Free Software to Download

Google Earth	Paint	Photo Editing	Office Packages
Control and Modelling	Science	Maths	Early Years
Music / Audio	Animation	Typing Software
Free Document Viewers

Geography

Google Earth
earth.google.com
A fantastic program which uses satellite imagery and maps to let you zoom in on any location in the world. The programme also utilises the Google search facility to help you find specific places such as hotels and schools, and a layer of road names can be added by simply ticking a box.

For educational resources to install after you have downloaded the free version of Google Earth, click here.

Ideas for using Google Earth in Geography lessons

Paint

paint.NET
www.getpaint.net
Helen Smith strongly recommend paint.NET as a free alternative to PaintShop and a huge improvement on Windows Paint (which it has been designed, as an academic project overseen by Microsoft, to replace).

Layering and advanced effects are available, yet it is simple enough for Key Stage 2 pupils to use, for example to add effects to photos. I particularly like the semi-transparent tools which activate when you hover over them.

Drawing for Children
www.cs.uu.nl/people/markov/kids/
An excellent free drawing and painting application with easy and intuitive interface.

Tux Paint
www.newbreedsoftware.com/tuxpaint/

Photo Editing

Irfanview
www.irfanview.com
IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial & educational use) graphic viewer. Use for producing slide shows, contact prints, viewing and converting many file types. The most common image manipulations are VERY easy. To resize, it's just "Image, Resize/Resample". Indicate the new size (in pixels, centimeters or inches) and then "OK".

Office Packages

	Open Office www.openoffice.org/ A free alternative to MS Office. It will open nearly all Office documents and also allows you to create pdf's (portable document files)
	Photostory www.microsoft.com Create a video slide show of a series of photos and music/ narration (similar to MovieMaker but for photos)
	MS Producer www.microsoft.com Microsoft Producer is an add-on tool for MS Office PowerPoint 2003. It enables you to link a video sequence with powerpoint slides to create dynamic and rich-media presentation.

Contol and Modelling

	MSWLogo www.softronix.com/logo.html A free version of Logo suitable for KS2+ Support files from LGfL See what one school has been creating with this free software. Click Here
	PIXIE Simulator www.swallow.co.uk/download/pixdown.htm PIXIE simulator allows children to do some simple PIXIE activities on the computer screen instead of on the table top. The simulator has all the PIXIE buttons plus extra buttons for loading and saving programs, setting a target to aim at and printing the program out.
	Scratch http://scratch.mit.edu/ Aprogramming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web. Have a look the following video on the BBC site introducing this new online software: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6647011.stm Scratch is developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, with financial support from the National Science Foundation, Intel Foundation, and MIT Media Lab research consortia. (It comes with help sheets. Click on help once the programme is loaded or visit the help section online http://llk.media.mit.edu/projects/scratch/wanthelp/) Worksheets
	Blockcad web.telia.com/~u16122508/proglego.htm 3D fun drawing program uses Lego like blocks. Build Lego on your computer! Freeware written by a Swedish programmer, Anders Isaksson. .

Science

	Funny Bones http://www.littlebitsmultimedia.com/ Have fun learning about the animal skeletal systems. 9 different skeletal systems in all. Colour coded bones ...children will quickly learn the similarities and patterns found in all vertebrate skeletal systems.
	Crocodile Clips www.crocodile-clips.com/s3_4.htm An excellent free electrical circuit simulation download. Can also be used to support QCA ICT schemes of work Unit 3D (Exploring simulations)

Maths

	Tux Math Scrabble www.asymptopia.org/ Tux Math Scrabble is a free maths game for kids that is similar to the board game Scrabble, but uses numbers instead of letters. You compete against the animated penguin Tux.
	Free Maths Software http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/ufa10/download.htm Birmingham City Council Fractions and times tables downloadable activities
	Free Coundown Software www.csfsoftware.co.uk/Count_info.htm The game emulates the UK Chanel 4 Countdown (TV show) numbers game whereby you can choose 6 numbers to be used by the contestants to make the number that is randomly generated by the program.

Early Years / Key Stage 1

Sebran
www.wartoft.nu/software/sebran/
A suite of numeracy and literacy programs. Includes Hangman, Memory, and Raindrops and maths with addition, subtraction, and multiplication.

Music / Audio

	Audacity Useful for recording sounds and editing sound recordings. You can create MP3 files - useful for recording performances, oral work, narration etc Plugins are available.
	Music Games www.inclusive.co.uk/downloads/downloads.shtml A collection of early learning musical activities, ideal for Key Stage 1.

Animation Software

Pivot Stickfigure Animator
www.snapfiles.com/get/stickfigure.html
Pivot makes it easy to create stick-figure animations. You can build your own stick figures and load your own backgrounds. The animations can be saved as animated gifs to be used on web pages.

See some Kent examples of animations created with Pivot.

Instructions on how to use Pivot Stick Animator
(Right click and select 'Save target As')

Scratch
http://scratch.mit.edu/
Aprogramming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web.

Worksheets

Anim8or
www.anim8or.com
Anim8or is a 3D modeling and character animation program.

Free Document Viewers

Flash Plugin
Many Games on the internet require Flash to be installed.

Tele View
Enables you to view Textease Files
Download it here

Adobe Acrobat Reader
http://www.adobe.com/
This program is required if you wish to view Portable document Format files. PDF (Portable Document Format) files are commonly used to distribute documents via the internet.

PDF995
http://www.pdf995.com/
Enable users to create their own PDF files from any software with support for a printer.

Microsoft Office Converters and Viewers
http://www.microsoft.com/office/000/viewers.asp
These viewers to enable you to read and share Microsoft Office files with people who have versions of Office programs different from your own, or even with people who don't have Office at all.
(e.g.; Word, Excel, PowerPoint...)

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