Admin Free-Bee

Tired of spending too much on a school administration program that could better be used for instruction, supplies or maintenance? OpenAdmin for Schools 3.00a does much of what expensive software does to organize a school, but does it for free. That’s right, gratis, zip, nothing. The software runs on Linux computers and can handle everything from a single school to up to about 15 individual institutions in a district. In addition to attendance, grades and discipline, the program handles student demographics and special needs students. At the moment a crew of volunteer developers is working on adding the scheduling of parent-teacher conferences and a Spanish version of the application.

Better than the Bell

Tired of hearing the same old school bell over and over again? Despite its name, SchoolBell software can play a variety of tones or music over a school’s public address system. For instance, a school might play the reveille bugle call at the start of the day or any audio file as long as it is in the .mps. .wav or .mid format. The program can handle up to five different schedules with different sounds for different events. Free to try out, SchoolBell can be licensed for $30.

Go Ahead Have a Cow

What better way to teach the details of math than with the Springfield’s favorite dysfunctional family, the Simpsons? The simpsonsmath site site may not be pretty but it has loads of lesson ideas that range from Bart and calculus to Homer considering the implications of Fermat’s Last Theorem. The site’s lessons are correlated to show episodes and there are practice exercises and worksheets.

China and the World

Looking for some perspective on China in the modern world for a middle- or high school social studies class? Starting tomorrow, the BBC World Service will start broadcasting “China Vistas,” a series by acclaimed author Jonathan Spence. The first program is called “Confucian Ways” and deals with how the ancient Chinese philosopher was recycled by modern-day Communist leaders. Each of the programs has a transcript, background information and is available as a podcast.

Virus Killer, For Free

Does paying money for antivirus software siphon money from places that it could be better spent on? AVG Technologies has another way to keep PCs clean and healthy without it costing anything. The company’s Anti-Virus Free program can protect computers but costs nothing up front and doesn’t have onerous annual subscription fees. The best part is that it can be set up to automatically update itself with the latest virus signatures when the computer starts up, so it’s always protected.   

Sneak Peek at Next Generation Adobe Software

Want a take a look and try out the next generation of Adobe’s creative tools look and act like? Well, the company just posted free downloads of CS4, which includes beta versions of Dreamweaver (Web design), Fireworks (image editing) and Soundbooth (audio editing). The trials last for 48 hours, but will remain usable for those who have active licenses for the current version of the programs. Unfortunately, you’ll need to download them separately at: Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Soundbooth. Each download explains what's new in these versions.

Mars Attacks!

Your classroom, that is. At NASA’s Phoenix Web site, you can not only get a slew of information about the red planet, but the latest photos from the Phoenix Mars Lander. The probe recently landed and has started to beam back a slew of images from the northern polar region. Within a few weeks, it should start relaying the results of its search for water on the Martian landscape, a custom-made lesson plan on life as we know it. With this site, kids can check out the clock that started when the space ship landed, watch videos of the mission or take an in-depth look at the ship.

Freeing Musical Software

If paying for music software doesn’t fit into your school’s budget, the HitSquad Web site can help with an excellent variety of shareware, freeware or demo software for PC, Mac and Linux computers. There’s everything from programs for teaching music to kindergarten students to a variety of digital metronomes. The best part is that it’s all free, although you’ll have to put up with ads on the site.

Talking Wikis

It’s no surprise in the K12 2.0 world, wikis are a hot way to go when collaborating with school peers, whether it’s for professional development or sharing projects with students from around the world. Take Mr. Bartels, a high school teacher in NC. He says wikis are a great way to improve communication with parents and share student work. He uses the free Wetpaint wiki tool, but there are plenty of other free wiki tools like PBwiki and WikiSpaces. Mr. Bartels explains why he likes wikis.

Why wikis & education?
With the current generation of students being more technologically savvy than ever before, digital space has become a viable and important tool for educators. Wikis supply digital publication without needing to have knowledge of coding or private server space. In other words, incredibly easily published web space.

It’s hard to explain to a parent why a student got a “B” on an essay when they can’t see the “A” students’ work. Well, now they can and they can see for themselves how students compare. It’s a real eye-opening experience for parents. The conversation then turns into, ‘how can I help my child versus why is he getting this grade.’ That’s huge.

Why Wetpaint wikis?
Creating and editing my Wetpaint classroom pages is just as easy as creating and editing a simple text document on my desktop. Wetpaint allows the user to decide how "open" he or she wants his or her page to be.

Worksheet Central

Who hasn’t gotten into an all-too comfortable groove by using the same tired old worksheets every year. Ben Rimes of the TechSavvy Educator has a different and more creative approach to worksheets that are more accessible and keyed to the lesson. For a segment on local native Americans, he and his class made a series of worksheets with color images and short captions in a circular pattern around the central theme. I really like his matter of fact way of explaining how he made the sheets, which should inspire others to do the same. Sure, they take more time than photocopying the old standards, but it’s worth it when the kids’ eyes light up.

Free Scholastic Webinar on Teacher Retention May 8, 2-3

My partner in blog world, Brian, reminded me of another free resource that we just happen to be giving away at Scholastic. Inspired by the article on teacher retention by Pamela Shorr in our March-April issue, we assembled a group of top experts to tell you how to keep your teachers teaching – and this advice won’t cost you a nickel. Check it out on May 8 from 2-3 p.m. EST. Sponsored by NetOp.
Bottom Line: The webinar will discuss tech-literacy and how to keep the new generation of tech-savvy teachers challenged and satisfied in their jobs. What are effective ways in which these teachers can be encouraged to grow professionally, collaborate, build skills, and advance in their careers through technology? What role should administrators play in hiring and retaining teachers with an eye to this technology?
Details: Registration is free, but you have to do it by May 7!