Stuart and I have been talking to teachers about AutoCollage for some = time=20 already, and we=E2=80=99ve begun to see the creative ways that this tool = is being used=20 to aid in storytelling exercises, portfolios of student work, and = presenting new=20 ideas, to name a few. The only problem to date has been that AutoCollage = was=20 only available free for 30 days, and after that required you to purchase = a copy=20 for every PC you wished to use it on.
That is=E2=80=A6until now.
(Drum roll, please=E2=80=A6)
That=E2=80=99s right, the full product version of AutoCollage is now =
available
It couldn=E2=80=99t be easier for you to download the software. Just =
go to the
You=E2=80=99ll see the announcement for free downloads of AutoCollage = right on the=20 front page of the site. Just click the link more details and = download=20 instructions to get to the download page. After that you=E2=80=99ve = only a few more=20 clicks to go before you have your very own, free copy of = AutoCollage.
Once the software is installed, it=E2=80=99s equally easy to use. (I = installed the=20 software and created the image above in less than five minutes, while = sitting in=20 our Edinburgh office.)
You first need to assemble the photos you want in the collage into =
their own=20
folder.
When you open AutoCollage, it will be pointing to photos in the root = of your=20 Pictures folder. Just navigate to the folder with the photos you = assembled=20 and select it in the Image Browser area of the screen.
You can use the sliding bar to set the number of photos you want to = appear in=20 the collage. AutoCollage will pick the best ones to include. Your photos = will=20 then appear on the screen, as mine did at right.
You can select special options for the collage using the Options = button, or=20 you can just click Create, and watch as AutoCollage does its magic.
All of your collages are saved in an AutoCollage folder within your = Pictures=20 folder, making them easier to find later.
Stuart and I are very excited to be able to offer this tool to you =
for free.=20
We=E2=80=99re extremely grateful to the good folks at Microsoft Research =
for letting us=20
give this to you and your students. We hope you=E2=80=99ll head straight =
to the