Blue Ribbon: May, 2002 Software reviews for this month are FlipAlbum 4.1 Digital Photo Activity Kit With many schools across the country looking forward to "Spring Break" and preparing for standardized testing, this month's reviews offer some choices for reinforcing learning in the core curriculums while still having fun. FlipAlbum 4.1 What better way to document your class' year than with a 3D FlipAlbum that can be shared on the Internet or saved on a CD-ROM. This page-flipping album, by eBook Systems, Inc., puts your photos in a 3D album using borders, frames and page backgrounds from the more than 3,000 graphics included in the software library. Built-in editing tools let you touch up photos to change the brightness and contrast and take care of red eye. You can even rotate or skew a picture, create black and white with filters, or crop photos and make a montage. Add MP3 music for background audio, add captions and special titles. FlipAlbum allows unlimited pages, which makes it easy to organize any set of pictures into a memory book. An overview page with thumbnails, table of contents and index page are all created automatically and hyperlinked to each of the album pages. FlipAlbums can be uploaded to the Internet or saved to CD to share with family and friends. The FlipAlbum CD Maker 2.0 Plug-In can be downloaded - visit http://www.flipalbum.com/ for more information or a free trial. $49.95.

Digital Photo Activity Kit Here's a package no school should be without! Internet Coach has created kid-friendly software with everything a teacher (or parent) needs for helping students add digital photography to projects. A complete writing and publishing package, the kit includes a CD-ROM for grades 1-8 and a teacher's guide with ideas for using photos in writing exercises. The deluxe version includes an Argus DC1500 digital camera which holds 80 images. The software is a complete Photo Center with six activity centers. In the Writing Center, students can create a newsletter, stationery, book report or journal. Use your own photos in Movie Maker. Go to Travel Center to make a passport (with stamps) or personalized postcards. Personalize cards, gift boxes, posters and certificates in special events - just in time for Mother's Day! Make frames, calendars or stickers with your photos in the Craft Corner. You can even use your pictures in five picture games: Maze Chase, Pixel Paddle, Click Flip, Shutterbug and Digital Decoder. With dozens of curricular projects and diagrams in the Teacher Guide and more than 50 templates on the cd, it's easy to integrate photos, clip art and web images into student projects. My favorite end-of-the-year project is Field Trip Postcards. I put trip photos on postcards in travel center and write to parents about the learning experience. For more about APTE, Inc., Internet Coach and the Digital Photo Activity Kit, go to http://www.internetcoach.com/ or call 847-866-1872. $64.95; deluxe, $99.95.