Video Editing Software Review

Words, pictures, and sounds allow us to communicate with others around us. In schools, we traditionally rely on using one, or maybe two, of these communication tools at a time to convey our knowledge and understanding to others. The audience we share our knowledge with is usually limited to the teacher grading the assignment. Occasionally, students in the class contribute to the evaluation process or the product is shared school-wide. In the year 2010, a new and more powerful way of evaluating knowledge and understanding is available to us if we only take the time to learn how it can be used to make a powerful impact on learning.
Media production allows words, pictures, and sounds to be integrated into one product. It provides more opportunities for students and teachers to convey information in a meaningful and engaging way. Today there are many video editing software programs that can be used for free. Getting started is easy! Once you know what format your videos will be shot in you need to find a software program that is compatible or you will need to find a converter that will convert the format of your video into a format accepted by the software program. A good software program for beginners should be easy to use, allow you a number of editing options, and produce products that look professional.
Once the product has been completed, your next step is to share it with the world. Sites like Utube and teachertube allow you to post videos to the web for review and feedback by others. This ability increases the opportunities for both sharing knowledge and learning by collecting feedback.
This week, I explored two pieces of video editing software. Although I have heard wonderful things about Microsoft Movie Maker, I don't have Windows XP so I had to look for other programs that would suit my needs (made for the technologically challenged). I selected Wax and Video Spirit Pro because they were both compatible with Windows 7. Wax was a complete disaster for me and I couldn't figure anything out beyond importing a video clip. The user manual is a PDF that is too long, too wordy, and confusing. I tried to figure this program out for about two hours before I gave up in frustration! Plagued by anxiety at my ineptitude I moved on to Video Spirit Pro. This program worked great for me! I easily imported my video clip and received simple instruction to select the segment I wanted to edit. The user manual contains drop down menus for assistance with editing the video. Once I selected an item from the drop down menu, imagine my surprise upon finding simple step-by-step instructions that used a minimal number of words and screen shots that showed me exactly what I needed to do. After playing with this program for an hour, I was successful in adding voice, effects, transitions, titles, and music to my video clip. Once I was finished editing my video, I had a huge selection of options that I could take advantage of for sharing my work including but not limited to portable devices, DVD, .mov, .mp4, .avi, .mpg, and .wmv.
My experiences this week have allowed me to glimpse the powerful impact video editing could have on instruction and learning. I learned that I have to know exactly what I want to convey and then I have to select tools that will allow me to communicate effectively. I learned that it is easy to fix errors and that it's okay to try things that seem odd because sometimes they work perfectly. Most of all, I learned to accept that collaboration beats individual efforts in creating a multimedia presentation. There are so many issues to be dealt with that require a number of different intelligences that it would be extremely difficult for one person to portray all elements in the best way.