Teachers' Technology Toolkit
Free and/or Open Source Applications and Web Resources
Keep Your Options Open
We have compiled a selection of open-source and/or free
resources available for educators. Included below are brief
descriptions along with a link to the web site from which you
can download the applications.
Image Editing
Picasa
(http://picasa.google.com)
Picasa is a nice
resource brought to us by the great folks at Google. It allows
simple photo editing and color adjustments. In addition, it
offers organization features allowing you to catalog all of the
images on your computer.
The GIMP/MacGIMP
(http://www.gimp.org)
The GIMP/MacGIMP
(GNU Image Manipulation Program)
is an image editing application similar to Photoshop. It can
be used for more advanced image edits than Picasa.
TuxPaint
(http://www.tuxpaint.org)
Great open-source
drawing program for ages 3 and up.
Stock Photography/Images
Stock.Xchng (http://www.sxc.hu)
Stock.Xchng provides a wealth of royalty-free/unrestricted images.
Looking for that perfect image for a digital manipulations or
presentation graphics? Check here first. Hint: To ensure
your images are completely unrestricted, make sure to go to Advanced
Search and select "No" in the Restricted OK box.
Google Images (http://images.google.com)
Search for images on any topic. Warning - images are harvested
from web sites and not all images are for public use - please
respect copyrights.
Productivity
CutePDF
(http://www.cutepdf.com)
Printer driver that allows you to print a file from any application
to a PDF file. Great for situations when you want to share a
document from an application that others don't have or when you want
to maintain the original formatting of a document. For your
installation to work, you will also need to install Ghostscript,
below.
Ghostscript (Direct
Link to Download)
A postscript to PDF Converter. Necessary for installation of
CutePDF.
OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org)
OpenOffice is a suite of applications very similar to Microsoft
Office. This is a great resource for students to use at home
if they do not have Microsoft Office. OpenOffice contains a
word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, etc. that can open Office documents as
well as save in an office compatible format. Mac users may
prefer NeoOffice, below.
NeoOffice (http://www.neooffice.org)
NeoOffice is a port of OpenOffice specifically designed
for Mac OS X. It incorporates more of the native OS X features than the standard OpenOffice.
Google Docs and Spreadsheets (http://docs.google.com)
Don't have Word and Excel installed? Don't worry...Google is developing
a solution for this, too. Currently under development in
Google Labs and still being tweaked, this is a great way to create,
view, share and store documents and spreadsheets online. Simultaneous
editing is supported as well. Great for group computer lab
activities or collaborative grade-level sessions.
AbiWord (http://www.abisource.com)
Another great open-source alternative to Microsoft Word.
WriteBoard (http://www.writeboard.com)
Great collaborative online whiteboard site. Have your students
contribute to a group writing activity. Write a document that
you can access from anywhere. Use for online critiques.
Compare document versions.
Writely (http://www.writely.com)
Writely has become Google Docs and Spreadsheets!
Web-based word processor. Upload, share, collaborate, edit and
store. You can even post documents to your blog!
Zoho (http://www.zoho.com)
Zoho is an amazing collection of web applications. Available
so far are an office suite and numberous productivity applications,
including an online database builder, planner, polls, evaluations,
chat and more. Most products are 100% free.
Thinkfree (http://www.thinkfree.com)
Another great productivity suite that can be used in place of
Microsoft Office.
DesktopTwo (http://www.desktoptwo.com)
Currently in its first beta release, DesktopTwo is an up and coming
web application that will allow you to bring all the conveniences of
your desktop with you anywhere. Virtual hard drive storage,
desktop customizations, email, blog and integrates with a
productivity suite provided by openoffice. Check it out!
Audio/Podcasting
Audacity
(http://audacity.sourceforge.net)
Great tool for recording multiple audio tracks. Perfect for
podcasting. To output your files as MP3 format, you will also want to
download the LAME MP3 Encoder, below. Check out the
Student Gallery for examples of
newscasts made using Audacity.
LAME MP3 Encoder (http://lame.sourceforge.net)
For use with Audacity to convert final audio files to MP3 format.
AudioBlogger (http://www.audioblogger.com)
Instantly update your blog with an audio post through a simple phone
call.
Free Play Music (http://www.freeplaymusic.com)
Great resource for royalty free music. Many genres available
and clips are pre-cut into manageable lengths. Wonderful for a
movie, presentation or digital storytelling project.
Web Publishing
Blogger.com (http://www.blogger.com)
Free blogging software. Allows management, customization and
editing of blogs. Files can be stored on Google's servers or on
your own. Great tool for communicating class activities,
homework, etc to parents.
Google Page Creator (http://pages.google.com)
Free, simple-to-use online web publishing tool. No knowledge of
HTML required. Completed pages are stored on Google's servers.
Currently still under development in Google Labs, but available to
try during development phase.
Web Browsing
Mozilla FireFox (http://www.mozilla.com)
Alternative web browser.
Email
Gmail (http://gmail.google.com)
Wonderful free, full-featured
web-based email. Currently available by invitation only.
Please let us know if you'd like an invitation.
Mozilla Thunderbird (http://www.mozilla.com)
Email client to download and install.
Digital Storytelling/Video Editing
Microsoft Photo Story 3 (http://www.microsoft.com/photostory)
Free download from the Microsoft website. Great for digital
storytelling and slideshows.
iMovie (http://www.apple.com/imovie)
iMovie comes free when you buy a new Mac and is similar to Windows
Movie Maker and Photo Story combined (thanks to the Ken Burns
effect). Great solution for non-PC users.
Windows Movie Maker (http://www.microsoft.com/moviemaker)
Great tool for editing digital videos. Automatically included
with Windows XP SP2 or later. Crop United Streaming clips to
the exact size you need. Create classroom presentations by
integrating titles and captions as an alternative to PowerPoint.
Windows Media Encoder (Information
Page)
WME is great for higher quality audio and video captures/editing.
This application is ideal for creating tutorials with video of your
screen actions+audio narration or lesson walkthroughs for homebound
students.
Free Play Music (http://www.freeplaymusic.com)
Great resource for royalty free music. Many genres available
and clips are pre-cut into manageable lengths. Wonderful for a
movie, presentation or digital storytelling project.
Social Studies/Geography
Google Earth (http://earth.google.com)
See the world in 3-D! The educational applications for this
application are endless.
Google Maps (http://maps.google.com)
Still using MapQuest? Why not check out Google Maps?
ArcExplorer Java Edition for Education
(AEJEE) (http://www.esri.com/aejee)
Research
Google (http://www.google.com)
No description required. :-)
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org)
Free online encyclopedia maintained by the world. Try having your
students enter their birth month and choose/research several
interesting events that happened on that day in history.
Great Overall Instructional Resources
Starfall (http://www.starfall.com)
Reading program designed for grades K-2. Loved by teachers and
students alike. Great on the SMARTBoard.
Moodle (http://www.moodle.org)
Open-source online course management system similar to Blackboard.
Your ITRT now has access to a Moodle server and you can be set up in
a matter of minutes. Contact us today to get started using
this valuable tool for your classroom.
Chalksite (http://www.chalksite.com)
Chalksite is a
total web package designed just for teachers, giving you a personal
web site and tools you actually need without requiring an IT degree
to use them.
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