At most of the PowerDirector seminars, classes, and CyberLink exhibitions held in Taiwan, a bright, familiar face is ever-present, and quickly catches the attention of those present in the audience. Her name is Kris Lee - an authorized PowerDirector tutor, who has already taught thousands about PowerDirector in her 10 years, and who is now moving into her second decade as a PowerDirector tutor.
Kris started her teaching career as a children's computer education teacher 17 years ago. After 5 years working with children, she decided to take a step outside her comfort-zone and began taking classes in computer education for adult learners. "Before my first class for adults, I was tossing and turning all night, with my Microsoft Word training lecture notes piled high on my bedside table," Lee confesses.
First Impression of PowerDirector
In the early stage of her career, Kris was mainly teaching the Microsoft Office applications. However, with the increasing popularity of multimedia creation, she also started offer classes related to these topics. When asked how she first came to use PowerDirector, Lee explains that "Still image content just wasn't satisfying my student's creative juices, and with the increasing popularity consumer-level video capturing devices, there was a greater demand by users to start learning the basics of video editing. That is when I also first started to become familiar with video editing software and in particular PowerDirector."
When Kris first taught a PowerDirector class, her students were using Version 2 of the product. Over the years she believes the major difference between PowerDirector and other editing software is that the upgrades to PowerDirector strike the perfect balance between user-driven functionality and simplicity, while still including the latest in media technology, video formats etc., so that users are always up-to-date with the latest multimedia trends. For beginner-level users, who may not be familiar with design tools, PowerDirector also includes a plethora of built-in effects and templates. This makes it incredibly easy for anyone to create engaging videos and, as Lee advocates, it's hard to find a better all-round video editing package at the same price range.
10 Years of Education Experience
When teaching PowerDirector, Lee implemented the "scenario" concept to help guide her students. Lee usually captured a lot of footage while traveling, and attending wedding or sports events, much of which she herself would edit at home, giving her firsthand experience into the common pet peeves of average users.
The experience as a children's educator gave Lee a lot of patience, and challenged her to improve her fundamental teaching and explanatory skills, especially when teaching minors about software. As she has moved through her teaching career, Lee has been made to adapt her style and methodology to cater for the many different audiences she encounters - be it a classroom of children, a workshop for adults, or a presentation at an exhibition. Over time, Lee has adopted the skills required to give a class a solid grounding in how to use a particular software application, while also being adaptable enough to quickly catch delegates attention at the various exhibitions she presents at.
Everyone can be a Power Director
One would expect life as a software teacher to be rather bland, and mundane, however throughout her teaching career, Lee has been privy to some touching, inspirational moments. She is often taken aback by the enthusiasm shown by her elderly students who, while they may not learn as quickly as their younger classmates, are always keen to listen, try, and improve. One such student she recalled was an elderly gentleman who came to class wanting to preserve the video memories he had captured over his lifetime, and eventually compiled them into a video to be played at his own funeral. At the other end of the age-scale, Lee often gets to share in the joys of parenthood, teaching new parents how to turn their baby videos into playful stories.
When asked to recall the thing that has impressed her the most about her students throughout her career, Lee says that "actually, the most impressive thing is, everyone is able to tell their own, unique stories with videos."She is amazed by the young generation's creativity, with students who are using videos for campus events, graduation parties, or even create their own video resume to apply for jobs.
Lee advises budding video makers to never forget their own uniqueness, or creative ideas, however to always have their audience in mind. "It's terrific that everyone has their own unique way of thinking. However, before making a video, take some time to specify who your audience will be, and what ideas you to convey, so that you can make the best use of your footage and tell a great story."
Moving into the next decade
As she moves into the next decade of her teaching career, Kris is as keen as ever to continue her personal journey of learning, while helping others also gain new skills, or further the knowledge they already have. "I read a lot, firstly as a way to motivate myself to continue learning, and also so that I can keep myself up-to-date with both the technology sector and the teaching profession," Lee says. "I am really passionate about teaching, and take pleasure in seeing my students grow through the learning process. What's more, they can reach out to, and touch others through the stories they are able to create. It's those small things that drive me on a daily basis, and they are why I want to keep teaching for many more years to come."
