Overview
Canvastic is the best publishing tool on the market for today's K-8 students and faculty. It offers a wealth of easy to use features that make publishing beautiful projects fast and fun. The tools are designed around industry standards. This means that when you teach your students how to use a specific tool, they can carry that knowledge into professional level publishing tools later. There are great opportunities for integrating content curriculum with technology skills using Canvastic.
Canvastic was designed by a technology teacher who had tried everything under the sun with his students for years. The choices were always "toys" or designed for adults. The kids loved the toys but never got enough work done. They tried hard to use the adult tools but were often confused.
Canvastic does not have the "toy" features that many applications include. These toys like "the bomb" waste the students' and the teachers' time. Having too many frivolous choices for tools wastes time also.
Canvastic has a clear clean interface unlike some adult software choices that makes it very easy to see what tool you have and what the result will be. Also, the interfaces can be customized for the age and ability of the user. There are several included interfaces that range from Kindergarten to advanced. The primary sets have only a few necessary tools and limited options. The more advanced interfaces have all the tools and all the options enabled. This flexibility is a signature feature for Canvastic. The technology teacher can use the included interfaces or create custom sets that are perfect for her students.
Students and teachers are authors and publishers. In order to meet the standards our states and school districts require they must often write, graphically show and present information to many different groups and in many different ways. They continually create documents with whatever tools they have at hand. They write stories, sentences, descriptions, and reports. They draw depictions, maps, diagrams and graphs. They present their knowledge with pictures, text and video. Canvastic is a great tool for doing all these things. Any curriculum can be addressed with Canvastic if there is a desire to publish information about it. |
Features
Although other products have been on the market for many years, we think we've beat them with our very first version. There are so many great reasons to choose Canvastic. We couldn't list them all here. But, we've selected some of the top features.
Combined Text and Graphics
Students can use Canvastic to create graphic, text, and presentation documents. Graphic documents can include editable text. And text documents can include graphics. Combine them to create striking class presentations. Integrating curriculum with text and graphics is a natural for our students. When they draw what they know and write about what they have created, their projects are better and more complete. It provides full desktop publishing for K-8 users.
A Clear On-Screen Display
Canvastic's interface is pleasant easy to use. It is clear and uncluttered. The tool icons are based on industry standards and the screen is not messy nor is it trying to be "colorful". They add the color to the Canvastic screen! The students love using Canvastic because they know how to use it very quickly. Time isn't wasted in the classroom trying to explain "cute" icons.
It Grows With the User
We deliver some example preference sets with the product. But you are welcome to combine tools, color choices, palette positions, default tools, default fonts, and palette visibility in any way you choose. Create a separate set for each grade level or a special sets for certain activities. You control the available options to keep kids on task and increase their chances for success. Younger students can taught the tools one at a time. Older students can utilize more complex choices.
No Toys!
Canvastic's interface is all business. There are no toy features to waste the students' time. For example, there is no fun way to destroy your document. There are no bombs, fire hoses or dancing singing clip art. Younger students are engrossed so quickly they don't notice that they are having fun creating rather than playing. The older students appreciate using a tool that wasn't designed to appeal to babies but is still easy enough for them to use well. We don't include excessive options that waste the students' time either. For example, when creating a slide show the user is given the option of choosing from four music loops, not thousands.
Unlimited Undo
Kids should be encouraged to explore options when they are creating. They shouldn't be restricted to only undoing their most recent action. With virtually unlimited undo and redo options, students can move freely backwards and forwards through all of the steps they took to create their document.
Preview Palette
The Preview palette displays a shape exactly as it will be drawn on the canvas, given the current tool, color, and option selections. Students will know what to expect before they click the mouse in the canvas.
Browser Palette
The Browser palette displays a set of thumbnail images, graphically representing each of the open Canvastic documents. Simply click on a thumbnail image to bring that document to the front.
Painting, Drawing, and Background Layers
The graphically advanced may refer to creation tools as bitmap or vector based. The are sometimes called paint and draw. Painting tools create shapes and pictures that are made of small colored dots named 'pixels'. Each dot can be colored (or erased) individually. Drawing tools create shapes (like rectangles, circles, and text) that can be selected, moved, stretched, and modified as a shape rather than a group of dots.
Canvastic provides both painting and drawing tools and keeps the resulting graphics on separate layers in your documents. Combine those layers with an independent background layer for displaying a color or picture and you've got a strong foundation on which to build some terrific documents.
Quicktime Movie Slideshows
Combine multiple Canvastic documents into an attractive Quicktime slideshow. You control the timing between slides and the transition effects between them. The resulting slideshow can be sent via email or CD and played on any computer (Macintosh or Windows) with the free Apple Quicktime application installed.
Export to Common Formats
When you save you create a Canvastic document but there are also choice for exporting to common graphics file formas like jpg and png. So if you want to include work done with Canvastic in another program it is just an easy save.
What's New in Version 2?
New Features
- Word Processing Tool : Now there is a tool which allows more control over the text that students add to their documents. Text entered into the new word processing objects can be independently formatted with common text choices such as color, font and style. The Text tool is still available for primary students and for use in labeling, titling or for short sections.
- Multiple Folders in Clip Art: Now you can organize clip art into folders for easy organization. Clip art should still be stored in the Art folder within the Canvastic folder. Now the included images are organized into three folders; Basic Clip Art, Drawing Aids, and Math. To add your graphics to the program just add folders containing the art to the Art folder and restart Canvastic.
- Template Files: Canvastic documents that are opened from the new Templates folder will open as new, untitled documents. There are many templates included with Canvastic but to add your own, just prepare the template and save or copy it into the Templates folder. There are nine full book publishing sets included for both portrait and landscape orientation.
- Document Palette: With a click on the new Document palette you can create new, open, save and print. This palette may be a good choice for younger students' preference sets.
- Network Location of Preference Sets: Your preference sets can now be stored on a network server rather than in the Preferences folder within the Canvastic folder. In an intelligent fashion, if the network server is not available, the program will look in the original local Preferences folder. This allows for immediate changes to the working environment for your students at any work station.
- Slide Shows and Movies: You can now create live full screen presentations with a few clicks. Sound tracks are now supported on Slide Shows. Four default choices are included; Jazz, Rock, Country, and Pastoral. Exporting to QuickTime movies is still supported as well.
- Teacher Control: Teachers now have a keyboard shortcut for quickly and temporarily "unlocking" palettes without editing the preference set. Now if you need to make a quick adjustment for a particular student you can do so quickly. Option Control click for Mac and Ctrl Alt click for Windows.
- New Preference Settings: There are new settings for enabling/disabling the color picker, linking colors, and enabling/disabling the contextual menu.
Refinements
- Canvastic documents can now be inserted as graphic elements into other Canvastic documents.
- Canvastic documents can now be used as backgrounds for other Canvastic documents.
- Art tools now remember the settings you last gave them. For example if you changed the line tool to thick and red, then used the rectangle tool with other settings the line tool will revert to thick and red when you next choose it.
- Selection tools now show a preview in the Preview palette.
- Text boxes automatically shrink to enclose just the text entered when the user has clicked to set its location but hasn't dragged to define the shape.
- Text boxes and Word Processing objects are now automatically selected when they are created. This allows for instant editing of the object without having to switch tools.
- Inserted and pasted items are now controlled by the tool you have selected. For example, if you want to take a part of the paint layer to the object layer. Select it, copy it, and choose an object tool, then paste. It will come in as an object. The opposite is also true. To take an object to the paint layer, select it, copy it, and choose a paint tool, then paste. It will come in as painted graphics. This now works for inserted items as well as pasted ones. This allows you to turn any object into bitmap grahics and any painted graphics into vector objects.
- You can easily add all open documents or all the contents from a chosen folder to a slide show or movie.
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What's New in Version 2?
Version 2 of Canvastic brings over 35 new features, refinements and fixes to the program. Version 2 is a free upgrade for all registered users.
New Features
- Word Processing Tool :Now there is a tool which allows more control over the text that students add to their documents. Text entered into the new word processing objects can be independently formatted with common text choices such as color, font and style. The Text tool is still available for primary students and for use in labeling, titling or for short sections.
- Multiple Folders in Clip Art: Now you can organize clip art into folders for easy organization. Clip art should still be stored in the Art folder within the Canvastic folder. Now the included images are organized into three folders; Basic Clip Art, Drawing Aids, and Math. To add your graphics to the program just add folders containing the art to the Art folder and restart Canvastic.
- Template Files: Canvastic documents that are opened from the new Templates folder will open as new, untitled documents. There are many templates included with Canvastic but to add your own, just prepare the template and save or copy it into the Templates folder. There are nine full book publishing sets included for both portrait and landscape orientation.
- Document Palette: With a click on the new Document palette you can create new, open, save and print. This palette may be a good choice for younger students' preference sets.
Network Location of Preference Sets:
- Your preference sets can now be stored on a network server rather than in the Preferences folder within the Canvastic folder. In an intelligent fashion, if the network server is not available, the program will look in the original local Preferences folder. This allows for immediate changes to the working environment for your students at any work station.
- Slide Shows and Movies: You can now create live full screen presentations with a few clicks. Sound tracks are now supported on Slide Shows. Four default choices are included; Jazz, Rock, Country, and Pastoral. Exporting to QuickTime movies is still supported as well.
- Teacher Control: Teachers now have a keyboard shortcut for quickly and temporarily "unlocking" palettes without editing the preference set. Now if you need to make a quick adjustment for a particular student you can do so quickly. Option Control click for Mac and Ctrl Alt click for Windows.
- New Preference Settings: There are new settings for enabling/disabling the color picker, linking colors, and enabling/disabling the contextual menu.
Refinements
- Canvastic documents can now be inserted as graphic elements into other Canvastic documents.
- Canvastic documents can now be used as backgrounds for other Canvastic documents.
- Art tools now remember the settings you last gave them. For example if you changed the line tool to thick and red, then used the rectangle tool with other settings the line tool will revert to thick and red when you next choose it.
- Selection tools now show a preview in the Preview palette.
- Text boxes automatically shrink to enclose just the text entered when the user has clicked to set its location but hasn't dragged to define the shape.
- Text boxes and Word Processing objects are now automatically selected when they are created. This allows for instant editing of the object without having to switch tools.
- Inserted and pasted items are now controlled by the tool you have selected. For example, if you want to take a part of the paint layer to the object layer. Select it, copy it, and choose an object tool, then paste. It will come in as an object. The opposite is also true. To take an object to the paint layer, select it, copy it, and choose a paint tool, then paste. It will come in as painted graphics. This now works for inserted items as well as pasted ones. This allows you to turn any object into bitmap grahics and any painted graphics into vector objects.
- You can easily add all open documents or all the contents from a chosen folder to a slide show or movie.
- Clip Art and inserted graphics now support transparency.
Update V2.1 Notes:
Version 2.1 continues and expands on the concept that the software our students use to publish should be flexible, powerful, not designed as a toy, and kept current via updates! There are dozens of refinements included in this release. This is a recommended update for all users. Version 2.1 includes the following new features and bug fixes:
- Text and object shapes print much more clearly.
- Clip Art and inserted graphics now support transparency for white areas, so you won’t see “white boxes” around your graphics anymore.
- Word Processing objects correctly display multiple carriage returns and spaces.
- In addition to inserting common graphic formats (jpg, png, etc.) they can now be opened directly. They are placed into a new Canvastic document.
- Saving QuickTime movies is now done more easily, eliminating a potentially confusing step for users.
- Preference set names will now appear alphabetically regardless of network server settings that may have previously caused the list to appear in random order.
- Single pixels can now be properly filled with the Fill tool.
- Several minor interface enhancements.
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