Presented by
Richard “Andy” Jeter
FETC 2010
Thursday, 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 moneysaving 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
$100-200
Open-Office – All the features of
MS Office.
$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
Microsoft Office (Word,
Excel, Powerpoint,
Publisher, etc.)
Adobe Photoshop
classroom
license
iTalc – Doesn’t come with hardware
accessory but works effectively.
GIMP – graphics editing software
Story Telling Alice – animation /
programming software
Pivot Stickfigure Animator – stick figure
animation software
Art Rage – painting software
Sqirlz Morph – morphing software
Sqirlz Reflections – image effects
PhotoStory – photo slideshow software
Picasa – graphics/photo collection
organization and editing
Movie Maker – video editing software
Audacity – sound editing software
Scratch – video game design /
programming software
Terragen – photo-realistic landscape
generator
SketchUp – 3-D modeling software
Google Earth – virtual globe software
3-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 webbased 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 technogadgets 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