Available free software

We have compiled a list of software and resources that are already available on your computer or that can be downloaded free of charge, along with explanations about their potential uses in the classroom or beyond.

  • Animation PLLBM, ACD, APA, FA, GC, 3D

    Blender

    Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software product used for creating animated films, visual effects, interactive 3D applications or video games. Blender’s features include 3D modelling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging and skinning, fluid and smoke simulation, particle simulation, animating, match moving, camera tracking, rendering, video editing and compositing. It also features a built-in game engine, a system designed for the creation and development of video games. Here is a showcase of works developed using Blender.

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

    Synfig Studio

    Synfig Studio is a free and open-source 2D animation software, designed as powerful industrial-strength solution for creating film-quality animation using a vector and bitmap artwork. It eliminates the need to create animation frame-by frame, allowing you to produce 2D animation of a higher quality with fewer people and resources.

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

  • Audio editing PLLBM, ACD, APA, FA, GC, 3D

    Audacity

    The open-source audio editor Audacity impresses with a clean interface and excellent features. Audacity supports uncompressed audio files such as WAV and AIFF in addition to OGG and MP3 files. A full complement of basic effects such as reverb, delay, and compression are included and will be a fantastic alternative to the many pay for audio editing packages on the market.

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

  • Illustration PLLBM, ACD, APA, FA, GC, 3D

    Inkscape

    An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It also aims to maintain a thriving user and developer community by using open, community-oriented development with plenty of tutorials available on their website.

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

  • Photography PLLBM, ACD, APA, FA, GC, 3D

    GNU Image Manipulation Program (Gimp)

    Ignore the name- this is an excellent open source image retouching and editing package that lets you free-form draw, resize, crop, convert between different image formats, and carry out more specialised tasks. A good alternative if your school can’t afford industry standard Photoshop / Adobe Creative Suite. Take note that animated images such as GIF and MPEG files can be created using an animation plugin. For a version that looks and feels more like Photoshop click here, for the original use the link below.

    Available for Mac & PC

     

  • 3D PLLBM, ACD, APA, FA, GC, 3D

    Blender

    Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software product used for creating animated films, visual effects, interactive 3D applications or video games. Blender’s features include 3D modelling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging and skinning, fluid and smoke simulation, particle simulation, animating, match moving, camera tracking, rendering, video editing and compositing. It also features a built-in game engine, a system designed for the creation and development of video games. Here is a showcase of works developed using Blender.

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

    SketchUp

    A free powerful modeling, presentation, and file exchange tool that lets you visualise in 3D. For a showcase of the best SketchUp projects from around the globe, click here.

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

  • UtilityPLLBM, ACD, APA, FA, TD, GC, 3D

    Chrome

    Google’s browser comes with the option of a wealth of additions that can enhance your internet experience, not just in terms of browsing but also some nifty free add-ons and plugins, or let’s call them tools, some even aimed directly at teachers, such as GoAnimate for Schools. Aside from that you can download screen capture tools, and all sorts of handy utilities, such a QR code generator, dictionaries – the web’s your oyster!

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

    DVD Styler

    DVDStyler is a free Open Source Software DVD authoring application for the creation of DVDs. It allows not only burning of video files on DVD that can be played practically on any standalone DVD player, but also creation of individually designed DVD menus.

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

    Google Apps

    If your school can’t afford expensive intranets, shared calendars, documents and tools, it’s worth exploring Google’s Apps for Education which offer a free (and ad-free) set of customizable tools that enable faculty, staff and students to work together and learn more effectively.

    Available for Mac & PC

     

    Jing

    Select any window or region that you would like to record, and Jing will capture everything that happens in that area. From simple mouse movements to a fully narrated tutorial, Jing records everything you see, and do. And then lets you share your videos (limited to 5 minutes) with anyone.

    Available for Mac & PC

     

    Open Office

    OpenOffice.org the product is a multi-platform office productivity suite. It includes the key desktop applications, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program, with a user interface and feature set similar to other office suites. Sophisticated and flexible, OpenOffice.org also works transparently with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office.

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

    Mozilla Firefox

    If you want an open source alternative to Explorer or Chrome, why not give Firefox a go? Just like Chrome this browser comes with the option of adding functionality that will make cloud computing accessible

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

  • Video PLLBM, ACD, APA, FA, TD, GC, 3D

    Apple iMovie

    If you use a Mac it will have this software pre-installed. Like Windows Moviemaker it is a video editing programme that can be used for stop motion animation as well as simple video and audio editing. Recent versions feature an upload function so you can watch your school videos on Youtube or Vimeo.

    Available for Mac only

     

    Celtx

    An incredibly versatile and comprehensive open source software package originally designed for people who work in the Film, TV, Theatre, and New Media industries. It combines scriptwriting software, a storyboard creator as well as production tools such as online project collaboration. Not everything might be applicable to you but it’s worth downloading just for the storyboard functions. If you download directly from the developers you will have to sign up for an account before downloading. You can download it without having to register here: Mac  or for PC 

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

    Mpg Streamclip

    MPEG Streamclip is a powerful free video converter, player, editor for Mac and Windows. As well as playing a range of movie files, it can convert MPEG files for DVD authoring; it can encode movies to many formats, including iPod; it can cut, trim and join movies. MPEG Streamclip can also download videos from YouTube and Google by entering the page URL, handy if you wanted to show educational content that might not be readily available in school.

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux with WINE

     

    VLC

    A simple, fast and powerful open source media player that plays most video codecs, without the need to download further plugins. It is small in size, so could be included on a disc when burning final projects to ensure the content can definitely be played by the viewer. VLC can also be used to play DVD and stream online video, and depending on which version, it is possible to create screen capture videos for tutorials. We rate this as a great alternative to Apple’s Quicktime Player.

    Available for Mac & PC & Linux

     

    Windows Moviemaker

    If you have access to a PC it will come with this software pre-installed. It is a basic editing programme that can be used for stop motion animation as well as simple video and audio editing.

    Available for PC only

  • Free Resources PLLBM, ACD, APA, FA, TD, GC, 3D

    C4lpt

    The Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies  is one of the world’s most visited learning sites on the Web. Here are their top 100 tools for learning.

    c4lpt.co.uk/top-100-tools-for-learning-2011

     

    Osalt.com

    A guide to the best open source software.

    osalt.com

     

    Psdtuts+

    Psdtuts+ is a blog/Photoshop site made to house and showcase some of the best Photoshop tutorials around. Digital Art for Beginners was developed by Adobe certified designer Martin Perhiniak

    psd.tutsplus.com/sessions/digital-art-for-beginners/

     

    Sourceforge

    A website that acts as a repository for over 100,000 open source projects

    sourceforge.net