JournaL 6a - iMovie & software review

How likeable is iMovie program? There is good and bad I can say about this moviemaking software. The good would be that it is not as intimidating to use as FinalCutPro, the other moviemaker I with which I am familiar. iMovie has a more ready-to-use-right-out-of-the-box feel with easy menus for grabbing video snippets, importing video files, etc. The small set up tasks are not too daunting. For the editing, though, you have to keep in mind that it is a destructive editing type so I had to take it slow. My primary difficulties (the bad) had to do with the audio editing. Dragging in audio files was simple enough but when it came to editing the soundtracks - - frustration! This part seemed counterintuitive and cumbersome; this part should be somehow streamlined.

How would I use this software in the classroom? Here I would use it in a team/collaborative mode, much like the previous experience I had when using iMovie to make our team's Achievement Gap video last year. Breaking down the features, compartmentalizing the tasks would be a good way to build team rapport but an instructor would really need to emphasize and employ at least some cross-training so that students would not get a false sense of security that there is so little to learn about using moviemaking software.

What about Atomic Learning as tutorial support? I didn't use it but only because I like rolling up my sleeves and getting right down to the task, learnig it as I go. Undoubtedly many would learn by using Atomic Learning - so much so that I would probably assign it as homework so that in classtime students could hit the ground runnign and spend the bulk of classtime focusing beyond the basics.