Movies in the Classroom!

This past week in my technology class we were working with multimedia presentations. I created a digital story, using iMovie, on the history of Baltimore. Creating movies, stories, etc is great idea for the classroom! After creating my video, I couldn't help but think of all the other ways this could be embedded in the curriculum. Using a multimedia presentation can appeal to any subject, Language Arts, Science, Math etc. This is such a great way to engage the students, have them curious, motivated, and excited to learn, no matter what you are teaching.

However, you need to understand technology and how everything works. At the beginning of this project, I was a little confused and didn't quite understand how I was going to have all my information come together in a movie! I decided to use iMovie. I uploaded all my pictures into a new project, and could add titles, sounds, anything I wanted with the click of button! It was great! I did have some trouble figuring out how to add these things at first. I used the iMovie Help feature. I was weary at first, since some programs "Help" feature isn't very helpful at all. But, iMovie provided pictures and step by step instructions for anything I had trouble with. Once I reviewed the "Help" the rest of the movie was a piece of cake! It was as simple as click and drag to the photo you were working on. Once you were finished, click the play button and voila! a movie is made!

Teacher and Teacher in-training: This can be a great form of alternative assessment! Or as a review at the end of a unit!

spreadsheets!

Okay so, I have always had a fear of Excel. So when my technology teacher said we were going to be working with spreadsheets I was a scared. NOW, spreadsheets are easy! Once I was able to understand the relationships between the cells and the how to simple it was to use formulas, the rest was a piece of cake! I made a vocabulary review for first graders who are working with rhyming and forming compound words. This type of worksheet didn't take me very long to create and can be used for some many different subjects! Great tool to use in the classroom!