Category Archives: Girlguiding UK

Clips, Girlguiding UK, Video

Using Apple’s Clips App with Girlguiding

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I run a Guide unit each week in a church hall. It’s about as low-tech as I can get in comparison to the day-job, but I think in a way that’s a good thing. When you have a classroom full of students with iPads, it can occasionally make you forget how to approach things unplugged.

Girlguiding is currently changing the programme (loosely, the curriculum) nationally for all units, which is a very positive step. It last changed significantly when I was still at the age to be one of my Guides. This means they are testing activities, refining the offering for this summer. The girls in my unit chose to try out a shadow puppet storytelling activity. As one can’t watch a performance when you’re in it, we recorded their progress just like the students in my classroom might independently with their iPad.

I compiled a summary of what they got up to using Apple’s Clips App, and then tweeted it. Members of the programme team were delighted to see.

Clips, Girlguiding UK, iPads, Video

Experimenting with Clips

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With all the news of #ADE2017 still fresh, had to give Clips a bit of a play. It’s definitely rather addictive. I’ve found myself mucking about with it, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of what it’s capable of.

The app feels like a sibling to iMovie on the iPad, while bringing the handy editing features of Photos together. Once I’d mucked around a bit everything felt familiar.

The voice dictation is an exciting feature, and it’s handy to know you can edit the text, as it’s not always spot on.

Definitely need to play with it on the iPad and create some good examples with students and colleagues. Might be a new addition to our Year 7 work on Inside the Computer. 

Here’s an example of one embedded in a tweet:

Audio, Girlguiding UK, Harmony.co.uk, Video

Video Blogging, Rebranding, Book Purchases

Why is it that youtube and your video editing software always manages to thumbnail your videos when you are pulling an unfortunate face or have your eyes shut?

Video Clip Captures - Me at my best...?
Video Clip Captures – Me at my best…?

007 has to be my favourite.

I have been a bit sporadic in fiddling with video editing. I’m a novice at this, so it is a little bit hit and miss. Doesn’t help that I only have windows movie maker to use, after a favoured open source editor I tried royally fell over. If I could recall the name, I’d mention it.

WMM falls over on export, and gets out of sync quite often which infuriates me. Today’s two video logs which are part of a project I am undertaking to try and record 100 Guide songs for the centenary (Edit: sadly abandoned due to time) were just shot in one take and uploaded. I got a good quality – the 4-5 minute file was over 100mb, which I stupidly hadn’t realised until I came to upping them on YouTube. Pity about the sound, though it is just a handheld photo camera, rather than camcorder.

I’ve also just made some geeky book purchases. Firstly, Web Analytics: An Hour a Day, Avinash Kaushik and Mobile Web Design, Cameron Moll.

The recommended product that keeps coming up is The Web Designer’s Idea Book: The Ultimate Guide To Themes, Trends & Styles In Website Design: The Ultimate Guide to Themes, Trends and Styles in Website Design which we have two copies of at work now, and I feel a waste of money when you have so many directories and showcases on the web.

I will aim to review these and write about them here, so remind me if I don’t.

We’re currently rebranding our company, as its 13 years old and needs to be future looking right now. So on Monday, we have an afternoon of rebranding round the boardroom table, which the boss has been getting very excited about. Looking through all the various vector and non vector logos and styles out there inspired me to play with vectors again soon.