Mrs. Mecomber’s Scrapbook » Blog Archive » Great Educational Freeware

Mrs. Mecomber’s Scrapbook » Blog Archive » Great Educational Freeware 

Great Educational Freeware

educational programs, free stuff August 17th, 2008

It’s back to school time! Software has made incredible leaps and bounds since my daughter began her elementary classes with Windows 3.1 and DOS. Wow, that seems like eons ago! Here are some good free software I’ve compiled for your scholars of all ages. Be aware that I have not tried all these programs, but they are all freeware at this writing, and they all come with good reviews from sources like C|Net.

Graph
This is sophisticated but simple software that enables you to build coordinate graphs for mathematics.

Zotero
A Firefox add-on that helps you collect, manage and cite resources and references from the Internet. It looks like a great program for any kind of writing assignment. I’m going to have my daughter try it out.

Owl & Mouse Games and Maps
Some of the best freeware educational programs are here. They are still favorites with my older kids- I wrote a detailed review of these free programs here.

Hulu TV
This is a website with loads of documentary and educational videos, all free of you have the Internet speed to run them. There are also “regular” TV shows, so you may need to monitor Johnny to make sure he’s not watching Gilligan’s Island.

iCue
Another free video website, done by NBC. It’s a compilation of old and new NBC news videos and specials.

Flashcards Friends
A nice website with loads of virtual flashcards. It’s has a lot for children, but it also has a lot of educational stuff that interests adults, too.

Merriam Webster’s Concise Dictionary
Yep, the whole dictionary, downloaded in a searchable program. I used it for a while until I got a small search bar add-on for Firefox. But this is very handy for those times you are not online and if you don’t use Firefox browser.

I’ll keep the list short for now. I’m on the prowl for more stuff, so stay tuned for further posts on this topic!

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