iMovie from There to Here

Last summer I completed the required course C & I 515 "Computer and Technological Applications in Education".  Before I tell you about my experience in that course I'd like to concede that prior to enrolling in the course, I was a self-proclaimed 'life scientist' whose favorite tech supports were 1) to turn it off, wait, then turn it on again or 2) unplug it then plug it back in.  I would snicker to myself at the people moving about with their "apps for this" and "apps for that".  Sure, I knew my way around Microsoft office and my brain can imagine Excel Spreadsheets long before my fingers can finish typing into the cells.  Nevertheless, I embarked on my journey of Computer and Technological Applications in Education as a skeptic.  Furthermore, when we were assigned to collaborate via the Google universe I must admit to wondering what in the world was going on at first!

I'm happy to report, even in my case, an old dog can learn new tricks.  Completing the course changed my entire view on technology, applications (apps), and education.  In fact, I was in a meeting a couple of weeks ago with my professor, Martin Horejsi, and we were discussing whether or not technological applications interface equally with their non-technology counterpart.  We used readers (Kindles, etc.) to highlight our comparison.  I have very strong feelings about the kinesthetics and dog-ear-ability of paper pages for my research which I will share with you at a later time.  In any case, Professor Horejsi encouraged me to evaluate what it is that I'm trying to convey with technology and reflect whether the message would be equally effective without it.

With that in mind, I'd like to take a moment to appreciate the iMovie app that now exists on my all the iPads and iPhones in our home.  I was first introduced to this app in C & I 515 last summer.  I had such a good time with it that I shared it with my kids and their friends.  Before long, the kids were writing, directing, and performing in their own movies!

On the weekends and in the summer, iMovie is a wonderful enrichment tool which can be used to combat boredom and what I call "game-brain-rot" (too much game time on any device) around the house.  However, just recently, iMovie allowed for an opportunity that would never have existed before.  My oldest daughter attends an online virtual academy.  We have many reasons for having her there, chiefly because she is identified as a Gifted/Talented student and we needed her to have the ability to work at her individual pace.  When the S.T.E.M. science fair came up at her online school, she was excited to participate with the help of iMovie.  Student projects had to be submitted via a two-minute video.  She was able to complete her research, create a visual display board, direct how she wanted to filmed, and edit the piece to meet the time requirement.  Her summertime experience with iMovie turned out to be time well-spent. 

Here is her final product:

iMovie is a very useful tool for traditional classroom teachers and students as well as virtual classroom teachers and students.  My initial uptake with the goings on of the app was, perhaps, longer than most folks' experience.  However, my kids caught on at lightning speed!  I recommend iMovie for any academic environment.  I don't think my 6th grader's experience in an online S.T.E.M. fair would have been the same without the use of iMovie.