SLUA » Free

Scratch Day on the way!

podmaster — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:10:42 +0000

Scratch Day is a worldwide network of gatherings, where people will come together to meet other Scratchers, share projects and experiences, and learn more about Scratch.

The Dublin event will be held in the Institute of Technology Tallaght, Tallaght, Dublin 24 starting at 11.00 a.m.

The Tipperary Institute are holding a 7 hour Scratch Day starting at 9.00 a.m. in the institute at Nenagh Road, Thurles, County Tipperary.

Email : www.tippinst.ie/schools or ei.tsnippitnull@neirBOP for details.

Aviary Phoenix Online Image Editor

podmaster — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:39:18 +0000

My son, John, tipped me off on this Flash-based webapp – Aviary Phoenix. It runs like a dream on my Medion Quad Core using Windows Vista Ultimate and Explorer 7. The address bar acts as a constant reminder that it is actually running in a browser. Phoenix is free and the user retains copyright of his/her work. Furthermore, users must be aged 13 years or older to register.

Phoenix is equipped witha host of retouching features and complex effects. It is not intended as an Adobe Photoshop replacement but it firmly places free Windows’ offering of MS Paint in the shade. Paint.net still remains the only downloadable free application offering a comprehension tool set. The .NET framework is required for that application.

Aviary Phoenix serves as an introduction to the tool set available in expensive image editors. It is an online service so no downloading or installation is necessary. The application is free at the moment and is set to grow and evolve based on users’ demands.

Check out LifeHacker’s article.

IMAGEBANK launched

oide — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:36:21 +0000

Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe T.D. was busy yesterday in the Phoenix Park, in the Zoological gardens to be precise. Yes, the zoo was the venue for the NCTE’s launch of imagebank.ie. I could not make the launch myself as I had an appointment with the academic council in UL at 10.30 a.m.

The NCTE press release describes the aim and content of the site as follows:- ”ImageBank.ie is intended as a supportive resource for students and teachers in Irish education. Part of Scoilnet, ImageBank.ie is a safe online photo library containing thousands of photos suitable for use in the classroom. The site provides access to photos of Irish significance and of relevance to the Irish curriculum such as, historical sites and buildings, animals, sport and flowers.

The website has been designed to allow members of the public, especially those with a direct connection or interest in Irish education, to upload any relevant photos they may have so that schoolchildren and teachers can use the images in their classrooms.”Check out the categories and technical requirements then if you have suitable digital images please register with imagebank.ie and upload your offerings. Please note - the images must be be your own work. Third party images will be rejected.

Free A3 Copy Holders

oide — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:09:33 +0000

20 x A3 Copy Holders, metal, cream colour. No charge! Collection during school hours. Leave comment if interested.

Real solution to video ban

oide — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:33:02 +0000

The free Real Player – versions 10 and 11 offer a download facility as a selectable feature when the player is being installed. It may have been available in previous incarnations but I did not notice it. It often pops on the top righthand corner of the video window when the user unintentionally skips the “mouse-over” the viewing area. It is a handy feature for saving Vodpod and TeacherTube material. Needless to say Real Player must be loaded on the local PC in order to hear or view the files.

Miro on the other hand is more versatile and there is no danger of the user accidentally signing up for a premium service or purhasing the full featured version of the free product. Miro provides the user with the full package and the source code is also freely available.