Mar 18

Written by: shines-2
3/18/2010 12:45 AM 

Aviary is a suite of simple, and yet, powerful web based editing tools to create and edit images and audio. There are 6 tools.

• Phoenix the image editor
• Peacock the effects editor
• Toucan the color editor
• Raven the vector editor
• Myna the audio editor
• Falcon the image markup

Their Mission: "Aviary is on a mission to make creation accessible to artists of all genres, from graphic design to audio editing."

And they seem to be well on their way to accomplishing their goal. Their tools are incredibly easy to use and have many of the same features as the costly proprietary products. Aviary can be used from any computer with an Internet connection. With the added benefit of combining Aviary with Google Apps for Domains, any one can produce and access their files from any Internet connected computer, making cloud computing a greater reality. By using Aviary from within Google, you can also share your creations with all your other Google Docs.

Aviary is an incredible tool for the classroom. It makes image and audio editing possible without the high cost of other programs. You can make a podcast, mix music, create vector graphics, add effects to pictures in layers, create original art, mark up slides, create labels or logos and much more. If you have your own domain in Google Apps, you can add Aviary to your domain.

However, I'm not sure how well they sensor the creations on their site. Since you can search their site for the creations of other users, be aware that there may be images that are not school appropriate.

Check it out at www.aviary.com