Free software tools which may be downloaded, including OpenOffice which opens/creates Microsoft Office documents and pdf files. These are perfect for use by teachers and students in K-12 settings where resources are limited.

1. Technology 101: Free Tools
Compiled by: Debbie Clingingsmith
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Email: debbie@clingingsmith.org
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Last revised: 3/16/2007
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Description: The following slides contain
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information about very useful, yet free,
software tools available for PCs.
Download slides: tapateacher.blogspot.com
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

2. Free Tools: Belarc Advisor
Description: Belarc Advisor lists the hardware
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and software installed on your computer. This
is very useful if you are trying to make use of
phone support for your PC.
Download: http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

3. Free Tools: Belarc Advisor
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

4. Free Antivirus Tools: AVG
Description: AVG Free Advisor is a free version of
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AVG antivirus software. Updates to keep protection
and antivirus definitions current are available.
Download:
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http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5
Additional free antivirus programs:
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http://www.free-av.com/
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http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
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http://www.clamwin.com/
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Additional free online virus scan and info:
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http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
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http://www.freebyte.com/antivirus/
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

5. Free Tools: Anti-Spyware
Description: Spybot Search and Destroy,
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Adaware, and AVG Free Advisor detect and
remove spyware, hidden programs which are
installed on you computer. There are weekly
updates to keep the software current.
Adware:
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http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html
AVG Free Advisor:
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http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-spyware-free/lng/us/tpl/v5
Spybot:
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http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

6. Free Tools: Anti-Spyware
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

7. Free Tools: Firewall
Description: Zone Alarm is a software firewall. It
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blocks hackers from your computer. Zone Alarm
also provides alerts when a computer
application tries to connect to the Internet, lets
you designate which applications may connect
to the Internet, and blocks Internet traffic when
your computer is unattended.
Download:
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http://www.download.com/3000-2092-10039884.html
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

8. Free Tools: Open Office
Description: Open Office is a free suite of tools
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comparable to Microsoft Office Pro. Powerpoint,
Word, Access, and Excel documents created in
Microsoft Office may be opened in Open Office,
and visa versa.
Download from: http://www.openoffice.org/
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Titles of included programs: Impress, Writer,
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Draw, Calc, Base, and Math.
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

9. Open Office: Impress
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10. Open Office: Impress
To convert to Powerpoint: Click File-> Save As and choose Powerpoint in the Save
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As Type drop down box.
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

11. Open Office: Write
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12. Open Office: Calc
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13. Open Office: Draw
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14. Free Tools: Google
Description: Google provides free online
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calendars, spreadsheets, and documents.
Requires signing up to create a login.
Calendars may be shared publicly or with
selected individuals. Docs & Spreadsheets
reads Word and Excel files.
Docs & Spreadsheets:
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http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html
Calendar:
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http://www.google.com/intl/en/googlecalendar/tour.
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

15. Free Tools: Mozilla
Description: Mozilla.org provides free
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browser (Firefox), calendaring (Sunbird),
email reader (Thudnerbird). Versions which
run on PDAs are available.
Download from:
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http://www.mozilla.com/products/
Further information: http://www.mozilla.org/
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

16. Free Podcasting Tools: Audacity
Description: Audacity records, edits, and adds
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special effects for audio. May also be used to
record from cassette or CD player. For a
podcast, LAME plug-in must be used to export
soundtracks to an MP3 format.
Download Audacity:
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http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Download LAME:
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http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

17. Free Podcasting Tools: Audacity
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

18. Free Podcasting Tools: Audacity
Description: Audacity records, edits, and adds
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special effects for audio. May also be used to
record from cassette or CD player. For a
podcast, LAME plug-in must be used to export
soundtracks to an MP3 format.
Download Audacity:
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http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Download LAME:
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http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

19. Free Podcasting Sounds
Description: These web sites offer royalty free music
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and sounds.
Partners in Rhyme: free music and sounds
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http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/
Royalty Free Music: free for personal and educational
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use: http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/free.html
Opsound: Artists share their creations:
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http://www.opsound.org/index.php
Odeo lists web sites with free music:
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http://odeo.com/find/free+music
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

20. Free Podcast Hosting: Odeo
Description: Odeo hosts podcasts up to 50
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megabytes free. Paid services available.
Requires signing up to create a login. Once an
MP3 file is uploaded, Odeo provides html code
which may be copied to a blog or web site to
play your podcast.
URL: http://studio.odeo.com/create/home
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Additional free hosting sites:
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http://switchpod.com/
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http://www.podbean.com/index?sourceid=goog_001
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http://www.shockpod.com/
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

21. Free Podcast Hosting: Odeo
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

22. Free Web Logs: Blogger
Description: Blogger provides free web log, or
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blog, hosting. Requires signing up to create a
login. May create links in your blog to a podcast.
Paid services available.
URL: http://www.blogger.com/start
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Additional free hosting sites:
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http://www.blogeasy.com/
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http://www.blogthing.com/
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http://wordpress.com/
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

23. Free Web Logs: Blogger
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

24. Free Instant Messaging:
Spark and Wildfire
Description: Spark is an Open Source cross-
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platform instant messaging server optimized for
businesses and organizations. Spark is the
client. Use these tools to set up private chat
rooms and messaging on an Intranet.
URL: http://www.jivesoftware.org/index.jsp
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

25. Free Remote Admin: Log Me In
Description: Log Me In Free software allows
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remote control of a PC through a web browser.
This is comparable to Go To My PC. Use to
access your home computer while travelling.
URL: http://www.logmein.com/
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

26. Free File Sharing: FolderShare
Description: FolderShare by Microsoft is a free
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folder sharing service. Download a client to your
PC and create a login.
URL:
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https://www.foldershare.com/info/aboutFoldershare
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

27. Free File Sharing: FolderShare
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

28. Free File Storage: MediaMax
Description: MediaMax is a free file storage
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service, up to 25 GB. Synchronize from a PC
and store files online.
URL: http://www.mediamax.com/index.aspx
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

29. Free Music Notation: Finale Notepad
Description: Notepad by Finale is a free music
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notation program for composing, editing, and
arranging.
URL: http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad/
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

30. Free Music Notation: Finale Notepad
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

31. Free Web Authoring: Nvu
Description: Nvu (pronounced n-view) is a free
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web authoring program. It is available for
Windows, OSX, and Linux.
URL: http://www.nvu.com/index.php
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

32. Free File Storage: MediaMax
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

33. Free Web Authoring: Nvu
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

34. Free Photo Editor: Picasa
Description: Picasa by Google is a program for
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organizing, editing, and sharing photos. Special
effects allow addition of captions, pan, zoom, tilt,
sepia, cropping, and others.
URL: http://picasa.google.com/index.html
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Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.

35. Free Photo Editor: Picasa
Copyright © 2006, 2007 Technia. All rights reserved.