Our
Tech Tales program is well underway at
Aptos Middle School in the Ingleside neighborhood of San Francisco.
Students first wrote a script about a time they had a problem, then recorded a voiceover and created storyboard images. This week, about 60 7th and 8th graders are learning to edit their digital stories in iMovie. They're pulling it all together, and learning about titles, timelines and the Ken Burns effect along the way.
Aptos has a nice technology lab (not all of the schools we work with are so lucky). But it's all PC, and most digital media creators use Apple computers. We solve that problem by bringing the technology to the students. We haul our mobile media lab, complete with laptops, scanners, and sound recording equipment, in two huge, lockable rolling cases.
What are students writing about? One student wrote about breaking his hand after an argument with his stepfather. Another focused on his shyness, which keeps him from speaking up in class. Another talked about become a punk fan, and how the change in her style changed her friendships.
You can check out some digital stories from last year's program
here.
