iMovie and Objectives

I really enjoyed using iMovie and think that it would be a great program for students or any other person to use. It was a lot more user friendly that I imagined when I used it for my first project and didn't understand what I was doing. I found Dr. Penny's tutorial to be very helpful and it took a lot of the stress of creating away. I will definitely plan a walk though of whatever technology that I will use for any of the classes. If it is not solely to teach them it will at the very least refresh their ideas of the software. I some ways I found the iMovie app of the iPad was both easier and harder to use. Yes, it had less option, but in a way that was freeing as you had to worry about less things going wrong as you had no control. 

The limitations of the programs simply seem to be the material that you bring to them. If your video is shaking too much the stabilizing feature will not fix it totally. It makes me consider where I will do multiple shots to ensure that I have one that works. I see why the take so many takes. My whole view of what goes into a production is changed. Yet, I still think that you don't need all the bells and whistles to make a good story. As the author said digital media just amplifies it doesn't make better. And as a teach I keep thinking about what are my objectives in using the technology. Will it enhance the students learning? Will a cloudy concept become clear? It just make me step back and think why and really evaluate all of my activities to see if they are fulfilling their purposes.  

App Review- Time-lapse

App Title: Time Lapse HD Free This a great free app that would do will

Grade Level: 5^th- College

Purpose: This app allows both stop frame and time lapse photography.

Program Functionality: This is a very easy to use app. All you do is set how many pictures you want to take a minute and how fast you want them to playback. With only two scroll screens on the sides and two buttons on the bottom of the screen it is fool proof. I love the way this app is so user friendly. The recording goes straight to you camera roll where you can export it or upload it.

Overall Educational Value and Classroom Ideas: This app allows students to watch an event happen in time lapse. This is great for a variety of subjects. It can be used for digital storytelling as a way to get a lot of information or an action into a short amount of time. In a storying about playing ball the could have ten minute game that only take 5 seconds.

It can be used for science classes to show a process prepared/preformed before class. For example, you could shoot a morning glory opening and show it to the class. Show a chemical experiment they they started the day before and all of the stages that it went through to get the finished reaction. For older students have them create experiments that take over an our to complete and make the video apart of the project.

In language arts it could be used to prompt ideas or help with process and order essays and paragraphs.

Have the students shoot anything from driving to school to brushing there teeth and than describe it or write instructions for the process.

Even in math you could use it to show how often things happen in a given space of time. Shoot the class all day and have the watch how many things changed and than analysis it and compute the data.

Cost: Free at time of review

Recommendation: Any age will enjoy looking at the result, but it will be most useful for 5^th grade and up.

Developer Website: https://sites.google.com/site/timelapseapp/

iTunes Link: Time-lapse

I would have liked it if we had had the opportunity to do the fourth step. I think it would have been good to get the feedback form the other groups and than incorporate the into making our story. It would be a nice reward for the suffering of taking our storyboard away and making us shoot another storyboard. I know our group was so excited.
 I do wonder how reasonable it is to do this project in a content area classroom. It takes so much time. I have been thinking that you could edit down and use the concept, but limit the time and so that you can do content as well as the project. Not sure how that would work but it is something that I am thinking about. Sort of mini lessons in a class to introduce DST and promote interest. After class activity?

20% project

I have been thinking about my 20% project and how I want it to look. I am doing the storying boarding and trying to make them detailed enough so that I can capture all of my ideas. The last step in the DST project we did really made me pay attention to how I present my ideas. Being clear and getting everything down is important. I have the arch of the story done and know how I want it to go. The script is something that I want to do well and I plan to practice with a bit. I want this to be something that I can show my students and be proud of. The thing I am most worried about is the scanning of my photos. The story boarding is helping me cut edit the photos down so that I only have to scan the ones I am going to use. I plan to finish it during the Thanksgiving holiday and preview it to my family. I hope it gets the response that I want and that I don't have to redo it.