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T4 Tips Podcast #11 - Free Educational Software |
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There is certainly one price that most teachers can appreciate: free!
In this podcast, we discuss a number of free software applications. Our
recommendations are programs that real people use everyday, for all
kinds
of tasks. They're tried and tested, the
best tools you can get - and they're all free.
Many of the programs we cover are open-source,
with their source code available for use and modification as others see
fit. Other programs we highlight are not. In addition, all of the
programs we cover are cross-platform. That means that they will run on
either a Windows PC or a Macintosh computer. However, BEWARE!
Before you
start downloading every free piece of software you can, make sure to
protect yourself - free software can often come bundled with viruses,
spyware, and other nasty stuff. Rest assured, however, that the software we recommend below is safe and educationally sound.
Thanks to PC Magazine, Open Source Windows, and Open Source Mac for many of the software recommendations. Please see any of these sites for a complete list.
Recommended Free and Open Source Software
 Web Browsing - Mozilla Firefox
The premier free, open-source browser. Tabs, pop-up blocking, themes,
and extensions. Considered by many to be the world's best browser.
Download Page
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 Email - Mozilla Thunderbird
Powerful spam filtering, solid interface, and all the features you need.
Download Page
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 Video Playback - VLC
Plays more video files than most players: Quicktime, AVI, DIVX, OGG, and more. Pretty good interface.
Download Page
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 Word Processing - AbiWord
A word processor. Leaner and quicker than OpenOffice. Compatible with Microsoft Word documents and OpenDocument Format.
Download Page |
 Audio Editing - Audacity
Simple sound recording tool.
Download Page (Windows)
Download Page (Mac)
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 Website Editor - Nvu
WYSIWYG Website Editor that rivals Dreamweaver in features.
Download Page
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 Vector Graphics Editing - Inkscape
Vector graphics application that rivals Illustrator.
Download Page |
 Stars and Outer Space - Celestia
Open-source 3D planetarium software. Akin to traveling through space (outer space).
Download Page |
 Chat and Video Conferencing - Skype
It's like iChat and MSN Messenger, only better.
Download Page
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 Calendar - Sunbird
This calendar is similar to Outlook and iCal, but will allow you to share calendars between a Mac and a PC.
Download Page
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