Monday, March 8, 2010

Review: Graphics Toolbox




You see before you on your left side of this screen a fascinating and interesting box that looks like an artist's haven for drawing and painting and what not. I do believe it is the beginning of new way of painting, drawing, writing, designing and whatever else 'arty' you can think of on the Internet and your website perhaps.

During the month of February I was given access to a very complex, full and detailed website and software called Graphics Toolbox (http://www.graphics-toolbox.com/.) As it says on the box to your left 'Graphic Software for Daily Life' that is exactly what is available. With the boom of the Internet business' and websites and children using computer software in the classroom, this is definitely a site to be interested in or take a first and second look at.

I personally am technologically challenged in this area and barely know how to keep this blog loading correctly, never mind setting up a website and putting all kinds of fancy things on it. I did have access to this software but was unable to download it as my computer is over 5 years old and just could not handle the file as they are huge.

Graphics Tool box is this in just a few points: (and oh so much more.)


Graphics-Toolbox is the new fun and easy graphics software that is perfect for all computer users. Click on the applications below to see how you can use Graphics-Toolbox to color your life.
Embellish Photos with Ribbons & Text
Fast & Easy Scrapbook Pages
Custom Invitations
Fashion Illustrations
Logos for Printing and Embroidery
Professional Posters
Cropping & Manipulating Photos
Students’ School Projects
Personalized Announcements
Embroidery Patterns
Stunning Photo Collages
Whimsical Photo-Graphics

The links to the applications have copied too so perhaps you can go there and see what each one is about when you are finished reading the blog note. On Graphics Toolbox website there are Video clips, slide shows , tutorials to help you understand the software, and personalized training for a fee to assist you in using the software too. I was only able to watch a few of these but found them intriguing and definitely useful for the amateur that I am in the blogging and website orientated world. Children are able to pick up very quickly the concepts that Graphics Toolbox teaches and there are examples of children's project reports, field trip reports, flyers, business cards, photography touch-ups etc on the website.

I did read one comment on the side about a photographer who touches up the background of old photos more efficiently with Graphic Toolbox than any other software that he has used. For the homeschooler and other school age children the ability to make their work more presentable to their teachers and/or parents is a good tool for them. Here is another set of phrases describing what this software will help children be able to achieve.

Foster Academic Excellence:
Kids love technology
Adding customized graphics is fast and easy
Stress the importance of color, balance and design in student presentations
Convey symbolism, mood and image with great graphics
Help hands-on and visual learners succeed
Great grades come from well executed homework assignments
Enjoy exclusive libraries of colors, fancy lines and ribbons
Descriptive icons allow hearing impaired and ESL students to excel too
Expand differentiation learning opportunities
Perfect for yearbooks, newsletters, websites and posters
Powerful, Flexible, Fun


The cost for this software may seem a huge outlay but it can be used for so many different areas of your life. Business and school can both benefit from the investment. The price for 1 user licence is $149.00 and discounts may be obtained if you have more than one user. You do need at least 200MB of free hard disk space to be able to use this program at full potential. That is one reason why I was not able to do this - lack of hard disk space and a very old operating system too.

I do wish I had been able to let my son use this program and perhaps when we invest in a new computer we may be able to. He would have loved all the fancy facilities it has to make his photos look more professional.

If you would like to see some actual examples of what some of my fellow members and their children were able to do with the software in their homeschool projects please link to the following page:

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HomeschoolCrew/769911/


I was given the software for Graphics Toolbox in order to do this review for the TOS Crew for 2009/10. I was not paid in any way for this review and it is my opinion of the product.

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