May 24, 2006: Military Trail Community School

For several months, Mr. Higgins corresponded with Mary McCarthy of Military Trail, to plan for the exciting process of planning, shooting, editing and viewing short public service announcement videos. Pictured to the left, this group from the ESL class develops their English skills while dramatizing a situation of conflict resolution. The class worked with such diligence that basic editing was covered by late morning, enabling a brief session of creating original musical scores with GarageBand. Thank you to Military Trail and Mrs. McCarthy for making this day such a pleasure. This also marked the furthest distance east that Studio to Go had travelled. Who knows? Maybe we'll make it to Newfoundland one of these days. Heck, why not China for that matter?

May 11: Humberside Collegiate Institute

In the legendary auditorium of HCI - graced with panels painted by Arthur Lismer, the place where Janet Keele brought down the house in days gone by - the tradition continues. But now, the school that has been known for its Arts and Letters for over a century, is entering the 21st Century by putting its music on a podcast. After some planning between Mr. Higgins and Terry Madill of HCI's Music department, Studio to Go was dispatched to record the Spring concert. A program packed with orchestral and choral gems was captured by student Nigel Doucette, who now has the task of creating a podcast with the production assistance of Mr. Higgins. A great example of school cooperation, this promises to be a new chapter in the history of this grand old school.

May 8-10, 2006: Fairbank Memorial Community School

What a wonderful opportunity for Studio to Go to visit Fairbank for three days of video conferencing, with some other activities (recording with GargageBand, a demonstration of iMovie, discussion of a school website, future plans for larger video conferencing) thrown in for good measure! Set up by the careful planning of Principal Karen Barnes, Mr. Higgins brought equipment to Ms. Caride's ESL/Music room. Students rehearsed question-and-answer format discussions to prepare to speak to others using iChat. On May 10, the students connected with high school students at Parkdale Collegiate, thanks to the efforts of Parkdale Principal David Freedman. To add to the cast of thousands, Gord Duff of Media services stopped by Fairbank to discuss future events. Thanks Fairbank!

March 7 and 8, 2006: John Wanless Public School

Peggy Williams, the school librarian, organized a two-day Studio to Go visit. Eager to share her enthusiasm about iMovie with her students, she organized productions of Giggle Poetry with three grade 6 classes. Students were eager to use the iBooks, and showed a keen ability to learn video editing concepts quickly and apply them to their projects. Mrs. Williams also remarked that it was a fabulous opportunity for her own professional development as she was able to ask Mr. Higgins many of her own questions. John Wanless has a few of their own Macs and this experience built capacity among students and teachers alike.

February 8, 2006: Annette Street Public School

Mr. Phillips' grade 6 class was well-prepared, having scripted, rehearsed and videotaped Public Service Announcements - on Bullying, Diversity, The Environment, Drinking and Driving and Drugs. We started the day editing their movies, adding titles, effects and transitions, then moved on to sound. Most groups created original music in GarageBand. This class showed amazing focus, as they worked quietly and productively, finishing by afternoon recess. At that time, we screened the movies. I was very impressed by the display of group skills; their applause and support for their classmates indicated great maturity! Congratulations to the students for their excellent work and to Mr. Phillips for his planning. Thanks to Principal Favrod for hosting Studio to Go.

January 19, 2006: Portage Trail Junior Community School

Just days before this year's very exciting election, Mr. Cobden and his grade five class planned party speeches and rallies, complete with flags, pumping fists and cheers of support. What an awesome day! What a fabulous group. Their passion for this assignment was evident, and their attention to the task rock solid. Thanks to Ms. Casey, of Portage, and host teacher, Jeff Cobden, as well as Principal Weishuhn, for their efforts in arranging this day of active, enthusiastic coverage of curriculum and ICT skills. All participants will receive a DVD of the movies they made, which, because of the smooth workflow and advance preparation, benefitted from GargageBand-generated background music. Thank you, Portage, you guys are great!

December 13, 2005: Swansea Public School

Mr. Ryan's class used Studio to Go to create docudramas about scenes from the Confederation era. Beginning with research about life in the different regions, students acquired a base of knowledge to inform the writing of scripts. Then, they scouted out locations to shoot and made costumes and props. After shooting, they edited and we created a DVD for the homeroom teacher to use for viewing and assessment. This project proved how much work is required for such presentations; some of the movies were almost 10 minutes. The shooting alone in such a venture is very demanding, followed by editing which is even more time-consuming. In the end, a really successful 10-minute movie can easily take more than 10 hours to create.

December 1, 2005: Charles H. Best

Another fantastic Studio to Go experience! Tara Paterson and her grade 7 CyberArts class have Mr. Higgins and his roving kit to Charles H. Best, where they videotape and edit "heritage minutes" style movies on New France. Students have created storyboards to prepare them for shooting, and have put together costumes and backdrops. In highly-productive teams, they complete shooting around mid-morning and get down to editing before lunch. In the afternoon, they continue to edit, with new information from Mr. Higgins on more advanced features of iMovie, including a short demonstration of GarageBand for creating music. They complete their movies at around 2:00, and view them after recess. A DVD of the day is created and sent to Ms. Paterson.

November 30, 2005: Alexander Muir Gladstone

A great day! Julie Grierson has Studio to Go in her grade 7/8 class at Alexander Muir Gladstone to videotape and edit movies on Bullying, Racism and Assault. The students are prepared with their short skits. Shooting takes place both on a stage in the music room and outside in the hallway. The Principal, Ms. Taskey makes a cameo appearance in one movie on Bullying. Displaying impressive collaborative skills and a determined focus on the task, students complete their movies by 2:30 and enjoy viewing them on the big screen. A DVD is made and sent to Ms. Grierson, which may be copied for all participants. Studio to Go is booked for another visit to AMG in the new year.