Crossing Over from PC to Mac

I have spent practically all of my computer experience as a PC user and I must admit that is where my comfort lies. When I returned for teacher inservice week last month, I was asked about piloting a Mac-book at our campus. I immediately jumped at the chance to learn something new and have been trying to stay on top of the differences between PC and Mac. When I started my multimedia class the following week and saw that Apple iMovie was a program for us to test out, I again was up for a challenge. While I am still waiting for my Mac-book to arrive, I did get to play on a friend's Mac this week and try out iMovie for myself.

I was a bit apprehensive getting started in iMovie, not knowing what to expect, but I was surprised at how similar to PhotoStory3 and Microsoft Movie Maker this program actually is. Bringing in pictures, video, and audio works the same as the PC programs. My favorite part of using iMovie was being able to set a theme to a video.

Currently, there are only two elementary schools in our district using Macs consistently, and my campus will soon bring us to three if all goes well this year. As with any of the video editing software programs available, there are plenty of applications to the classroom where video editing will be a great asset. One way that I have started brainstorming with the teachers at my school involves creating video storybooks of student writing to share with family. Other was to use this tool that I have read about this week include:
-storyboards (which our 4th grade teachers have used for years with writing)
-creating a video alphabet (maybe using math or science vocabulary to wrap up a unit of study)
-make a new ending to a take the place of or "follow the last scene of a story or event"
-adapt a scene or story (similar to the new ending, but it's the students own version of a story)

Once you have finished crating your masterpiece in iMovie, you will want to save your work as a mpeg file if you are planning to share over the computer. PC computer users will need to have QuickTime or Windows MediaPlayer on their computer to view the finished product.

While it may still be a while for my district to completely cross-over from PC to Mac, there are plenty of districts around the world that use Mac daily and would greatly benefit from using iMovie.

Classroom applications referenced from:
Garrison, A. (1999, Winter). Video Basics and Production Projects for the Classroom. Center for Media Literacy. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article3.html