Free Creative Software

Earlier this month I read about the launch of "Google App Marketplace" and the possibilities it offers in the way of free (or cheap) services. Now the marketplace is specifically for developers, who pay a $100 a year fee, but we can still access the products contained within. Here is a list I found of the "Top 10 apps": http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2010/03/top-10-google-apps-marketplace-apps/ Pay special attention to "SlideRocket" and "Aviary", there is also "Picnik" which didn't make this list but is still great. I started using "Aviary" this week and it has been phenomenal. The services it offers are comparable to the "Adobe Creative Suite" but completely without cost. The "Aviary" software doesn't include some of the bells and whistles included with the Adobe products, but there is enough to get done most of what we are going to do. It really is a great way to work with an advanced editing program without tying yourself down to the cost of the Adobe software.

I really feel that Google is going to have a profound effect on how we educate in the future, and the "Marketplace" is just a small part of this. The bigger picture for me is the openness that it creates, and the possibilities that come with this openness. No longer will kids in rural communities be closed off from the "outside" world. The will be able to access "virtually" the great museums of the world and use software such as "Aviary" and "Picnik" to create their own images, without the school system spending any of their dwindling budget. I hope that Google sticks to it's mantra of "Don't be Evil" and continues to use its power for good, to help broaden all of our horizons. With products such as "Aviary" Google puts the creative power back in our hands, so that we are free to concentrate on the Visual Literacy skills we have been learning. If anyone is interested there is a great book on how Google is changing the way the world works: "What Would Google Do" by Jeff Jarvis. I am looking forward to reading what you all think about this software and if you have any questions let me know, I have been exploring these for about a week now and I will continue to in the future. If anyone knows of any other free software please post in the comments.

Visual Dictionary

This image of the heart is taken directly from the Visual Dictionary Online (http://visual.merriam-webster.com/about-visual_overview.php) , a tool I found when I was doing some basic research about visual literacy. It's very competent learning tool that verbally and visually defines a word. It's really cool, especially for a learner who may respond to both the verbal and visual cues this provides.

I think this type of resources is essential to the next step in e-learning. If I were teaching an online sports injury course I would be able to pull these images and show the injury to the exact bone or muscle and the students would be able to look up these images as well.

In class on Monday we talked about the importance of visual support for learners and how to create some effective images. What do you all think about this tool? (Be sure to check out the "themes" on the link...all kinds of cool stuff!) Would you use something like this as a student or as a teacher? What other types of online visual aids have you found that support learning?

I look forward to reading your responses!

We Live in a Visual World...

...but does that mean I am a creative girl?! (anyone know that material girl song? that's what song I was imagining while writing that)

We are SO blessed to have sight. Sometimes I daydream, often while taking walks about how amazing our senses are. Once I lost my taste and smell from using zicam, dont buy that stuff. I prayed that if God gave me my senses back I would never use zicam again and I havent. While I really enjoy all five senses, we are going to think about one in particular for this post in light of creativity in visual design and learning.

Do you guys ever think about stuff like that?! We live in a beautiful world. Every day we wake up (if it is early enough haha) to splashes of pink, red, orange, yellow, and blue and see the world go to sleep in the same way. Grass turns green and soft, or brown and hard. The leaves on trees are either green or have eye catching warm colors on them, or they are absent. We can see different shapes and colors of clouds.

What do all those descriptions teach us? So much- about the weather, about the seasons, and about the temperature..

The majority of people were created to be highly visual individuals. We learn so much by our sight. Not all of us necessarily prefer to learn visually but as educators we need to be knowledgable about both how we learn, and how our audience learns.

What kind of learner are you?- Visual? Auditory? Kinesthetic?
We're going to focus on visual learners.

For one minute, reflect on how much you know from visual cues, images, pictures, etc. Ready, Set, Go!!!

What did you write down? We learn so much through our eyes.
- 80% of the brain is dedicated to visual processing.
- Visual processing is not new, its part of our history.
- Written language originated from drawing and sketching.

Now for a minute draw a couple things that you have learned visually? What did you draw?

In light of being an educator, designer, does one have to be a super creative person that knows exactly what colors and shapes will look good, for what purposes, etc?

I found this PPT and was definitely encouraged by it. Please go check it out.

We are a lot more creative and visual than we think out on a daily basis. Dont take your sight for granted. Be thankful for it!