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Apple Store Field Trip

I met my NLU students at Apple's Michigan Avenue store tonight for class. I designed a scavenger hunt for my students and Scott Murphy did a presentation on the iLife suite of software in the theatre.

When I arrived at the store, several students were already there. And, they had figured out how to do video chats already! I had told them on Tuesday that creating a video chat would be one of the requirements of the scavenger hunt. So I was impressed that they had already done this by the time I arrived on the scene. Their enthusiasm got me pumped for the field trip in general!

At the beginning of the theatre presentation, Scott asked our group what their impressions were of Apple. And, the usual comments were discussed... Apple products are more expensive.... not pervasive in the business community... etc. By the end of the presentation, I think the group fully understood about what makes Apple stuff so unique. Scott was a trooper and spend way more time than I expected leading us through iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, and Garageband. My students asked really thoughtful questions, and seemed to be enjoying themselves. I think Garageband perhaps drew the most oohs and ahhs from our group.This trip was intended to show my students the power of multimedia, and I think that they got the general idea of how Apple can bring sound, video, and digital photography together seamlessly.

I'd like to know what everyone else thought of the trip. Please post your comments here. Have a great weekend! Here are some pics of our trip: http://homepage.mac.com/elemenous/Work/PhotoAlbum38.html

Lucy

Comments

Anonymous said…
All of the wonderful toys!! I must remember to not go there again. It's a good thing I didn't have my credit card with me or I would be explaining a few thousand dollars in new charges to my wife! I am familiar with iMovie and iTunes and the garage band software was amazing. I hope that I can get my hands on something like this soon.
Very informative presentation, too. I learned alot.

Rob Kohl
3:38 PM
Anonymous said…
I thought the trip was incredible. I learned so much in such a short period of time. The presentation was amazing and it is breathtaking to see how fast technology is moving. I feel hands on experience is much more productive than reading a text book and thank you Lucy for incorporating this wonderful experience into the curriculum.

P.S. Yes, I cheated on the questions by asking a salesperson but if I had not I would have never received all the answers and I was amazed by some of them so I am actually happy I worked with him to go through all the questions. :-)
4:03 PM
Anonymous said…
It was a great time. I really was able to see how Apple computers are beginning to really take-off. I was very interested to hear that CPS and Apple are working on a deal. That would be awesome! The different packages that come with the computers were great. GarageBand was the best thing I saw there. I have not had a mac in a long time, but this did generate some interest.

Kyle
6:24 PM
Anonymous said…
I thought the field trip to the Apple store was great! The presentation was very informative and interesting! I was really impressed with all of the features offerered on the Apple computers, and I will seriously consider purchasing one when I am looking for a computer next time. The store is a very interesting place in itself because of all the product demonstration areas. It's very interesting to play around with the products on the computers and to experience them before purchasing a computer. I'm glad we got the opportunity to go to the Apple store and to see the presentation! I think it was a great idea to do for this class! Thanks!
Katie
6:28 PM
Anonymous said…
I had a blast on the Apple Field trip. Rob and I arrived early and had fun playing around with some of the Apple products. We had a lot of fun with the iChat...and when our classmates arrived we had even more fun.

The scavenger hunt was fun but was information overload. My favorite part of the entire trip was listening to Scott talk about Apple and iLife. I found myself brainstorming ideas for my primary classroom as I listened to him. I was thinking of how I could get my students excited about using technology as I was sitting there learning about iLife. If money wasn't such an issue, I would have bought a Mac on the spot...guess, I'll have to wait til I'm a rich teacher! Ha Ha.

Thanks, Lucy, so much for arranging this for us. It was a valuable trip to expanding my 'technology' horizons. I see a Mac in my future...

Lisa
6:30 PM
Anonymous said…
I enjoyed the field trip to the apple store. It was a rewarding experience. I learned some interesting facts about i life I didn't know there was such a thing called the apple store thanks for taking us . I reallly appreciated what Scott showed us it was neat to see all the fun things that you can do with a computer. I really like the video chat and being able to create your own music and even make a book how cool. This was a good thing. Hopefully in the near future i can take my formal students.

Ms.Tasha
6:35 PM
Anonymous said…
Normally, I would walk past the Apple store - because I think of myself as a PC person - if there is such a thing. This field trip really opened my eyes to all of the fun things I can do with computers - that would authentically tie in with teaching. For example, it would be really cool to have students use garage band as background music for reciting a poem or making a movie presentation. The ichat was fun too! Look out Jetsons!

My sister has taken lots of computer classes, and is hoping someday to work as a programer (?) She has worked exclusively on IBM computers, so when I was gloating over how much fun we had at the apple store, and how it would be cool to buy a Mackintosh, she vehemently disagreed. She said that IBM has everything I described - the ichat, the garage band, the book maker stuff... (She's always been such a party pooper!)

Nonetheless, I had a great time, and would challenge my sister to make a song like Scott's. :)

Also thought the movie would have been a really fun thing to do in a classroom.

IDEA OVERLOAD!!

Trish F
6:42 PM
Anonymous said…
This class was a lot of fun. I have to admit that when we started I was strictly a PC user. My only experience with Mac was at the elementary level in schools. It has been amazing to see how Macs can perform on a higher level. The field trip was a great way to get a taste of the more sophisticated equipment . Because we did this as a class, it was easy to work with the technology that required multiple users to get max benefit. I am still trying to become more comfortable moving from one platform ( mac and PC) to the other.

Scott Murphy covered a lot of ground in his presentation. He made everything look so easy. To say that the Apple package presents itself as user friendly is a mild understatement. I still maintain a small amount of doubt that it can really be all that easy. Gretchen
6:47 PM
Anonymous said…
Thank you Lucy for scheduling the field trip at the Apple store, I had so much fun. I especially enjoyed the scavenger hunt, I have to admitt I had to cheat a little bit because I could not find some of the answers. I enjoyed the presentation that Scott had prepared for us, it was filled with fun and important information. I wanted to buy a Mac at the end of the presentation but I couldn't I had to check with my husband first. He actually had to come inside the store and pull me out. Its a good thing that I did not have my credit card with me because I would prpbably would have maxed it out.
Antonia Saldana
7:27 PM
Anonymous said…
Ryann Kelso

I went to the apple store on both Friday and Saturday with my friend Winnie. On Friday I bought a Powerbook, Ipod, and printer. We had a lot of fun just going around the store and trying everyhting out. I found the answers to a lot of my questions on the internet and then asked a salesperson for the other answers. Everyone that worked there seemed very knowledgeable.We even got to see a live performance of musicians who had used the garageband software to write all of their music while they sang to it. Pretty Cool! On Saturday we returned to talk to Anthony at the genius bar to fix something on my friend's computer. Again, completely helpful. I'm really glad that I went and would like to take some classes in August to work with my new stuff!!
9:59 AM
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