How Can Classrooms Use Windows-based PCs to Create Quality Multimedia?

A call for help from PC users: I use a Mac, and with iLife can easily and quickly edit and produce digital multimedia that includes all of these things in one “digital essay“:

still photos
imported videos
self-made videos
voice-overs
sound effects
musical soundtracks
slides
titles
transitions
screencasts (okay, I need to buy third-party software for this, like SnapzPro)
special effects

I want my students to do be able to produce the same products, with the same seamless ease, on the school laptops–Windows-based PCs–to showcase not only their content-based learning (history and Language Arts), but also their 21st century digital literacy skills and their creativity.

So here’s my problem: I can’t find a Windows/PC-based software solution that enables students to easily make a product including the elements listed above.

From what I gather, Windows MovieMaker is a nightmare if you want to combine still photos with video. A colleague tells me it’s possible, but a massively time-consuming headache.

And does it include a sound effects and music loop library?

If I sound like I’m arguing that Macs are a better tool for student multimedia production, it’s because right now I think it’s true.

But I also know that I don’t know everything–and I hope that readers out there will hit comment and share how, using a Windows-based PC, they can argue otherwise.

We’ll all benefit from hearing your solutions. What PC-based software solutions have you cobbled together to make quality multimedia on the level enabled by Apples?

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Written by Clay Burell

March 20th, 2007 at 12:56 pm

Posted in digital storytelling, language arts

Tagged with call for help, history, lessons, student 2.0, video

4 Responses to 'How Can Classrooms Use Windows-based PCs to Create Quality Multimedia?'

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Hi Clay
I am with you on this one — although not a Mac user, I wish my PCs at home and in the classroom were not to cumbersome for my sixth graders to use. Nothing is seamless when it comes to projects.
We use MovieMaker for claymation and other projects but it is not all that intuitive (still, they are thrilled to be making movies).
I recently downloaded Photostory3 from Microsoft (free) and it attempts to mirror some Mac features using still images and voice narration. Photostory is quite easy to use, however.
But no loop library.
I look forward to seeing what other folks are thinking.
Kevin

[Reply]

Kevin H.

20 Mar 07 at 5:50 pm
Thanks Kevin,

Do Photostory3 and MovieMaker import into MovieMaker easily? Can you edit them in MovieMaker like any other video clip?

Thanks for your input!

[Reply]

Clay Burell

20 Mar 07 at 5:54 pm
Great topic here. Also a Mac user, I have used iMovie for quick projects as well as bigger projects and found it great. MovieMaker on the other hand gives me headaches when I use it at school. Try to get your hands on a copy of Adobe Premiere Elements. It is some pretty powerful software, and looks very much Mac-like.

Also, check out your web 2.0 options like Jumpcut, One True Media, and Bubbleshare. Even SplashCast has some room for video, but I haven’t played with that aspect of it yet.

[Reply]

Patrick Higgins

20 Mar 07 at 11:44 pm
Hi Clay-

Our district is mostly pc and so we use Photostory 3 a lot. We have quit a few example posted on our district blog site (which I know you visited lately - Thanks!) and our students/staff love it. Kevin says it has no loop library, but it does have a music generation…engine? You choose the genre and subgenre of music, and then the mood and tempo and PS3 generates music for you. You can also add your own mp3s to a file.

While I agree that Windows Movie Maker isn’t as elegant as Mac’s iMovie, it’s still pretty easy.

Also, I kind of like the new Ourmedia.org interface at archive.org for hosting, and the site freevideocoding.com for easy & quick embedding.

[Reply]

Anonymous

22 Mar 07 at 12:45 pm