Apple has done a
lot to improve the use of digital media in the
classroom. Their software applications have
revolutionized the way that teachers use computers
to teach, but more importantly they have they have
revolutionized how students use computers to learn.
Apple has designed their software to work together
and have similar interfaces so that it is easier for
users to use the individual applications. This is
very important in teaching people how to use the
software so that they can create digital projects.
With the increased knowledge of software and the
ease of using the software, more people are able to
learn how to use the software. And in a short amount
of time, students are able to begin using the
software to enhance their learning.
Apple’s iLife software suite includes
iPhoto (a photo organizer and
editer), iTunes (a music organizer and
player), GarageBand (a music creator and
mixer), iMovie (a video editor), and
iDVD (a DVD creation and burning
application). iPhoto and iMovie are perhaps the two
most educationally valuable applications in the
suite. Students can use iPhoto to organize photos
and create simple montages or edit pictures to be
use in an iMovie. In iMovie, students can take video
and easily edit it into a movie for practically any
purpose. These movies can be used to show a quick
overview of a particular event to documenting the
creation of a major project. These movies can even
be the major project. For example, a student could
use iMovie to make an informational video about a
church in their community.
In an article titled A
Teacher’s Use of Digital Video With Urban Middle School
Students: Expanding Definitions of Representational
Literacy by Jane Beilke and Matthew Stuve, the
teacher has students use iMovie to create videos of
something that they are interested in doing. By making
these movies, the students were more interested and
enthusiastic about the projects. The teacher also felt
that the students learned more from the project because
they were more engaged in what they were doing. The
students had created projects in a medium that was
exciting and interesting to them. The digital format of
the project engaged the students to think on a deeper
level and expand their knowledge of the subject because
of the heightened interest.
A very useful website that
I found is TeAch-nology.com because it is
full of how to use technology to teach students. it
provides resources to educators and helps them
understand how they can use technology in the
classroom to enhance their students’ learning and
understanding of content.
A very important
characteristic of the Apple iLife software is that it is
all designed with a similar user interface and a design
that works together with the other applications. This not
only creates a basic foundation on which users can
understand that the symbols and icons they see in one
application will do something similar in the other
application but it also creates a consistency between the
applications which gives the suite a feeling of
continuity and familiarity that essentially make the
applications easier to use.
As a teacher I will be
using this software in my classroom. I think that iMovie
and iPhoto are two of the most powerful applications ever
created but they have such a simple and user-friendly
interface that it makes it really simple for anybody to
use the application. These applications will allow my
students to create media and projects that they are not
able to do on traditional paper-based assignments. Even
with the use of QuickTime to broadcast virtual field
trips, students are able to experience a good portion of
the sights and sounds of the location without traveling
and at a relatively low cost. The digital technologies of
today have brought my information to our fingertips than
previously thought possible. And when students are
interested and curious about what they are doing, they
are more engaged and apt to learn a lot more of the
information being presented to them.