PE3_iMovie

This is my final post for my iMovie training and I have to say that it was everything I expected.   I feel very accomplished and am very glad that we did this training.  I want to put into use all of the neat techniques that the training covered and make a really nice product.  At this point I don't have enough time to make a video for myself but I'm sure that I'll have an opportunity sometime soon. I wish I could say I made a video when I was finished and could share it now, but I don't.  For now I'll just show some screen shots of me playing around with the program.

PE5_FlipSnack

I have to admit that I am having a little trouble using FlipSnack.  I spent some time to prepare all my files I wanted to include in my flipbook as PDFs.  When I went to add them I had trouble adding extra pages to my flipbook to accomodate them.  I have to play around with the program a bit more.  Like I said before, I am no expert on this tool.  I am glad that I am working on learning this tool now so that I can better teach my students how to use it.  I made a neat little book last week with FlipSnack so I am confused as to why I'm struggling with it tonight.  Here are a few shots of my process.

I am going to play around with this tool and see if I can work out the kinks. I will definitely get a grasp on this program, I just need a little more time. I think I'll go back to my other flipbook to see if I can trouble shoot my issues on this one.  Tata for now!

PE4_FlipSnack

I am going to create a FlipSnack flip book to demonstrate the process and product that I want my students to follow for my Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario(RILS).  I have shown here the notes that I would give my students to create a base knowledge for them to use in creating their flip book project. I also included an example of the type of picture I would expect them to include.  I'm going to create a flipbook that exemplifies what the product might look like when they complete it.  I am by no means an expert with FlipSnack but I'll do my best to create a decent product and let you know how it goes.

PE2_iMovie

Now that I am part way through the iMovie training I am getting even more excited to use iMovie again. I feel like I am getting truely in-depth teaching about the program. It is one thing to explore a program and learn what you can on your own but to be able to harness the full potential you really need to utilize a training like this. Lynda.com is an amazing resource to gain the knowledge you need. I guess I am thankful that our FullSail program got us a Lynda.com account otherwise I never would have the opportunity to acess all these programs. In fact, I didn't even know about Lynda.com before the EMDT program. I am looking forward to finishing up the iMovie tutorial and getting to work on a project where I can employ everything I'm learning. I'll check back in when I'm finished :)

PE1_iMovie

Today I am going to start the iMovie 09 Essential Training on Lynda.com.  I am really excited about this for several reasons.  One is that I think Lynda.com is a quality training site and I know that the information presented will be accurate and complete.  Secondly from my little experience with iMovie I have found that I really like the program, it is fairly easy to use and create a product that is professional and interesting without the process being labor intensive.  The last reason that I am excited about the iMovie training is that when it is complete, I will have a training certificate that I can use as a credential on my resume.

I already have some experience with iMovie but am by no means an expert.  I am looking forward to learning about features and capabilities of the program that I haven't used or maybe did even know existed.  My experience has been somewhat limited.  I have mostly used iMovie for class assignments and also made one video that was an end-of-season movie for the tennis team that I coach. I have to say that the tennis video was definitely my most rewarding experience with iMovie so far.  The team loved the video and I promised to make them all copies of it on DVD.  I hope to have the knowledge, desire and opportunity to create many more cool videos with iMovie.  I have really been wanting to make a kayaking video, so maybe that will be next ;)

Well, I'm off to Lynda.com, wish me luck, I'll check in soon.

BP2_FlipSnack

I recently chose to use a Web 2.0 tool called FlipSnack to create a simple flip book.  I think this could be a really neat tool to use in my classroom.  Students could utilize this tool to create their own flip books on course content.  FlipSnacks seemed to be fairly easy to use, I only used it for a little while and create a very short example of what its capable of.

I think teachers at almost any level could find a way to incorporate this into their classrooms whether it was to present some material or to have students complete an assignment where they create their own flip books!

Here is a brief overview of FlipSnack and how easy it was to use:

FlipSnack had a simple and free registration process.  You just need a working email to confirm the registration and activate the account.

I used Pages to create some PDFs I could use in my flip book.  I used to quotes I found on the Internet that I liked.  I also looked through my Microsoft Clip art and converted a few of the image JPEGs to PDFs.  FlipSnack uses PDFs so you'll have to convert files you want to use into that format.  It is very easy and would be a good opportunity for teachers to show students how to do this.

The upload was simple and I had my flip book content ready in no time.  There is an area to personalize the color, sizes, etc for your flip book.  Click finish and you have a beautiful professional looking book to share.

Check out my first shot at FlipSnack called Knowledge, Intelligence, and Hard Work.  

Try this tool out for yourself at FlipSnack.com

Happy FlipSnacking!

BP3_iGoogleScreenShots

As I learn more about personal learning environments, I am seeing the value in using a tool like iGoogle.

Here are some screen shots from my PLE.