Name: June 16, 2005

1

(1) General Software Review. In this activity you will be reviewing software that you would find useful in your roll as a teacher. Note, this is a review of software, not websites. Websites can be used only if they have a high level of interactivity and animation such as those at ExploreLearning.com. Although we have software on our local servers, much of it is antiquated, and students are best served by downloading freeware and shareware.

• Review five or more pieces of educational software. You are free to choose any piece of software that is of value either for instructional, administrative, or professional purposes. You must have hands-on experience with the software... watching someone's software review is not sufficient.

• Write a paragraph describing each program and your professional opinion of

its usefulness in education.

• At least one of your titles should be freeware or shareware that you have downloaded from the Internet.

• Include a screen capture from the software.

• Choose the best one from among these 5 for the formal software

review/presentation.

Title

Review Screen Capture

Name: June 16, 2005

2

1

Fina

l Cu

t P

ro

Final Cut Pro is a professional Video Editing software program used exclusively on Apple computers. This program is a varied and complex program that has so many features; there is no one person who knows all the features. There innumerable features such as special effects, titling, video and audio filters. The list goes on and on. Simply it consists of a browser to organize video and audio clips, a timeline containing the content and the changes in the video project. A viewer window to review footage before adding it to the timeline and a canvas window where the current project can be viewed. This program is the keystone of my video program. If a student can master this program, they will be ready for an entry-level job as an editor. This program offers my students with continual opportunities to have hands on experience into the craft of editing. With its complexity and frequent glitches it also gives my students continual opportunities for troubleshooting and problem solving. This program one of the most useful and comprehensive programs I have ever used. There are infinite opportunities for teaching moments for me, as the instructor, and learning possibilities for my students.

2

Soun

dtra

ck P

ro

Soundtrack Pro is a companion program to Final Cut pro and is part of the Final Cut Studio bundle that Apple sells. It is a sound and music editing program which allows students (or filmmakers – this is a professional program) to compose their own scores, create sound effects tracks and design comprehensive soundtracks for their short films. I emphasize with my students how important sound design is in the filmmaking process and the sound design can be the slim difference between an amateur video and a professional motion picture. This program allows to students to understand the power of sound and can give students an extraordinary sense of accomplishment and professionalism in their finished film projects.

Name: June 16, 2005

3

3

Han

dbra

k e

Handbrake is a freeware program that allows the user to rip video from a DVD. This allows students to take use video content for editing and enhancement of their own projects. It also gives students another opportunity to solve video retrieval problems that arise continually in my classroom. I find this program invaluable. It gives me a way to take a clip from a film for demonstration purposes in class that I can imbed in a power point presentation or put together a series of pertinent clips for assessment purposes or to give examples in class.

Name: June 16, 2005

4

4

CeltX

Celtx is another freeware program that is used for script writing. The best program for this is Final Draft. However, Final Draft is cost prohibitive for the students to use at home. Celtx is a simple program that can be easily downloaded by every one of my students and makes putting screenplays into professional formatting. The interface is sometimes counterintuitive and it does not use page breaks which makes printing scripts sometimes problematic especially because students often can’t tell when their dialog is split over two pages (a professional no-no and something I won’t tolerate in my class). Despite the idiosyncrasies of the program, the fact that it is free and can be downloaded for all my students without cost makes it a lifesaver when it comes time to read my students scripts. Poorly formatted scripts have been known to cause migraines.

5

DV

D S

tudi

o Pr

o

DVD studio pro is used for burning a finished video project onto a DVD for presentation, exhibition and distribution of student work. This is the best program I have found for DVD writing but there are several features of this program that I have found to be counterintuitive and I have spent hours trying to solve simple problems. The best aspect of this program is that it can work with MPEG2 format of video. This is the best format for DVDs. Other programs such as iDVD put the video in a more unstable format like Quicktime that can cause the DVD to self-destruct much sooner. When the students master this program, they will have the skills for professional writing of DVDs which is essential in the business of video production.

(2) Formal Software Review. In this activity you will be reviewing software that you would find useful in your role as a teacher. Note, this is a review of software, not websites. Websites can be used only if they have a high level of interactivity and animation such as those at ExploreLearning.com. Although we have software on our

Name: June 16, 2005

5

local servers, much of it is antiquated, and students are best served by downloading freeware and shareware.

• Select one software product for formal review and presentation to the class. Write reviews for each according to the format guidelines provided on the following page. Post you selection.

Title: Final Cut Pro (1) Description of Program Final Cut Pro is a professional digital video non-linear editing software program. This program is used to edit many major motion pictures and is the less expensive industry standard editing system (the other is AVID). This program allows the user to cut and rearrange audio and video clips along with rudimentary special effects, video and audio filters among a myriad of other features to alter and enhance video and audio files. (2) Basic Information Final Cut Pro a) simplified consumer version is Final Cut Pro Express while the professional grade includes DVD studio pro, Soundtrack Pro, Motion and Live Type b) Published by Apple c) Final Cut Express is $199.99 Final Cut Studio is $1299.99 d) Commercial software (3) Target Population Editors or anyone learning the art and craft of video editing would make an ideal target population. This program can be of great use to any teacher who wants to incorporate video projects in their classroom. This can ignite students’ excitement in a core subject area if they can make a short movie about it. All students at all grade levels can engage this program even at a rudimentary level. Most likely it would be best for middle school to high school. Use of this program can allow students who normally have difficulty with reading and writing to engage their subject matter in a meaningful way. Making movies is a great way to engage any student in subjects he/she has a low interest level in. (4) Content Goals This program can help students understand the concepts and objectives in visual story telling. The power of images can be modeled in commercials and the students can learn how efficient visual storytelling can impact an audience in a powerful and succinct way. So the challenge to the student, how do you advertise a subject like Chemistry or History or even Algebra?

Name: June 16, 2005

6

Visual media can engage all subjects and can stimulate the students to think differently about traditional subjects and teaching techniques. This kind of program can bring the students into mastery of their subject. (5) Process Goals Video editing is a constant exercise in trouble-shooting, problem solving and team building. Using the program the students can cut together a video and it just doesn’t work. The sound is off, their story makes no sense etc. The student will need to figure a way to solve these problems and work with other students to craft their film into something they feel proud of. This is a continual effort and even the most experienced and veteran filmmakers struggle with these challenges always. Final Cut Pro is a venue for every kind of process you can imagine comprehension (of visual language), application (of using the tools in the program to create an effective movie), analysis (of their films to see if they “work” for an audience—why or why not?) synthesis (of the crafts of visuals, sounds, acting, editing and cinematography to make a film) etc. I cannot think of another discipline that involves more process skills than video production. If a student can make a film, he/she can work in a group, see a goal to completion, use learned skills to craft a project to have a sense of accomplishment, and weather trial and error as well as unforeseen eventualities. This is real world experience that allows students to use their skills to overcome obstacles. (6) Lesson Plan

1. Make a short film without the use of sound. How can you tell a meaningful story using only visuals? This will encourage the students to think in visual terms and figure out how to tell a story without sound. This exercise can also allow the students to understand the power and effectiveness of sound by becoming conscious of its absence.

2. Make a short film turning a normally inanimate object and anthropomorphize it

i.e. “The Brave Little Toaster,” “The Red Balloon,” “The Loneliest Umbrella,” etc. This will allow the students to use the techniques of film to make an audience feel sympathy for an inanimate object.

3. Make a 5 minute or less Documentary project dealing with an issue the affects the

students at school. Plan a structure and interviewing techniques. Try to make your project as unbiased as possible. This is an exercise for the students to use their filmmaking skills to be political and try to make change in the world.

(7) Summary

Name: June 16, 2005

7

This software is the backbone of my instruction. Without it, I would not be able to teach my subject matter. This gives the students hands-on and professional experience with digital non-linear editing. Because of the subtleties and complexities of this program a student (and a professional for that matter) can always discover and learn something new even if a person works with it for years. The use of Final Cut Pro is a constant journey and continual learning experience. It gives students who have difficulty expressing themselves in other ways a new medium to succeed in school. This program also blends technology and the arts that is, from my perspective, the future of education and a way to combine a number of intelligences. (3) Formal Presentation of Software: One or two sessions will be scheduled for formal software review. During these sessions you will present your software in small groups or to the class using network sharing software such as Apple Remote Desktop. Once you have decided on software to review, post your decision on the newsgroup as specified in class or on the web-page. first-come, first-served.

• Make a presentation of your software using the following guidelines Each presentation must be limited to 15 minutes.

• Your presentations should stress how this software can be used effectively in the

curriculum.

• Do not spend time discussing mechanics (menu structure, etc.) nor shortcomings

• Illustrate how the software can be used to enhance instruction.

• Provide your peers with a "hands-on experiences" lesson if at all possible. .