My Brain Hurts

A lot has been said about iMovie ‘08 since it’s release, mostly condemning. Being likewise unimpressed with iMovie ‘08, when it came to running an iMovie session at ITSC I intended using iMovie HD. However, as it was said to me, we need to move forward so ‘08 became the number of the counting. The session began with a round table gripe about “where is this feature?” and “why doesn’t it do that any more?” This was going nowhere but downhill so during the break I asked all to purge their minds of iMovie and look on this as a completely new app.

Once we started to focus on 08’s strengths we started to appreciate it. One person in our group who had never seen iMovie at all summed it up with “I don’t know what you people are complaining about, this program is great.” Talking to Apple reps and other learned folk we came to the following conclusions.

1. This program should probably not have been called iMovie since it really isn’t a replacement for iMovie HD, so stop thinking of it as that.

2. iMovie ‘08 is for making simple quick movies, which it does really well, if you want to do heavy editing or something more serious then iMovie HD is still alive and kicking.

3. What it does really well: total control of Ken Burns effect, cropping (zooming) of clips, ducking, audio files snap to fit length of video and still clips.

4. What’s really lacking: no export to GarageBand or iDVD – very strange to have a iLife app that doesn’t integrate with the other apps. Prediction – watch for an update on this feature.

So, “no negative vibes Moriarty”. Look at iMovie’08 for what it is and you will enjoy using it a lot more. It really is great app for throwing together a movie very quickly.

Another ITSC has come and gone, round 2 for the new location at UTS Sydney. Having everyone in the same location this year worked well as did utilising the cafe area for food time. Wollongong Uni was a great location but UTS is far more convenient to get to and accessible to more accommodation and entertainment options. I thought bowling was going to be real dud but it was a great night, thoroughly enjoyed by all. Cocktails the following night was scrumptious with a great band but a little too loud (am I getting old here?).

It is easy to come away enthused and fired up to change the world, hopefully people will be returning to school environments receptive to the new knowledge returning.

Stephanie Hamilton’s opening keynote again provided much food for thought. Her student’s analogy that school was like an airline flight was very apt “Sit down, face forward, buckle up and turn off all electronic devices” and “if you are lucky the trip may be relevant”. Blitto’s blog has a detailed description of her main points. iTunes U is now up and running, although it is very University oriented. Browse over to the University of Florida’s Teacher Education section where they have some excellent K-12 podcasts available.

The feedback on the workshops was very positive as they catered well for the needs of the participants. It was great just getting to know people and picking up little ideas by talking to them about how their school operates.

The keynote to close the 3 day section was by Peter Sheahan, this bloke could talk under water for 10 minutes – even after he had already drowned. Very energetic and coming from teh business sector he provided an interesting point of view. He gave his view of the requirements of the classroom of the future – relevant, interactive, expansive and connected. Students need boundaries but their education needs freedom within those boundaries. He told an interesting tale of a confrontation he had with an employee, neither would give because both were right leading to a poor result for both sides. It is not a case of who is right or wrong but what is the most useful solution to the situation. That thought could apply a lot to our daily school existence.

The one day event was opened by Mike Anderson from NZ who entertained the crowd with his interesting perspective on ICT curriculum integration. His final points about overreacting by banning technology were quite interesting. If children verbally abuse others in the playground we don’t ban talking. We don’t put padlocks and passwords on books and desks. Yet we ban and limit access to highly useful digital tools.

In all a very stimulating conference, great to catch up with old acquaintances and puts some names to faces from the MacEd list. Also good to see Blitto do something besides FCP – perhaps a leopard can change its spots?