Assignments that contain the creation of videos teaches learners communication, problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking. There are numerous ways to incorporate movie production into your classroom. I have used movie production to teach these concepts in design classes for several years. The following list is my recommendation of movie production programs including iMovie, Adobe Spark, WeVideo, Animoto, and Clips.
iMovie:
iMovie is the free movie editing app offered exclusively by Apple. iMovie is super user-friendly and allows for detailed editing of movies on the spot. Apple even has an iBook as part of their Everyone Can Create curriculum that includes instruction guides and activities for using iMovie on iPads or MacBooks.
Adobe Spark:
Adobe Spark allows for beautiful videos to be created in minutes using professional templates and easy to use editing tools. Adobe Spark offers a quick tutorial on how to use their tools. Learn more about using Adobe Spark in your classroom by reading this article. Adobe Spark offers free and paid options.
WeVideo:
WeVideo offers stock images and videos, animated titles, and green screening. WeVideo also offers a resource hub with inspiration for educators to incorporate WeVideo in their classrooms. Click here for lesson plan ideas for incorporating WeVideo into your classroom. WeVideo offers free and paid versions.
Animoto:
Animoto is a user-friendly video creating tool that allows for a video to be created using a drag and drop feature from videos or photos. Animoto includes a music library of free to use music-making videos pop even more. Learn more about using Animoto in your classroom by reading this article. Animoto offers free and paid options.
Clips:
Clips is a free app exclusive to iOS devices that allows for short movies to be created using quick videos and photos. Clips offers simple editing tools with the goal that videos will be made quickly on the spot. Clips is a free app to iOS devices. Clips is also part of Apple’s Everyone Can Create curriculum with an iBook that includes instruction and activities.
Inspiration:
I taught an amateur video production class for several years that produced an episode every week during the school year for their entire middle school division. What I learned was that students love expressing themselves through video but not every student loves to be in front of the camera. Lots of students love the spotlight but several students shined as the script-writer, manager, editor, and even the prop coordinator. I also learned that their level of success does not look like what I thought. Putting cohesive thoughts into a 60-second episode including recorded scenes, text, visuals, lines, props, etc was quite a task. Adding that one 60 second episode to two or three others along with announcements and sports updates to produce a 4-5 minute episode each week was often overwhelming so I learned to appreciate anything that made it the final stages because students put in so much effort and truly loved to hear their friends laughing along when it aired each week.
TIP:
My advice to you would be to start small and incorporate a video production assignment with one lesson. Also, be open-minded to what success looks like and create moments for every student to shine.
Next Steps
Interested in learning more? Check out the websites below for great information.
- Making Movies in the Classroom
- Video Dubbing Learning Activities
- 50 Ideas for Using Videos in the Classroom
References:
All sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.
TLDR (too long didn’t read):
Assignments that contain the creation of videos teaches learners communication, problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking. There are numerous ways to incorporate movie production into your classroom. I have used movie production to teach these concepts in design classes for several years. The following list is my recommendation of movie production programs including iMovie, Adobe Spark, WeVideo, Animoto, and Clips.
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