Student Choice - Book Trailers

In a classroom of iPads and netbooks, I have a great deal of choice.  My students, therefore, also have choices when it comes to creating projects.  Personally, I prefer iPad apps to complete my projects.  My students, however, sometimes pick what they're most comfortable with or have the most experience with when creating projects.

My last assignment was to create a book trailer for their lit circle novel.  Students could choose from iMovie, Keynote, PowerPoint, Windows Movie Maker, and Photostory.  Students who chose iMovie were limited in their choice of music because they could not access their own iTunes accounts.  Wouldn't it be great (if we go 1:1 with iPads) if students could access their own music for presentations?  They could take so much more ownership in their projects.

One drawback to using Keynote is that students were not able to put music or sound into their presentations.  After doing a little research on the topic, it seems Keynote presentations can have sound, but the steps are rather laborious.  If anyone knows of an easy way to accomplish this task, PLEASE let me know!

The students who used PowerPoint for their project were comfortable with certain tasks, but many were clueless when it came time to animate the slides so it was a continuous show.  I wasn't able to replicate myself throughout the classroom, so students taught each other how to animate.  I highly recommend this model if you're not doing it already.

Here is my all-time favorite book trailer.  It was made with PowerPoint, but this student effectively used transitions and music to convey the emotions and conflict in the novel.

I'm looking forward to the day when students have their iPad to work on projects at home, but until then, offering choices and empowering students need to be at the forefront of any assignment.