Open Source & Web Based Alternatives to Desktop Apps: High Quality, Free Classrooms Software Open Source defined: A program in which the source code is available to the general public for use and/or modification from its original design free of charge.
Web Based AlternativesGoogle Apps Education Edition is free for educational institutions. In
addition, there is an add-on security and compliance software that can be
purchased at a 66% educational discount. Google Apps Education Edition is:
Top reason for using Google Apps: 1. Students will love you for it
Schools tells us that when they ask their students what email they'd prefer, they overwhelmingly say Gmail. "Our students approached us about a year ago, saying that we needed to improve our email and collaboration services. We actually had our student government tell us, 'we want you to implement Google Apps.'" - Wendy Woodward, Director of Technology Support Services, Northwestern University
You can share a Buzzword document with as many other people as
you want. You and other Buzzword users can have the document open
at the same time—you can see their changes, and they can see your
changes. You can also share a document for reading only, or for
commenting only; others can place comments alongside the document
but can't change it. Bubbl.us is a simple and free web application that lets you brainstorm online. With bubbl.us users can create colorful mind maps online, share and work with friends, embed a mind map in a blog or website, email and print a mind map, save your mind map as an image. Bubbl.us maintains a blog to keep users up to date on modifications and to solicit feedback. Web2Tool Resource ListOpen Source AlternativesScratch is a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web. Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the process of design. Scratch is available free of charge, for both mac and pc. Visit the Educators page for more information about Scratch in education. Alice is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to
create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game,
or a video to share on the web. Alice is a teaching tool for
introductory computing. It uses 3D graphics and a drag-and-drop
interface to facilitate a more engaging, less frustrating first
programming experience. Tux Paint is a free, open source 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. Kids are presented with a blank canvas and a variety of drawing tools to help them be creative. Available for mac and pc. Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally created by Linus Torvalds
with the assistance of developers around the world. Developed under the
GNU General Public License , the source code for
Linux is freely available to everyone. Many open source softwares are linux based. Linux is a competing operating system to Windows for the PC and the Mac OS.
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