GeoGebra Free mathematics software for learning and teaching

GeoGebra is free and multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for all levels of education that joins geometry, algebra, tables, graphing, statistics and calculus in one easy-to-use package. It has received several educational software awards in Europe and the USA.

Quick Facts

• Graphics, algebra and tables are connected and fully dynamic
• Easy-to-use interface, yet many powerful features
• Authoring tool to create interactive learning materials as web pages
• Available in many languages for our millions of users around the world
• Free and open source software

1. Get started with the Geogebra Introductory Materials
2. Ask questions in the Geogebra User Forum
3. Check out our ready-to-use Geogebra Learning Materials

GeoGebraWiki

is a free pool of teaching materials for the dynamic mathematics software

GeoGebra

. Everyone can

contribute and upload materials

! All contents of this pool may be used

free of charge

.

Microsoft Maths 4.0 - Now Totally Free for Teachers and Students

Microsoft Mathematics provides a set of mathematical tools that help students get school work done quickly and easily. With Microsoft Mathematics, students can learn to solve equations step-by-step while gaining a better understanding of fundamental concepts in pre-algebra, algebra, trigonometry, physics, chemistry, and calculus.

Microsoft Mathematics includes a full-featured graphing calculator that’s designed to work just like a handheld calculator. Additional math tools help you evaluate triangles, convert from one system of units to another, and solve systems of equations.

For the first time this is now totally free and available here

40 Killer open source apps to install on your school network

We are constantly updating our standard windows image that we install on all 362 of our school computers to give our students and staff the latest and greatest flexibility and creative opportunities.  At last count we had over 50 applications (most of them open source) but I always keep an eye out for new and useful apps.  Today I came across this list of 40 apps that you can pick and choose from to suit the needs of your school.  They cover all areas from browsers, office, media, file transfer, imaging, burning and backup, social networking, maintenance and utils and even games.  Enjoy.

Top Language learning Apps on the iPhone & iPad

learning a new language can be tough at the best of times but there are a few language translation apps on the market that will make your life a little easier for under $10.  Here are the the top 3 we found.

The Oxford Translator Travel Pro offers Brazilian Portuguese, French, Italian, Mandarin and Spanish. and has a heap of simple conversational phrases to begin with and lets you expand from there.  Whilst there are 5 languages it can grate after while due to the way it only  speaks single words sounding very broken.

It will set you back ten bucks per language and has all the necessary features to get you around a foreign country and the curriculum software to teach you plenty before you arrive if need be.

 Oxford Translator on iTunes Store

The Cool Gorilla Talking Phrase book is a cheaper application at One Dollar than its Oxford equivalent but still has plenty of features.  It includes Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish. and is very easy to navigate thatnks to its friendly user interface.  The translators are animated and well recorded and have a ton of suggested phrases for any occasion.

Coolgorilla and iTunes Store

If you want a freebie then World Nomads is probably your best learning opportunity.  It has tons of languages including Arabic, Cambodian, Cantonese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Lao, Malay, Mandarin, Nepali, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

It doesnt have the brillaint organisation and interface of the other two discussed but is clearly the best value for money if you are just a passing tourist who does not want to come across as an alien from another planet.

World Nomads and iTunes Store

We would love to hear of any great language learning apps / translation tools that you come across.

Great basic Photoshop alternative for Students in Splashup.com

Splashup is a great little photo / image editor that works straight from the browser.  It is really user friendly and will easily be handled by students and novices alike but it also has some depth to it.  For example photoshop users will be impressed to see that you can use layers which puts it above many basic / free image editors that are available out there.

It links into all the major web based photo sharing services such as Picasa, Flickr Etc and has a range of dynamic brushes and filters.

All in all this is definitely one of the best free Photoshop alternatives for beginners I have seen and would definitely solve most beginners problems easily right from the browser. This program would be great for students earning their graphic design degree online too. Check it out here.

Lookah - The Best Software Tutorials on the Web

If you want to learn how to use a new Web 2.0 tool or a new software program, sometimes there’s just no substitute for being shown what to do. However, while instructional videos can be great, it can be hard to know which one to choose. Who wants to wade through 10 minutes of poor quality video only to find it’s not what you wanted anyway! A search on popular video sharing sites won’t necessarily find what you’re looking for either … and certainly won’t tell you what’s good and what’s not. Enter Lookah.tv.

Lookah have done the hard work for you by collecting the best instructional videos about using popular software programs and Web 2.0 tools, and brought them together in one place. Every video has been watched and vetted by the site’s reviewers to ensure the quality and content make it one worth watching.

How can I use this in the classroom?  Lookah is a great tool for teachers who are not the worlds greatest experts on a particular piece of software.  It has specific tasks for each application on the site and each video is short sharp and to the point.  I would also recommend this for professional development for teachers also.

3 Must have educational Software titles worth Purchasing.

With all of the great freeware available today you could set up a useful software image on your school network for students and teachers to use without spending a dollar. After recently updating our software licensing at my school we rationalised the thousands of dollars being spent on software and looked at the alternatives in the freeware market and saved a few dollars without compromising quality.  A great site for finding freeware that compares with retail software is alternative.to

However; As Mick Jagger says "You can't always get what you want" and sometimes you will have to spend a few dollars to get what you need.  Below are three products I use regularly with teachers and students which are clear winners in their field.  Best of all they are all at the cheaper end of the pricing scale.

1:  Kahootz:  Kahootz is a brilliant 3D animation tool that allows students to create either reality or fantasy based environments.  It has thousands of highly detailed and multi animated worlds and objects that are an absolute snap to manipulate and animate.  you can add text, voice, music, photos and I have used this with students from prep to year 9 with great success.  Kahootz will not be a huge surprise to our Australian audience but to anyone overseas who may have missed it be sure to get your hands on it.  It is very cheap and is a brilliant tool for students to express their creativity and link to all areas of the curriculum.

Check out the video below to see what Kahootz can do.

2:  Inspiration

There are a multitude of mindmapping software options available.  But for mine Inspiration is the one to beat.  For visual mapping, outlining, writing and making presentations. Brainstorm ideas, structure your thoughts and visually communicate concepts to strengthen understanding with the Diagram and Map Views. To take notes, organize information, and structure writing for plans, papers and reports, use the integrated Outline View to focus on main and supporting ideas and to clarify thinking in written form. You can also  transform your diagrams, mind maps and outlines into polished presentations that communicate ideas clearly and demonstrate understanding and knowledge.  The great thing is when you purchase Inspiration as a school you will generally get Kidspiration and Inspire Data which are also great products for next to nothing as a package deal.

A video below shows you what Inspiration can do.

3:  Microsoft Office

I hate to be blatantly obvious here, but this has got to be the number  one productivity package available to anyone who owns a computer.  You can do SO Much with it.  Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher are the cornerstone of education and business.  Yes Open Office and Google Docs' and Mac have products that may do some part of Office's functions just as well but nothing comes remotely close to it as a complete package.  The great news is that MS Office 2010 is even better than it's predecessor I have been using it daily for three months now and even better news is that most educational departments don't even have to pay for it.

Below is a teaser of what you can do in Office 2010

What software would you part with your hard earned cash for, and why?

CD Burner XP - The Best CD - DVD Burning Software.

Quite simple this is a totally free DVD, CD burner, authoring software that is as good - if not a little better than any paid product I have used such as Nero or Sonic Solutions.  It is a must install on all PC's I own these days and has been for over a year now.  Very simple to use but loads of features for the advanced users.  Get it here.