I'm trying to help my 12 yr old. She is very interested in film making and film editing. She is new to Mac. I'm trying to find beginning courses or other suggestions on software. Right now we have IMovie on a MacBook pro with snow leopard.

I think imovie would be a good way to go to get her started as far as editing goes. There are plenty of tutorials online. Here is a good source for beginners: www.izzyvideo.com/

The best education is simply doing. Shooting, editing, shooting, editing, shooting, editing...over and over again. Like free throws in basketball. Shoot, edit, assess the good, bad, and the ugly. Then, the next time around try to work on weak spots. A good practice is to find a video your child likes, and see if she can mimmick some of the techniques.

As far as software training goes, the best training is play, but if more formal training is needed. Lynda.com is a great resource, and is relatively affordable.

Denny,

You can just follow the links in the above form post and purchase it directly from Amazon.com.

Take a class at Spy Hop. They got me started with FCP in the 8th grade and I've never taken another class since, I just figured out a few more things on my own. Once you start, it's really easy to progress and keep learning on your own.