Animoto movie

Just knocked up a quick Animoto of our Yr7 trip to Langkawi. You can make short videos like this for free, but anything over 30 seconds has to be payed for. However, teachers can get free school accounts, so if you want to have a go, ask your teacher.

Recording a VoiceOver

There are a number of ways to record a VoiceOver into an iMovie. Recently I've seen students record directly into their iPad, using app like Quickvoice, the emailing the file to themselves to drop into their movie. I've also seen students taking MacBooks into a quiet room and recording directly into iMovie (or even using QuickTime or GarageBand). Today, Year 5 were putting a short commentary into a movie and did it directly into the iMac. They found that if you speak quietly, up close to the mic (which is directly above the camera) you can get a good quality recording, even in a room full of busy students.

Want to the best way though? Do it at home on the iPad, sitting on your bed with a blanket over your head. Great sound quality, but you do gat a bit hot!

Year 1 on iMacs

When Year 1 use technology it is usually through the use of iPads, as well as other mobile devices. Today, one of the Year 1 classes used the iMacs for the first time. They were really excited about their progression to the 'big" computers. I remember when I was teaching in the UK (a long time ago) it was normal to teach kids of this age how to use a mouse. Then gradually we realised that children were starting school already having developed those skills at home. PC use had become so widespread that they were quite familiar with clicking & dragging. However, there now appears to have been a reversal of this trend. Many children of this age no longer have access to a mouse at home. A quick survey this morning revealed that many of the children have access to a laptop, and virtually all have regular use of an iPad. So now the primary device for interacting with a computer is their fingers. As a result, this morning's lesson was more about holding, moving and clicking the mouse.

Incidentally, the photo shows a lovely example of peer support. Four children from another Year 1 class (who had already had a couple of lessons using the iMacs), came along as 'experts', and were busy helping their friends to log on and access the application etc.