What are flash drives?
Flash drives are a relatively new technology and they are extremely convenient to have around. Flash drives are small devices that plug into your computer’s USB port so you can store data on them. The data is stored in a special kind of memory called “flash memory”, hence the name. They are [...]
Filed under: Hardware | Tagged: computer lab, data storage, educator, flash drive, flash memory, jump drive, resources, teacher, thumb drive | Leave a Comment »
One of the best open source programs that I have found is Blender. It is a 3D Modeling and Animation Studio comparable to Maya and 3DS Max. These programs cost thousands of dollars, but Blender can be used for free. Some of its features include modeling, rigging, animating, UV textures, lighting, particle [...]
Filed under: 3D animation | Tagged: 3D animation, 3ds max, Blender, classroom, education, maya, open-source, resources for computer lab, teacher | Leave a Comment »
There are two main types of computer graphics in use today. They are vector and raster graphics. The difference is the way the graphics are made by the computer. Vector graphics are generated by the computer using mathematical equations. This allows vector graphics to be sharp at any resolution. Raster graphics are made by using [...]
Filed under: Image Editors | Tagged: computer lab, educator, inkscape, open-source, pixels, raster graphics, resources, teacher, vector graphics | Leave a Comment »
Adobe Photoshop is arguably the most popular image editing software in the world. It is a very mature and complete product. However, the down-side to the software is its price tag of around $500. This is out of the reach of most schools. I use an alternative in my computer lab called GNU Image Manipulation [...]
Filed under: Image Editors | Tagged: classroom, digital photos, educator, free, GIMP, image editing, open-source, photoshop, resources, teacher, teachers | Leave a Comment »
Sun Microsystems has a wonderful open-source office suite of programs that anyone can use for free. It is called OpenOffice. It is release under the GPL license and it is available for download at www.openoffice.org. This package includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, drawing program and database. It can also read and write Microsoft [...]
Filed under: Office Suite | Tagged: alternative, database, educator, free, microsoft office, microsoft office price, Office Suite, open-source, presentation software, resources, spreadsheet, Sun Microsystems, teacher, teachers, word processor | Leave a Comment »
What is an Open Source Educator? An educator who uses open source software and “open source ideas” in the classroom. What is open source software? Basically, it is software that has been donated by programmers from around the world to be used free of charge. “Open Source” means that the source code of the program [...]
Filed under: Introduction | Tagged: classroom, education, ideas, open source education, open source educator, open source ideas, open source software, teachers, teaching | Leave a Comment »
