So, I have been testing a.viary features. Aviary is a collection of online imaging software. Their suite is supposed to be feature-rich. The developers keep a very creative and thought-provoking blog. You can tell they are really trying to approach online production tools from a different perspective.
So far they have Phoenix (image editor, like an online “Photoshop”) and Peacock (a pattern creator) running. But they plan on implementing many other tools soon.
I have 4 invites for Aviary and would like to give them to people in the learning field so they can have a chance to try these tools while they are still in private beta.
Please leave a comment here telling me what connection you have with learning or eLearning (instructor, student) and come back to let us know what you think about the tools once you’ve used them. I think it would be really interesting to know what people in the education field think of this type of tools.
A hint, leave you email address in the comment in this format (to avoid spam): username [at] domain.com.
by Ted Teng
11 May 2008 at 12:55
I have been doing onlined education to oversea since 2002.My graduate program are growing to 100 students by September this year. We are using Horizon Wimba and need more tools to make the environment more real-time and F2F contact. Any information can help us is appreciated.
Ted Teng
by enzofsilva
11 May 2008 at 16:18
I am not are exactly what you mean by face-to-face or real-time on your post but I created a new entry in web conferencing on this blog and also sent you an invite to A.viary on the email you provided.
Please don’t forget to post a reply here saying how the tools were useful to you (or not) or link back to a blog post on your blog if you have one.
Thank you for visiting my blog and keeping the dialog open.
by John Counsell
26 May 2008 at 12:00
I have been looking for low cost alternatives to Photoshop for our Architectural students in particular. Our students are now on vacation over the summer, but I am interested in trying out Phoenix myself, and happy to feed back.
I have found that our students find the Gimp a bit unwieldy and counter-intuitive.
John
by enzofsilva
30 May 2008 at 15:43
I agree with your students, it is hard to get used to the GIMP’s interface after using Photoshop.
An option would be to download wither of these more “Photoshop-like” versions of the GIMP:
Gimphoto – http://www.gimphoto.com/ – the best GIMP version in my opinion.
or
Gimpshop – http://www.gimpshop.com/ – also good but still more like GIMP than Photoshop.
Both versions are built on top of GIMP but have adopted commands more similar to those in Photoshop.
by Trik
18 Aug 2008 at 03:44
I am a student looking for a cheap but some what good program like Photoshop and this seems perfect for me right now.
Trik