Blue Ribbon Reviews March 2005
By Linda Lindroth

Creativity gets a real boost with these software tools for the classroom. Whether you choose a character from Disney or decide to draw your own animations, these products are sure to inspire even the most reluctant would-be artist.

Disney Magic Artist
When you install Disney Magic Artist featuring ULEAD dvd Picture Show, it's almost like having the Magic Kingdom on your computer. Your students will love creating their own magical slideshows.

Step 1. Import your favorite pictures or use collected images for a curriculum topic. Pictures can come from digital cameras, scanners, a video camcorder or the Internet. You can even save your 35mm pictures to a picture CD and import them into Magic Artist.

Step 2. Create your own personal slideshow, starting with one of three Disney themes. All of your favorite Disney characters are in the library of backgrounds, frames and music clips. There are more than 60 different Disney frames and over 40 animated effects you can add to your pictures.

Each picture in the slideshow can be edited to add frames, transitions and text. Text can automatically include the picture title, date and a caption with comments. Text box overlays make it easy to use the slideshow to diagram a science experiment or sequence the steps for a series of pictures.

Step 3. Burn your cd to show on any computer or dvd player. There's even software included for printing your own cd cover, complete with thumbnail sketches of your picture creations.
Visit www.ulead.com to see sample projects and resources. Call 888-941-4369 for more information. Win, $495.

SmartDraw Suite
SmartDraw from www.SmartDraw.com is a "draw anything" graphics program. The standard version comes with basic drawing symbols and samples of the library collection.You'll find everything you need to draw flowcharts, diagrams, organizational charts, floor plans, timelines, calendars, forms, maps, flyers and signs.

Getting started. With easy-to-use features, beginning users get tips each time they try something new. Since March weather is so unpredictable, you might want to try Maps and choose one of the weather map templates from the SmartDraw library to reinforce a weather unit. SmartDraw Explorer puts all the libraries in a left-hand window for easy browsing and access. I just dropped a U.S. map onto my drawing screen and added the symbols I wanted for our weather unit. Once I saved the map, students used my weather template to diagram each type of weather and where it could be found that day on the map. The toolbar even provided a web link to online MapResources with royalty-free clip art!

Unique drawing area. The Drawing area defaults to 50 x 50 inches, divided into page-sized rectangles shown with dotted lines so it's ready to print in the "bulletin board/discussion" size or in a reduced size on one piece of paper. The drag-and-drop method of adding symbols and the ready-made templates with objects already in place makes this an easy drawing tool for teachers and students, with professional-looking results. You can download or install any library, but there will be an unlicensed symbol if your version of SmartDraw does not include that library. Additional symbol libraries can be purchased from their website.

For more creativity, the user can link lines and shapes, create new shapes and tables and import photos. It is even possible to add finishing touches by choosing color schemes, shadows, and textures, or use the Arrange menu to align and evenly space objects in the drawing. Registered owners of SmartDraw products can use the free SmartDrawNet service to post drawings to their web space – complete with hyperlinks to another drawing – and e-mail them to a personal list.

Visit www.SmartDraw.com or call 800-768-3729. $297, suite edition.

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Linda K. Lindroth is Technology Editor and Web Coordinator for Teaching Pre K-8. She is also a Technology Resource Teacher in a K-5 computer lab in Lexington, KY.