With the return to school quickly approaching, educational supplies are likely on the minds of many. This article covers my top five favorite free educational downloads, why they made my list and where to get them.
Number One:
Seterra 2.84
Seterra is a wonderful geography quiz program that has 70 different exercises. It boasts a user friendly interface and provides for a challenging experience. With Seterra you can learn about countries and their capitols and flags. Most of Seterra’s quiz types are broken down by regions such as North America and Europe.
Due to the Quiz like format, it is very easy to forget that you are learning and not simply playing a game.
Seterra requires Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, or XP
Number Two:
Basic Facts Worksheet Factory
The Basic facts worksheet factory is a basic math worksheet generator that includes options for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. You can customize and create unlimited arithmetic worksheets at home that are geared toward what ever level of basic math you need, from first grade to the middle school years. The program is easy to use and automatically prints an answer key customized to your worksheet.
The “what you see is what you get” interface allows you to preview your worksheet exactly as it will look when printed. Basic Facts Worksheet Factory is compatible with Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000, XP, and Vista.
Number Three:
Exploring the Sun
Exploring the sun is a fun to use program that includes images from NASA. It is simple and easy to navigate, and covers basic information, two experiments, and a multiple choice test. The actual images make it interesting, and it moves at a pace that prevents boredom. It really is a neat way to study science. Exploring the Sun has minimum requirements of Windows 3.x, Windows 95 and most PowerMacs.
Number Four:
Analytical Eye Typing Tutor
Analytical Eye Typing Tutor was designed for use at Great Sankey High School, and only some time later made it’s way to the public. It is designed to only report on accuracy
And the full series of excercises can be completely customized. It can run on stand alone PC’s or in networks and has been downloaded around 100,000 times. It really is a fabulous typing program that can be used by students of almost any age.
Analytical Eye Technologies web page says “Typing Tutor is available in two different forms, a 16bit version suitable for Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Windows NT 3.51 (currently at v1.5.0), and a 32bit version which is suitable for Microsoft Windows 95/98 and Windows NT4 (and hopefully Windows 2000 although this has not been verified).
Number Five:
Sight Words Buddy 1.0
Geared toward younger students, Sight Words Buddy is a fun and easy way to learn to recognize sight words from the Dolch Word List. Using both visual and auditory cues, children are able to learn to choose the correct response. When students get the right answer, the program moves on to the next word. The screen displays are colorful and organic making them very visually stimulating for younger children. Published by Sierra Vista Software, Sight words buddy is available for Windows.
Where to get them:
Seterra 2.84 be downloaded for free at Cnet’s download.com
Basic Facts Worksheet Factory is available for free download from Schoolhouse Technologies
Exploring the Sun can be found at nasa.gov
Analytical Eye Typing Tutor can be downloaded for free from aetech
Sight Words Buddy 1.0 can be obtained at freedownloadcenter.com
While there are a multitude of other free ware programs available, these five are truly my favorites. I hope you and your children will also enjoy them.
