As elegant and simple as RapidWeaver is, there are some page layouts that are difficult if not impossible with the package in its vanilla state. The different page designs within RapidWeaver are produced by plug-ins. These can be joined by 3rd party plug-ins to bring more versatility and extra creative effects.

I have been using a number of plug-ins available from www.yourhead.com . If you take a trip to my shop page and you will see columns in action. Collage is also simple to use and very effective. Blocks needs a bit more understanding and can lead to unexpected results if care isn't taken.

The plug-ins cost between about £4.50 and £10. Once you have used columns and collage you will wonder how you lived without them.

The Apple MacBook is the replacement for the popular iBook.
Visually it is very similar, though is simplified in that it has no latch to keep the lid closed - using magnets instead.
The screen is improved and has the option of a gloss finish that looks bright and sharp.... though is more prone to reflections and fingerprints.
The screen is widescreen in aspect ratio, which feels more natural to look at after having used a wide screen for some years now. The 13" measurement is perfectly usable but allows the MacBook to remain compact for transporting it.

The MacBook is significantly faster than the machine it replaces. According to Apple it is 5x faster. It uses the new line of Intel Core Duo processors. Full specs HERE.

The keyboard is slightly odd in look as the keys have flat tops and spaces in between - a bit like a calculator. It is however perfectly comfortable to type on... though not as good as the PowerBook I am using right now.

These machines start at £599+VAT (EDUCATION) including the excellent iLife package which allows creative work with digital video, music and photos. These laptops would be a fantastic tool in the classroom.

£719+VAT (EDUCATION) gets a faster processor and a DVD writer to burn movies and data to DVD.

It just had to be done.... would have been a bit rude not to.


Photo Courtesy of Apple

Oscar Stringer is a leading animation in education practitioner in the UK. He has authored and designed an animation toolkit aimed at education.

The toolkit is designed to give pupils of all ages an understanding of the basic principles of animation and guide them through the different stages of making their first stop-motion animation film.

The toolkit is purchased on CD ROM and can be toured at: http://animationforeducation.thewhole.co.uk/index.htm

The cost is £40.

There are also examples on the website of work created by pupils.

If you were ever in doubt that time lapse can be an art form in its own right, check out the video demo at Pixelstream.com.

Their website is another fine example of RapidWeaver in action.

Artist Daniel Rossi uses digital video to capture the making of his artwork.
Check out the "Making of Movies" on his website.
Children could just as easily use the same techniques to chronical the changes in their master pieces as they are created.

The more you use a system, the more shortcuts you find that help to speed up productivity.
Why not accelerate your learning?
Take a look at the Mac OS X tips:
www.apple.com/pro/tips/

Revelation Natural Art by Logotron is a art package that allows the user to create art-work with the look of natural media - such as chalk or water colour. Although I have not personally used the package, the results and the applications to which it has been put are impressive. Check out the gallery on the Logotron website.

The software has an animation feature that allows you to produce animated cartoons with a true 'hand drawn' look, but also show how you arrived at your final masterpiece.

Examples in the gallery also show the use of symmetry and repeated pattern.

Cost for the software alone is £55.
Special offer: Cost of VOLITO pressure sensitive graphics tablet and pen from Wacom including REVELATION NATURAL ART is £79.
Extended School Licences covering pupil and teacher home use are available - Telephone: 01223 425558 x. 795

Nine of the Primary Schools in Tonbridge, Kent have signed up for the RapidWeaver Web Design Project. There may be more to come.... drop me a line...

Each school will receive a copy of RapidWeaver and Photoshop Elements.

RapidWeaver makes it fantastically easy to combine photos, text and movie files in a website that can be quickly built upon.

The initial work would be to prepare a ‘theme’ for RapidWeaver that was individual to the school.

Follow on work would be to structure a site and build the content to create a working site.

Further development could be to train additional teachers or a whole staff into how to use the software.

Once up and running, the sites will be linked to from this site to showcase the work.


There is a video interview with one of the creators of RapidWeaver here.

Entering its second phase, the DV Project is growing. Three new schools are joining the original ones.
Stocks Green, Capel and St Stephens will all receive an Apple Mac mini, a DV camera, and a microphone.

To allow for easy support and a standardised software base across all of the schools, the existing Mac minis will be upgraded to OS 10.4 with iLife 06, which is of course standard on the new Mac minis.

Welcome to all of you.

Exciting times are ahead.

I have set up a new discussion board to allow members of the DV Project to support each other and offer tips.
Visit the board HERE or follow the link from the front page. I hope you find it useful.

iStopMotion 1.9.2 - Import Images

Schools within the Tonbridge DV Project have iStopMotion software and unlock key.

Now create animations and time lapse movies from your scanned drawings, pictures you took long time ago, or any other images that you have on your harddrive. iStopMotion 1.9.2 now also handles RAW format files.

The advantage of importing the pictures into iStopMotion before iMovie is that they will be combined into a single DV file which does not have the restrictions of single 'stills' in iMovie. As such you are free to add transitions and titles of lengths that would not be possible with a series of individual stills to make up the animation. iMovie is more efficient at working with true DV files than it is with a series of still images.
Tip: You can use this new feature to easily change a time lapse movie's frame rate. Simply export all frames, create a new movie with the desired frame rate and reimport all frames using the convenient menu commands.

iStopMotion 1.9.2 is available as a free upgrade for registered users of iStopMotion 1.x versions from our website where you can also request a trial license.