CD+of+Free+Software

Using Free Software is a great way to develop your tech skills.

The software disk you received contains some of the software we used at camp, along with other free software. The best way to use this software is to copy the Software CD unto the desktop of your computer and install the programs that look like fun.
 * The Free Software Disk**

Here is a summary of what these programs and how to install them.

1. gmaker.exe Double Click on this file to install [|Click here] for more information on Gamemaker (and a newer version than on this disk). The WIKI is the best place to learn more before you install this.

2. iview398.exe Double click to install Learn more about [|Irfanview] - a free image editor that hardly takes any room on your computer. Works great with even older machines.

3. sc11a.exe Double click to install Learn more about this [|Sound Capture program] that you can. We used it to take only the sound from our Photostory movies, and save the sound into mp3 files for audio only podcast.

4. ScratchFun.exe Double click to install Scratch is [|a new programming language] that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web. Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the process of design.

5. SetupCreatorEval.exe [|StageCastCreator] is NOT a free program, but had a free Evaluation Copy which will allow you to make short video games. We have used this in some camps in the past.

6. Picassa double click to install

Another fun program you can download for working with Images is [|Picassa from Google] This program tries to organize ALL your pictures on your hard drive, which I find useful) But some people might prefer not to use this technique, so please check with your parents before installing this program.

7. Photostory - double click to install

One popular piece of software we use at camp is a free Windows download called Photostory. It can turn digital pictures into movies by allowing you to create music, add music, or record narrations. It also has lots of cool effects you can add to your digital pictures to turn them into mini movies. Here's a [|great beginners guide for Windows Photo Story] which you can [|download for free].

Windows Moviemaker is also available for [|free download from Microsoft] if it is not on your computer already. [|This tutorial] is a great way to get started using MovieMaker.

8. OpenCD (press START file with the OPEN CD graphic) It will NOT install anything yet. It will simply bring up an index of programs you can install. You can scroll through the index to view what each of the programs on this CD can do. (I tried clicking on Install from the CD and this did not work). I had to click on the folder called PROGRAMS and find the subfolder of the program I wanted to install the program I want. For more information about OPEN CD and some new program check out the [|OPEN CD website] The programs I mostly use from this website are

[|Audacity] Recording Studio. This is very very powerful and also used by professionals. It's easy to install. The only tricky part is that you must follow [|these special directions] if you want to export to mp3.

[|OPEN OFFICE] an open source office suite (like Microsoft Office) that is free to distribute. It is quite compatible with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and even offers extra features for some of these programs.

I forgot to put this on the disk, but it is also a great program.

Bright children often have lots of great ideas flowing through their incredible brains. This type of software can help children (and adults) organize their ideas when planning a project. Many schools use Inspiration (which is not free). At Tech Savvy Kids we use an open source product called [|CMAP] which you can download for free. Another free concept mapping product is Free Mind. Or you can try using a WEB 2.0 tool (nothing to download) called
 * Concept Mapping software :**