April+Knudsen

__Corel Painter IX__ Corel Painter IX is an art program for Windows or Macintosh. This digital art studio is designed to teach and further understanding of artistic skills on all grade levels. I feel that this program could be used to its maximum potential if incorporated for secondary students. Corel does offer many simple design or creative aspects that younger students could benefit from so for a small K – 12 art program Corel would be ideal. Corel Painter IX is used in a variety of artistic industries; if students were proficient in this program they would have a huge advantage over other competitors in the conceptual arts, advertising, graphic design and illustration communities. Corel Painter IX is set up in a way that not only offers various medium simulations, but also encourages experimentation through creative problem solving. Because, Corel IX has such a wide range of flexible and diverse tools any school would be able to teach a variety of artistic styles on a limited budget. For those who teach at a low-income school, art supplies are scare. With this program the classroom studio can be expanded ten fold. Most high schools choose to not incorporate oil paints, due to their toxic levels and mess. Through this program students are able to become familiar with color theory and various mediums, like oil paints, when they would not have had the opportunity in the past. With the abilities offered in Corel IX, students could make a comic strip, cartoon or independent project and present them to the class. This would allow students instant gratification in seeing their work function and teach them about presentations, incorporating practical life skills into the art room. I have never personally worked with Corel Painter IX. Based on the reviews I have read, many digital art industries including architecture and photography rave that learning this program in school has show huge progress and early development that is setting many students apart in these competitive careers. Also, the fact that Corel is available for both Macintosh and Windows places this painting program above many others and in wider circulation. Those who question Corel have the same concerns that are paired with most digital art programs. Though this high tech studio has amazing simulations, the development of mastering a medium can only be attained through hands on activities. This cannot be had on a digital level. There are many places that offer Corel Painter IX. Though it can always be purchased through Corel.com. With constant sales and business or school discounts the average price for the full system is $400.00 and any needed upgrades usually cost $200.00 (U.S. dollars). The software can be purchased at: [] System Requirements include: Windows- Windows XP or Windows Vista Pentium IV, 700 MHz or greater 1 GB of RAM 500 MB of hard disk space for installation 24-bit color display 1024 x 768 screen resolution CD-ROM Internet Explorer 6 or greater Mouse or tablet Mac OS- Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5 Power Mac G5, 700 MHz or greater 1 GB of RAM 500 MB of hard disk space for installation 24-bit color display 1024 x 768 screen resolution CD-ROM Safari Web browser Mouse or tablet

__Microsoft Expression Design 3 (Windows)__ Microsoft Expression Design 3 was created as a partner for Expression Blend and/or Expression Web to create graphics for design projects. Due to the fact there are many programs needed to use this software efficiently I would suggest Design 3 to older high school students, grades 11 – 12. For the use of learning basic animation, design and edit effects I would say Design 3 could be categorized as a practice, tutorial and problem solving program. The basis of problem solving would be dependent on the instructors assignments, the software does not offer actual “problem solving” situations, but these could be commonly and easily given with a very basic assignment such as, make this figure throw a ball. The Microsoft Expression programs would be ideal for a gifted and talented Junior/Senior. I would suggest this product to be used as a graphic design tool, as an animation infused based art curriculum. The powerful tools like polyline would be amazingly beneficial in teaching the animation process. With the ability of full curve control, students would have the opportunity of seeing the creation of animation. This particular program would also be helpful for an architectural dynamic, allowing for collaboration with various Industrial Art applications. A major weakness for this program is the cost and its inability to stand-alone. With many Windows programs, there are additional programs needed for the software to work to it’s maximum potential. This is a huge deterrent for many educators when looking into an art program for their classrooms. Some strengths of Design 3, are its editing effect options for film, photo and animation. With all new setting options and layout this program offers more effects than any, Windows exclusive, program before it. Either package has all the same system requirements. I suggest this software be bought as a part of the Microsoft Expression Studio 3. This package includes Expression Blend 3, SketchFlow, Expression Web 3 and Expression Encoder 3 (in addition to Expression Design 3). This package costs around $600, and upgrades (which are needed frequently) average $400. (All prices are in United States currency). The best option for purchase would be the Expression Professional Subscription. In addition to the previously listed inclusions the Professional Subscription as: IIS Smooth Streaming, Visual Studio Standard, Office Standard, Office Visio Professional, Windows XP, and Windows Vista Business Edition. This package is the most up to date software, with the latest tools and accommodations. Either option can be found at: []

 __Image Blender 3__ Image Blender 3 is software that is practical for any grade level. With its offer of basic programs to more advanced applications, any grade K – 12 would benefit from this software. Image Blender 3 is an advanced image editor. Primarily this software is marketed for digital photo alterations. Image Blender 3 takes multimedia presentations to a new level. Tools such as paint, layering and web page creation can allow teachers or students to create new and fun ways to integrate technology into any classroom. When studying Andy Warhol or Pop Art, Image Blender offers Pop Art Print programs for students to learn about color theory and contrast. When implementing Image Blender 3 into the Language Art teachers have chosen to use this program for creating book covers or assignments where the student creates a scene from a story and places themselves in that scene. One of the main strengths of Image Blender 3 is that it has won many teaching awards and is highly acclaimed by educators in all subject areas. It is very easy to use, and has a wonderful training program for instructors. A weakness that has been suggested is that Image Blender has many of the same options as Photo Shop. Photo Shop is used on a wider level, and if a student were to learn and be proficient at Photo Shop it would benefit them more widely in the long run, being more career oriented. The main reason why teachers are choosing Inage Blender 3 over Photo Shop is that it is amazingly affordable. A single copy of this software is $44.95. However, in light of marketing towards education there are many cumulative volume-licensing prices available through the manufacturing company. These price brakes come with an order of 5 – 25 at $36.00 and vary through 500 or more for $18.00 each. First time buyers must purchase a minimum of 5 licenses before qualifying for the Cumulative Volume Licensing discount. All software sold has the option for one-year maintenance assistance, this is only offered at the Cumulative level and ranges from $6.50 – $3.00 based on number of volumes purchased. (All currency is in U.S. dollars). The best place for teachers to purchase Image Blender 3 is straight from the manufacture: []

System Requirements are as fallows: Macintosh: G4 800/Intel Core Duo or better OS X 10.4 or later 512 MB RAM 1024 x 768 video resolution or higher 300 MB hard drive space Windows Pentium III 700 or better Windows XP or Vista 512 RAM 1024 x 768 video resolution or higher 300 MB hard drive space _ __Studio Artist (Mac)__ This advanced Studio Art software is best for secondary students. Due to the Macintosh trademark of streamlined user-friendly tools this Studio Artist could be easily adapted for K – 5, but it would only used to its full potential with older students. Macintosh Studio Artist falls into the practice and simulation category of software. The tools offered, allow students to become familiar with graphic design, as well as various other digital art mediums. Studio Artist is one of the most widely used digital art programs in the world. If more educators were to integrate this software into their art rooms, students would be more informed and better prepared for a variety of artistic careers. Assigning independent work and allowing students to rotate with the use of classroom computers, would allow a graphic design or digital photography unit to be incorporated on a more personal level. This would grant students the opportunity to take charge of their learning, through independent study. The number one weakness of this software is that it is strictly for Macintosh systems. Most schools are equipped with Windows based operating systems. This factor keeps Studio Artist software from being used in many schools. Other than this limitation in compatibility Studio Artist is highly acclaimed for its user-friendly tools and incorporation in many professional settings. The best prices available are found on academic websites. These sites offer many educator or student discounts. One such website is: []. With an eligible student, faculty or school the average price is between $350.00 - $280.00. System Requirements are: Macintosh Mac OS 8.6 or higher 32 Mb RAM or higher _ __Inspiration__ Inspiration is software that was created to help students plan, organize, research, evaluate, comprehend and communicate. The creators of Inspiration recommend this software for grades 6 – 12. Educators from all subjects rave that Inspiration is an essential part of technology integration for the classroom. This software includes drills and practice, tutorials, instructional games and problem solving. With tools like a graphic organizer students are able to create concept maps, story webs and allows students to be walked through research processes in a fun and exciting way. Inspiration was created to customize instruction on any level to meet all needs of a diverse classroom. The cross curricular templates encourage cross curricular learning in language arts, social studies and science allowing for quick and easy assessments and customized assignments. There are so many areas that Inspiration can be applied to. One way that this software is being used in the Arts is through the Thinking and Planning option of Inspiration. With this program students are able create a digital portfolio, mapping out where they have been, where they would like to go and what they are currently working towards as a growing artist. This process is also being used in many Special Education venues to help students created, meet and see goals. All parent, educator and professional reviews only have positive things to say about Inspiration. This highly acclaimed software has won awards back as far as 2002 and as current as 2007. Some of these include 8 Distinguished Achievement Awards from Association of Educational Publishers, multiple iParenting media Awards and BESSIE awards. The most talked about aspect of Inspiration is how successful it is for visual learners. Multiple case studies have found Inspiration wildly successful for building thinking and learning skills across all curriculums. The most up to date version is Inspiration 8 when purchased as a packaged software the cost ranges from $69.00 (single) - $895.00 (20 licenses). Being that Inspiration Software. Inc’s target audience is educators they are continually offering update discounts and additional tools such as lesson plan books, suggestions from other teachers, and bundle packages. All of these items can be found at: []. System Requirements include: Windows: Pentium 75 MHz or higher Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT 4.0, ME, XP or Vista 8 MB RAM 15 MB available hard drive 50 MB for full install

Macintosh: System 8.6, 9.x or OS X 10.1.5 or higher 5 MB available RAM 10 MB available hard drive 65 MB for full install QuickTime

April, That Corel Painter IX sounds really neat! What a great way to teach kids about different paints and stuff without having to worry about clean-up. Too bad it's so expensive because I would love to get it just for myself. Lindsey

Christy Krobath: I agree the Corel Painter software sounds great. I never enjoyed art myself (not that good at it either) but this software would have made it really fun. Also, what a great way to incorporate 21st century technology skills.

April, I too agree that the Corel Painter IX software sounds really good. I enjoy art and creative things and could see how this software would be useful in the classroom. Also I am sure for many students this might suit them better instead of the constant hands on work, meaning more students could possibly enjoy art. This software seems like a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom especially an art classroom, I never gave much thought to having software for art because I haven't seen it in any classrooms but it sounds like it could be a great idea. Also this would allow for a lot less mess. Diana

Inspiration sounds like it would be useful to help students meet their artistic goals and create a digital portfolio, and I like that it is cross-curricular. I think that all of these programs sound like they may be good for certain projects in the classroom, however I don't think that they should replace hands-on work. They sound great though as supplementation and further exploration, and especially for aspiring graphic artists. Anne Marie Lay

April, Your softwares sound like they would be really effective. Art is such a fun subject and I bet that using these softwares would make it that much more fun! When I think of art I never really think of the computer, but these programs would be a really nice edition to your class. Laura Ballard