Presented by Richard “Andy” Jeter

FETC 2010Thursday, January 14, 2010

Technology plays a vital role in the 21st century classroom. It enhances the way our students learn and impacts the way we teach. It also enables us to prepare students for future careers and everyday life as technology skills are increasingly in high demand.

Effective technology integration can be expensive and most schools have limited budgets. This session will provide money-saving solutions to budgetary woes as we explore freeware alternatives to pricy commercial software as well as resources for acquiring funding for projects that incorporate innovative technologies.

Freeware is software that is available at no cost.

There are different types of freeware:•Open-Source (libre software)•Cloudware – Web-based applications that are often free •Donation-ware / Care-ware – While the software is free to download, donations are accepted.•Ad-Ware – The software author(s) make money by placing ads within their programs rather than charging the user directly.•Shareware – Trial / Basic versions of “cost-ware” that either expire or offer limited functionality. A “Pro” (or pay) version of a program may offer expanded features beyond the “Basic” version.

Obviously – It’s FREE!The money that would have been spent on licenses for commercial software can be spent on hardware.Updates are FREE!Open-source freeware is flexible and can be adapted to fit the needs of your class.

Most freeware opens and saves (or exports) to a variety of formats (even from commercial software).It’s accessible to students who wish to use it at home. Students continue to practice tech skills and learn beyond the walls of the computer lab or classroom.

While the benefits of freeware outweigh the drawbacks, there are some issues that must be considered:

Freeware often has less centralized technical support available than commercial products. This means that users with questions might spend more time researching solutions to problems.Freeware alternatives are not as recognizable as the commercial programs.

Commercial Software

Price (Single license)

Freeware Alternative

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher, etc.)

$100-200 Open-Office – All the features of MS Office.

Adobe Photoshop $400 GIMP – The same features plus some expanded functionality.

Autodesk 3-D Studio Max $300-400 Google SketchUp – Less robust than 3-D Studio Max, Simpler, Access to Google Warehouse.

GenevaLogic Vision Class Kit (Computer Lab Management)

$900 classroom

license

iTalc – Doesn’t come with hardware accessory but works effectively.

GIMP – graphics editing softwareStory Telling Alice – animation / programming softwarePivot Stickfigure Animator – stick figure animation softwareArt Rage – painting softwareSqirlz Morph – morphing softwareSqirlz Reflections – image effectsPhotoStory – photo slideshow softwarePicasa – graphics/photo collection organization and editing

Movie Maker – video editing softwareAudacity – sound editing softwareScratch – video game design / programming softwareTerragen – photo-realistic landscape generatorSketchUp – 3-D modeling softwareGoogle Earth – virtual globe software3-D Anaglyph Maker – 3-D image creation software (for red/blue glasses)

Open-Source is a type of software where its source code is made available to the public.The public actually helps develop the software or it can be adapted by the user to suit his/her needs.Many open-source applications are projects of colleges and universities, therefore, they often already cater to the education community.

Cloudware is software that resides on the web and is run through a web browser. Web-mail such as Yahoo Mail and Gmail are considered cloudware as they are web-based applications that aren’t restricted to a specific desktop.

Cloudware According to Wired’s Geekipedia http://www.wired.com/culture/geekipedia/magazine/geekipedia/cloudware

There are now a variety of diverse applications available as cloudware:

•Graphics Editing / Diagramming•Word Processing / Spreadsheets•Video Editing•Web Design•Gaming•Collaboration / Social Networking•Blogging Platforms

Some of the cloudware applications I use in my classroom include:

Sumo Paint (Graphics Software)Imagination Cubed (Paint Software)My Webspiration (Brainstorm / Diagrams)Bubbl.us (Brainstorm)Ether Pad (Collaborative Word Processor)

Now that we’ve covered software, we’ll discuss ways to get hardware and techno-gadgets for your classroom.

Fundraising is one solution but it involves a lot of work.Some websites have been set up so that potential donors can connect with classrooms that need funding for projects.

•Donorschoose.org allows teachers to post their projects and request funds for specific items. The website collects donations and makes the purchases on the teacher’s behalf.

Some organizations that are famous for their support of education through grants include:

•The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (gatesfoundation.org)•The Airborne Trust (airbornetrust.com)•The Best Buy Foundation (bestbuyinc.com)

Research your own local organizations as well. Chambers of commerce, and education foundations in your community may offer a classroom grant program. Business partnerships are another great way to raise funds for classroom tech.

The freeware applications and websites we discussed today as well as others we didn’t cover and further information are available on a Ning community I set up for session attendees. Feel free to join and share your discoveries and project ideas. Here’s the address - http://teachnology.ning.com/The Teacher Tech Toolbar is a free browser add-on for Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari. It is regularly updated with freeware, cloudware, grants info, and other ed tech resources - http://teachertech.ourtoolbar.com/

A massive online professional learning community where educators discuss a range of ed tech related topics including freeware, open-source tech, cloudware, project ideas, and grants is Classroom 2.0 – http://www.classroom20.com

Here are some websites where you can learn about and download all kinds of freeware applications:•ABC Freeware - http://www.abcfreeware.com•Freeware Files - http://www.freewarefiles.com/•No Nags - http://www.nonags.com/•Source Forge - http://sourceforge.net/•TuCows - http://www.tucows.com/

Here are some websites where you can learn about different grants and funding opportunities:•Grantsweb - http://grantsweb.com/•Grants Alert - http://www.grantsalert.com/•Grant Wrangler - http://www.grantwrangler.com/•Donors Choose – http://www.donorschoose.org•Adopt A Classroom – http://adoptaclassroom.com

Some great places to spend your money:•PC Mall – http://www.pcmallgov.com•Qwizdom - http://www.qwizdom.com/•Amazon – http://www.amazon.com•New Egg – http://www.newegg.com•Best Buy – http://www.bestbuy.com

Contact me with any questions about any of the topics I presented, My email is richardaj@leeschools.net

Feel free to visit me on the web:•Class Website – http://dpm.leeschools.net/DEMO•My Website – http://www.andyjeter.com