The best is now FREE.... come and learn about the multitude of free resources on the Internet.  We will show you ones you can download, use online, and a vast supply of image and sound resources.  Resources will span PreK-12 and be applicable for all subject areas. 

 

Free Online Tools Open Source and/or Free Software 3D modeling CAD Drawing and Vector Graphics Elementary Education Graphics and Photo Manipulation Math Movie creation Music Project Management Science Sound and Audio Website Design Royalty-free and Creative Commons Audio, Sounds and Images

 

Free Online Tools

Top 100 Tools for Learning http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/top100.html

 

Open Source and/or Free Software

 

3D modeling

• Blender - 3D modeling http://www.blender.org/
• Google Sketchup - Google SketchUp is software that you can use to create, modify and share 3D models. http://www.google.com/sketchup/index.html

 

CAD

• FreeCAD - General purpose 3D CAD modeler http://juergen-riegel.net/FreeCAD/Docu/index.php?title=Main_Page
• LeoCAD - LeoCAD is a CAD program that uses bricks similar to those found in many toys (ie Legos). http://leocad.org/

 

Drawing and Vector Graphics

• Dia - Technical Drawing program, similar to Visio http://live.gnome.org/Dia
• Inkscape - Vector Graphics similar to Illustrator http://www.inkscape.org/
• Pencil - It lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and vector graphics. http://www.les-stooges.org/pascal/pencil/

 

Elementary Education

• ChildsPlay - Free Educational Software http://childsplay.sourceforge.net/install-windows.php
• GCompris - Free Educational Software ages 2-10 http://gcompris.net/
• Tux Paint - Tux Paint is a free, award-winning drawing program for children ages 3 to 12. It combines an easy-to-use interface, fun sound effects, and an encouraging cartoon mascot who guides children as they use the program. http://www.tuxpaint.org/
• Tux Typing - Tux Typing is an educational typing tutor for children. It features several different types of gameplay, at a variety of difficulty levels. http://tuxtype.sourceforge.net/

 

Graphics and Photo Manipulation

• ArtRage - the easy to use, stylish painting package that lets you get painting from the moment you open it up. http://artrage.com/artragedown.html
• Gimp - Image Editor similar to Photoshop http://www.gimp.org/
• Paint.net - Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. http://www.getpaint.net/
• Picasa - Photo organization and simple fixes. http://picasa.google.com/

 

Math

• GeoGebra - GeoGebra is a free and multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for schools that joins geometry, algebra and calculus. http://www.geogebra.org/cms/
• Gnuplot - Gnuplot is a portable command-line driven interactive data and function plotting utility http://www.gnuplot.info/
• GraphCalc - 2D and 3D Graphing Calculator http://www.graphcalc.com/

 

Movie creation

• Photostory - Easy story/movie creation software from Microsoft http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
• Windows Movie Maker - Movie creation software from Microsoft http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx

 

Music

• Finale Notepad - Music notation software http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad/
• Psycle - Music creation studio http://psycle.wikia.com/wiki/Psycle
• Virtual Metronome - Give Me Tac Virtual Metronome http://givemetac.free.fr/index_en.php
• Visual Music – Let’s you play 128 instruments http://www.shitalshah.com/vmusic/

 

Project Management

• Gantt Project - Free project management. http://ganttproject.biz/
• Planner - A project management application http://live.gnome.org/Planner

 

Science

• Celestia - The free space simulation that lets you explore our universe in three dimensions. http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
• Earth's Core - Earth's Core provides a wealth of information for those people interested in Rocks, Gems and Minerals. http://www.freshney.org/education/ec/index.htm
• ESBUnitConv – Freeware Unit Converter http://www.esbconsult.com/esbcalc/esbunitconv.htm
• Google Earth - Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings and even explore galaxies in the Sky. http://earth.google.com/
• Periodic Table Explorer - The PTE is a brand new way of exploring the periodic table. http://www.freshney.org/education/pte/
• Stellarium - Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. http://www.stellarium.org/

 

Sound and Audio

• Audacity - Audio Editor and Recorder http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
• DSpeech - Text to Speech http://dimio.altervista.org/eng/ scroll down for dspeech

 

Website Design

• ColorPic - Ever wondered what the web color was of something on the screen. This little tool will tell you! http://www.iconico.com/colorpic/
• PMeter - PMeter is a very handy pixel meter. http://www.pegtop.net/pmeter/

 

Royalty-free and Creative Commons Audio, Sounds and Images

CREATIVE COMMONS

What is Creative Commons? http://mirrors.creativecommons.org/getcreative/

Flickr Creative Commons Search - http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/

General Creative Commons Search - http://search.creativecommons.org/

 

Photos, Images, and Clip Art

Primary Sources

Sounds and Audio