FREEBEE FRIDAY: Making Vids Run Better

Tired of being frustrated by online videos not running smoothly or with synchronized audio? A small piece of software from SpeedBit can help make them look better and reduce the number of breaks for the video to buffer its data. SpeedBit uses technology that increases the efficiency of an online data connection by splitting it up into several independent downloads to make sure that the video is played with fewer interruptions. It’s available for Windows and Macs, and is a freebee, although the premium version sells for $40.

One on One Learning

Sometimes a school is just the start for education for children who need a little extra help and practice to succeed. That’s the idea behind ClubZ, a network of tutors who come to the student’s home to work on math, languages, science, test prep and even getting the youngest students ready for kindergarten. The company has helped 300,000 students in 40 states and the average fee is $40 an hour for the service. Some students can even arrange for free tutoring based on the Supplemental Educational Services provision of the No Child Left Behind act.

FREEBEE FRIDAY: Call Home

Whether it’s a heavy snowstorm, flood or terrorism warning, setting a school up to survive an emergency doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars in equipment and software. MySchoolAlerts is a freebee that can inform parents in the event of a school-wide emergency or shutdown. It can call them, send emails or text messages. Once the system is set up, it invites parents to opt into the system and pick their preferred form of communication. Whenever there’s an emergency (or you need to send out news about the school play or an upcoming football game) just record and type your message and the software will send out thousands of messages a minute. Best of all, it’s free, although they’d appreciate a donation.

FRIDAY FREEBEE: Vernier Workshops

Science and math teachers looking for some new ideas on how to use Vernier’s sensors and probes can attend one of the company’s free workshops that start in early September. The four-hour classes can earn continuing education credits, help with ideas on class lessons and how to integrate data into the chemistry, biology, physics and math classroom. 

Here’s where and when the workshops will be held.

September 9: Tulsa, OK

September 10: Oklahoma City, OK

September 12: Wichita, KS

September 14:  Topeka, KS

September 14: Fort Worth, TX

September 15: Dallas, TX

September 15: Kansas City, MO

September 16: Austin, TX

September 17: San Antonio, TX

September 19: Corpus Christi, TX

September 21: Houston, TX

September 22: Lincoln, NE

September 22: Houston, TX

September 23: Omaha, NE

September 24: Des Moines, IA

September 26: Minneapolis, MN

 

October 1: Indianapolis, IN

October 3: Dayton, OH

October 3: Madison, WI

October 5: Columbus, OH

October 5: Milwaukee, WI

October 6: Chicago, IL

October 7: Cincinnati, OH

October 7: Chicago, IL

October 8: Lexington, KY

October 10: Charleston, WV

October 14: Grand Rapids, MI

October 15: Detroit, MI

October 17: Cleveland, OH

October 24: Pittsburgh, PA

October 24: San Jose, CA

October 26: San Francisco, CA

October 26: Erie, PA

October 27: Sacramento, CA

October 28: Buffalo, NY

October 29: Rochester, NY

 

November 7: Portland, ME

November 9: Portsmouth, NH

November 10: Boston, MA

November 12: Worcester, MA

November 14: Providence, RI  

FRIDAY FREEBEE: Lincoln’s Birthday

If you’re looking to bring Abraham Lincoln’s life into perspective on the 200-th anniversary of his birth, a series of videos, slide shows, essays and original documents at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is enough to build several class lesson plans around. On top of commentary by historians, like James McPherson and Sean Wilentz, there’s a series of podcasts on the 16-th president.

 

FRIDAY FREEBEE: Seek, and Ye Shall Find

What’s worse than sifting through the millions of Web sites with Google or other search engine in front of the class only to forget what you’re looking for or lose your way and have to start over. TigerLogic’s Yolink is a great way to stay on track with Web searches. The best part is that it divides the screen in two panes with the main site on the left and highlighted search hits on the right. Start by typing in your search term in the YoLink toolbar. At any time, you can save the results and share them with the class. It’s a free Internet Explorer add on that’s a 9MB download. The interface is thankfully free of ads at the moment, but the company plans to use them as a way to pay for the software and service in the future.

Making a Good Calculator Better

The Texas Instruments TI-Nspire calculators may be the most advanced graphing calculators for math and science classes, but they’re about to get better with a software upgrade. The free program raises the handhelds to version 1.7, which adds a bunch of abilities. On top of being able to customize when the system goes into battery-saving sleep mode, the latest software has application hints that can help teach how to use the calculators. The systems can now create a variety of statistical graphs, students can view data and plots side by side and they can now work with conical sections. The download is 7.8MB.

FREEBEE FRIDAY: A School's Worth of Curriculum

Tired of the same old same old curriculum you’ve been using for years, but there’s no budget to buy new classroom software or no time to develop your own. Take a look at Free World U, an online school that has an amazing assortment of lessons, from initial math concepts to the principles of economics; there’re even advanced topics for those thinking about going to medical school. Each section, from elementary to high school, has a slew of complete lesson plans that are built around fill-in flash cards, making it perfect for either group or individual work; some topics have dozens of cards. The best part is that Free World U works with just about any computer connected to the Internet, regardless of age or operating system. Along the way, you can browse through the cards the program keeps track of correct answers. All you need to do is register, but if you like and use the program, give them a small (or large) donation, because Free World U is a non-profit.

 

FREEBEE FRIDAY: Class Castle

Why flip through books or show pictures of what medieval castles look like when your class can explore these structures from the inside out by making their own. It won’t be out of granite and oak timbers but the Build A Medieval Castle Web site takes kids through location, materials, shape and how the people lived in these ancient fortresses. As a class, individually or in small groups they can download and print out the castle’s paper parts that are then colored, cut and glued together to create their own citadel. Later, they can have mock battles with paperclips and crumpled up paper.

 

FREEBEE FRIDAY: Buy 7, Get 1 Free

Need a bunch of projectors? What school or district doesn’t? The difference is that Epson is offering educational institutions one of the best deals in the business: for every seven PowerLite 84, 85, 825 and 826W projectors you buy you can get a free-bee. The offer is good through July 15 and the projectors need to be shipped to the same address. Happy shopping.