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Free & Inexpensive
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The school campus graphical interface is an easy-to-navigate
format
for the AboutSchool.com comprehensive
collection of free educational
resources. The compact listings of links by category are
annotated
collections of content-area
databases for
the K–12 classroom. The Teacher
page has links for professional organizations and annotated
Lesson Plan
Web sites. There is even a Parent page for home
resources.
Web: http://www.aboutschool.com/ |
Ask Kids is
a student
search portal that
uses natural language to perform
keyword searches filtered by age categories. The search
results provide
direct links to answers and a drop-down list of possible
questions that
might fit the content being searched.
Web: http://www.askkids.com/ |
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CyberSleuth Kids is
a free,
specialized K–12 Internet search engine
committed to sorting through the seemingly infinite
resources on the
Internet to create a database of safe educational Web sites.
Users can
browse the list of topics or do a keyword.
Web: http://www.cybersleuth-kids.com/
Plus: Lesson
Plan Central is
an extension of CyberSleuth Kids with free
lesson plans, Web quests and worksheets.
Web: www.lessonplancentral.com/ |
Classroom Clipart contains
thousands of royalty-free clipart,
animations,
illustrations, icons and photographs available to members
for just $19.95
per year. Membership includes a personal Lightbox for
storing images.
Web: http://www.classroomclipart.com/ |
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CramSession is
a Web resource for free study
guides to
support most of
the popular technology certifications, including A+
Certification, CISCO
and Microsoft.
Try a practice exam or search the more than 130 free
CramSession study guides for applications of interest.
Web: http://www.cramsession.com/ |
Visit eduMedia
Share to
find and share educational resources in this new
free educator
community. Currently, more than 1,000 resources
covering
videos, images and simulations are
available to tag, comment on and
download. Submit your material and contribute in the
eduMedia
community.
Web: http://www.edumedia-share.com/ |
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EventLink is
a service powered by School
Datebooks that
posts messages
for emergency
alert and event
reminders. It is free for
parents to register
their email or text number and indicate the types of
messages they want
from their children’s school. Once an administrator
registers a school, the
emergency alert and event reminders are activated.
Web: http://www.eventlink.com/ |
FreeReading is
a free reading
intervention program for
K–3. The
program was originally developed by Wireless
Generation and
an advisory
board of leading reading researchers. Now the program is an
open-source,
peer-authored text. Educators can find research-based
literacy activities,
share lessons and ideas, and use the complete set of
activities in hundreds
of lessons mapped to a 40-week scope and sequence based on
recommendations
of the National Reading Panel. Users can even download free
resources, including letter cards, picture cards, music and
videos.
Web: http://www.FreeReading.net/ |
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Free Resources for Educational Excellence (or FREE,
for short) is an
extensive compilation of free resources
from federal agencies. Browse the
Subject Map to review topics, type in a keyword to search
the entire
database or click on the featured links for current topics
of interest. Sign up
for the FREE RSS to get notification several times a week of
new resources
being added to the more than 1,500 existing resources on the
site.
Web: http://www.free.ed.gov/ |
LookyBook has
a growing library of more than 300 titles that can be
viewed cover to cover, in full color to enjoy the text and
illustrations. Every
book can be reviewed, rated, shared, added to a personal
Bookshelf and
purchased. The free LookyBook
library is searchable by author, illustrator,
subject or genre; and search results always give a
collection of related books
to enrich the selection.
Web: http://www.lookybook.com/ |
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NetSmartzKids is
an interactive, educational safety
resource from
the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)
and
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA)
for children aged 5–17. Original
animated characters are used to present interactive
games, activities and
videos to
develop the safety awareness of children who use the
Internet. The
Use Your NetSmartz (UYN) curriculum is a rich collection of
tunes, video,
games and activities that help students learn the rules of
staying safe on the
Internet and safely using Internet tools, such as email.
Web: http://www.NetSmartzKids.org/
Plus: NetSmartz provides
Internet safety resources for educators, parents
and guardians, and law enforcement. Free downloads
available to adults
include wallpapers, audio, screensavers, media player skins
and themes.
Web: http://www.NetSmartz.org/uyn/freestuff/index.htm |
Make your end-of-the-year planning easier with the free PBS
Teacher
Activity Packs, a set of themed resources
and activities packaged in a
widget-format. Each pack includes links to PBS resources and
activities
organized by grade level. A Grab It button lets you
automatically post any
activity pack to a variety of media sites, such as MySpace,
FaceBook and
iGoogle, or copy the embed code to post it
to a school or personal Web
page.
Web: http://www.pbs.org/teachers/activitypacks/ |
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Your high school students will love this free multidisciplinary
project
through which they apply science, math, engineering and
technology skills.
Sight/Insight, a collaborative initiative
between USA
Today Education and
NASA, provides a program for grades 9–12 to
explore human
ingenuity
and STEM
careers by
completing the steps of a problem-solving process
on the Hubble Space Telescope. The complete version is 15 to
20 sessions
over 3 to 4 weeks using independent research and group
homework. The
abridged version is 5 to 10 class sessions over 1 to 2 weeks
with
independent research.
Web: http://www.hubble-sightinsight.com/ |
Study Guides and Strategies is
a database of free educator
resources
categorized by subheadings to aid in teaching. Some of the
index topics are
Preparing, Learning, Studying, Writing Basics, Writing
Types, Math and
Science, and Technology. Each study
guide includes
detailed strategies and
related links for using the guide. Currently, the index is
posted in English
and 30 other languages that can be accessed at the click of
a button from
the home page.
Web: http://www.studygs.net/ |
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Get ready for summer reading and select books that match
each student’s
reading level with Teacher
Book Wizard. This free online
tool from
Scholastic is
designed by teachers to create, organize and share booklists
of
more than 50,000 books from all publishers. Search based on
given reading
level, known author, keyword or instructional category and
customize your
list. Created booklists are stored in My Book Lists and can
be printed,
emailed and posted in the List Exchange to share with other
teachers. A
free BookAlike
tool does a book title search for similar books at a
specified
reading level. Use the new widget to put the Teacher Book
Wizard on your
school or class Web site for easy access.
Web: http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/ |
TechMatrix is
a guide
to assistive technology tools available
for students
with special needs. This free resource
is created and maintained by the
National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI)
and the Center
for
Implementing Technology in Education (CITEd).
The tool searches more
than 200 products by subject or learning support and
generates a matrix of
products that have specific assistive technology support
features. The user
can print, email or bookmark each matrix generated with
TechMatrix. Each
product listing includes basic information, assistive
technology features and
research links for learning supports.
Web: http://www.techmatrix.org/ |
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The Tree
of Life (ToL) Web
Project is
a free resource
that supports
biodiversity instruction.
ToL gives teachers and students Web-based tools
to create “treehouses”, Tree of Life Web pages, created by
scientists, which
link to core content about the world’s organisms.
Web: http://tolweb.org/tree |
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Free Tech Tools For
Learning |
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Download the free basic
edition of Adventure
Maker to
create
point-and-click games and virtual tours for Windows, PSP,
iPhone and
iPod touch Web applications. The Adventure Maker package
contains an
icon editor, music composer, drawing program and program for
resizing
and compressing pictures.
Web: http://www.adventuremaker.com/ |
ClassChatter is
a free Web
log service that
provides free blogging
and Web tools. Create a class blog page and then add topic
blogs where
teacher and students can add posts to encourage class
discussions. Student
personal blogs can be created as a journal for reflections.
New features
include an assignment blog for keeping track of completed
assignments, and
ClassMail. An added feature is the ability to hide student
identities, which
makes ClassChatter FERPA compliant.
Web: http://www.classchatter.com/ |
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Create, modify and share diagrams with Draw
Anywhere, a free
Web-based diagramming tool. Draw Anywhere works like a
desktop
application; no software download is required. Draw, modify
and share
flowcharts, organizational charts and other diagrams. Send
diagrams to
your printer or export as JPG, PNG or PDF files.
Web: http://drawanywhere.com/ |
FotoFlexer is
a free online photo-editing resource
that has all the
sophisticated tools of far more expensive photo-editing
software. Options
include adding stickers, glitter text and borders
Web: http://fotoflexer.com/ |
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Game Templates, from the Watson
School of Education, University
of North Carolina Wilmington, is a free resource
for creating interactive
games for whole class or individual student use. Download
game templates
for PowerPoint, Word and Excel to use immediately or
customize them to
fit your curricular needs. Also download the PowerPoint
Timers that will
count down from up to one hour.
Web: http://people.uncw.edu/ertzbergerj/msgames.htm |
Use Google
Alerts to
up with developing news stories for a current
events class or get the latest changes for a research search
term. Create an
alert by entering keyword search terms for a topic you wish
to monitor.
Also indicate how often you would like to receive updates.
An email then
updates the latest Google results on the topic requested.
Web: http://www.google.com/alerts/ |
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Apple provides
access to free educational
content for schools with iTunes
U. Register and install the free iTunes
software for Mac or PC and begin
browsing the K–12 categorized collections of content divided
for use in
elementary, middle and high school classrooms. Watch the
video for an
introduction that explains how the collection of digital
lessons can impact
your curriculum.
Web: http://www.apple.com/education/mobile-learning/ |
Introduce multimedia software to elementary and middle
school students
using Kerpoof,
a free,
full-featured online multimedia authoring
suite.
Students can create original artwork, animated movies,
greeting cards and
stories. As they complete their creative tasks, students
earn Koins, which
they can spend at the KerPoof Store for new interactive art
tools and special
avatars. The Rock Band tool enables students to create
original music
compositions with animations. The free teacher
account allows access to
collaborative features such as chat and message boards and
the ability to
monitor and moderate student participation. The For Teachers
area has
lesson plans and ideas for using Kerpoof
Scholastic in
the classroom.
Web: http://www.kerpoof.com/ |
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PracticePlanet provides
online test practice based on your state’s testing
standards. The assessments and instructional games provide
immediate
feedback on all questions. Also available are summary
reports and data
aggregation for pre- and posttests with graphic depiction of
results. Print
the free Tips
for Effective Test Taking with recommendations for before
and
during the test.
Web: http://www.practiceplanet.com/ |
SlideRocket is
a free tool
that makes it possible to create, manage and
deliver presentations online. Users can import PowerPoint
files, access
presentations from anywhere, securely share files with
colleagues, as well as
organize a presentation library and share it on the Web. The
basic service is
free.
Web: http://www.sliderocket.com/ |
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Download Microsoft’s free Windows
Movie Maker 2 and
create, edit
and share video from your PC. Use drag-and-drop tools to
build your
movie, delete bad shots, add cool effects and transitions,
and share your
movie via the Web, email or CD. The software tool requires
Windows XP.
Web: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/
moviemaker2.mspx
Plus: A
collection of video extras is available free from Microsoft.
The
Windows Movie Maker 2 Creativity Fun Pack includes
video titles, music
and sound effects. Download the full pack or select a
partial pack.
Web: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/
mmcreate.mspx |
Type or cut and paste a group of words into the Wordle tool
and get
an instant image of the words based on frequency of word
use. The word
cloud, or picture, creates a collage of
all the words in the text, with those
words used more frequently given a larger font and more
prominent
location in the image. The word cloud can be printed or
saved to the
Wordle gallery to share with others.
Web: http://www.wordle.net/ |
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Virtual Labs &
Simulations |
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Elluminate vRoom is
a free distance-learning
tool that lets up to three
students (or teachers) videoconference to do real-time
collaboration.
Registered users get two-way VoIP, an interactive
whiteboard, application
sharing, file transfer, live Web cam and virtual office
hours.
Web: http://www.elluminate.com/vroom/ |
ExploreLearning’s Gizmos includes
more than 400 easy-to-use
simulations for students to use in exploring hundreds of
math and science
topics. Each Gizmo has a step-by-step, inquiry-based lesson
for using the
simulation. Teachers can customize the lessons, get
correlations to standards
and textbooks, and get immediate results through the
assessment and
reporting features. There is also an Elementary
Math & Science Gizmos
just for grades 3–5.
Web: http://www.explorelearning.com/ |
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LEGO Digital Designer is
a free LEGO
program that lets you build with
LEGO bricks on your computer. Download the program for
Windows PC
or Mac OS X and watch one of the new tutorial movies to get
started.
Starter Model allows
the user to add to an existing model. Free
Build
allows the user to create a model from scratch. Recent
Models displays the
user’s latest creations. Educators can search the Activity
Bank by age group,
category and product for free activities to use for hands-on
learning.
Web: http://ldd.lego.com/ |
No need to wait for a night sky to view the stars when you
can
download Stellarium,
a free planetarium for
your Mac or PC. This free
open source simulation shows a realistic 3-D sky with
sunrise and sunset.
Features include illustrations of the constellations and
600,000 stars, as well
as a zoom, time control and extensive keyboard control. Just
type in your
coordinates and begin stargazing.
Web: http://www.stellarium.org/ |
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Middle and high school students will love Tox
Town, a free interactive
problem-solving simulation from
the National
Library of Medicine. They
will discover the environmental health concerns and toxic
chemicals found
in everyday life while making decisions in Tox Town. Each
interactive
graphic neighborhood (city, farm, town, border and port)
lets the user
explore the environmental health risks associated with that
location.
Teacher resources include classroom activities, interactive
student activities
and a PowerPoint presentation to introduce Tox Town.
Web: http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/ |
It no longer requires a science grant to provide high school
students with
a scanning
electron microscope. Now all students can have free access
with
the use of the NASA
Virtual Lab. Users can zoom and focus into a
variety
of built-in microscopic samples. Instructional materials
include a video
demo of how the scanning electron microscope works and
movies of the
microscope in action.
Web: http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/vlab/ |
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It’s easy to follow safety rules with Virtual
Experiments from
the
University of Oxford. LiveChem is
an interactive chemistry
experiment lab
in which users choose items to mix and a video displays the
reaction. It’s as
simple as clicking on a salt and then adding a reagent to
get a reaction.
Web: http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/
vrchemistry/labintro/newdefault.html |
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