovie is a free video editing program for Mac OS. If your school has access to Mac laptops or iMacs, then you already have it. Normally, you'd need a video camera to go along with it but luckily Macs have a built in camera that you can use. Here is a quick overview of iMovie:
If you're really lucky and your school has access to a set of iPad 2s, iMovie has its own app. The iPad app is amazingly easy to work with and is perfect for younger grades.
Below is an example of something you could do in the classroom. Even though it's being done by a teacher, students could easily accomplish this project.
I'm attempting to use this program this week in my 7th grade history class. The assignment I gave my students is to pretend they are a television reporter. They are going to be sent on location to a battle site from the Texas revolution. They have to pretend that I know nothing about the battle and that it just happened. They have to tell me everything I need to know about the event. Immediately students got really interested. They want to do costumes and conduct interviews. The question that I'll be answering is, does this really improve retention and knowledge of a subject or is it merely something they'll forget in a couple of weeks.
YouTube (2008). iMovie Tutorial. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EXanBq68mI
YouTube (2011). Apple - iPad 2 - App - iMovie. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hdaG2mwYWU
YouTube (2011). How To Use iMovie In The Classroom. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ntRD7Menhg
