Educational Software Matrix
Emily Bosland,
11/13/2007
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EmailAfter one of our member agencies asked if we could provide them with a list of free educational computer games for school-aged children (K-12), we did a little searching and came up with the products listed in the table below. Most of these are free, but a few of the educational software packages can be purchased from the given links.
Do you know of a great educational computer game or online activity? If so, please leave us a comment. We'd love to hear about it and add it to our table so other nonprofits can learn about it too.
| Product Name | Description | Free |
| Broderbund Software Free Online Puzzle Games | Online puzzles and games for youth and adults. | Yes |
| Canorus via SchoolForge.net | Music score editor that supports note writing, MIDI input and output, and scripting support. | Yes |
| Celestia via SchoolForge.net | Space simulation/ planetarium that allows students to view the universe in 3-D. | Yes |
| Cyfernet | Interactive online games for young children. Sponsored by 4-H, this site includes topics ranging from astronomy to insects. | Yes |
| Food Detectives: Fight BAC! | Interactive online game about food safety. Produced by the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service. | Yes |
| GCompris via SchoolForge.net | Suite of educational software for young children. Topics inlcude algebra, science and geography. | Yes |
| The Learning Company | Sells many educational computer games, including classics such as Oregon Trail, Reader Rabbit, and Carmen Sandiego. | No |
| MindPlay: My Reading Coach | Reading assistance for struggling students. Recommended by public school teachers. | No |
| Multiplication Station via SchoolForge.net | Multiplication game for youth. | Yes |
| NoteEdit via SchoolForge.net | Music score editor for Linux. Supports an unlimited number and length of staffs. | Yes |
| Nutrition Decision | Interactive online game about good nutrition for youth. Produced by the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service. | Yes |
| Ology | Online educational programs and games for youth. Covers science topics ranging from archaeology to genetics to water. Produced by the American Museum of Natural History. | Yes |
| PBS Online Games | Games for young children correlating to PBS programming. | Yes |
| School Time Games | Online educational games for ages eight and older. Games and activities are grouped by educational topic, and include math, science, language arts, sports, and logic. | Yes |
| Stellarium via SchoolForge.net | Open source planetarium. Offers students a realistic view of the sky in 3-D | Yes |
| TuxMath via SchoolForge.net | Educational computer arcade game designed to help students struggling in math. Features Tux, the Linux mascot. | Yes |
| TuxMathScrabble via SchoolForge.net | Similar to TuxMath, student create compound mathematical equations. Four skill levels available. | Yes |
| TuxTyping via SchoolForge.net | Typing game for young children. | Yes |
| TuxWordSmith via SchoolForge.net | Foreign language learning game with support for over 30 languages. | Yes |
| Voyager Math (VMath and VMathLive) | Math assistance for students in grades 3-8. Highly recommended by public school teachers. Use Contact link on their webpage for details. | No |
| Voyager Passport Reading Journeys | Reading intervention program for middle and high school students. Recommended by public school teachers. Use Contact link on their webpage for details. | No |
| WYNN Literacy Software Solution | State-of-the-art literacy assistance for struggling students or students with disabilities. Texts may be scanned and "read" aloud by the WYNN program. | No |
Great List
This is a great list,
With the Tux series there is TuxPaint (http://www.tuxpaint.org/). This is kind of like KidsPix only free.
Thanks
Thanks for your suggestion. The Tux series offers several great options, including TuxPaint!
TuxMath and TuxTyping
Yes, TuxMath and TuxTyping are fun for adults too! I worked at a non-profit with an education center for adults recovering from drugs and alcohol, and those two programs were in frequent use. Also check out Gnumch: http://spuzz.net/projects/gnumch/about.php
Andrew
Thanks
Great tip, Andrew! (I remember playing this game as a child.)
Great List
Lot's of good info here, thanks a bunch!
Nice List...
Looks like the children are going to have a great time. Thumbs UP!
Kidzui
What a great resource, thanks heaps my kids love Tuxpaint but we didn't know about Tuxmath and Tuxtyping how cool! There is a really cool software for animation that is heaps of fun for kids. It is called Kahootz, based on Flash and so easy and so so fun. But my favorite at the moment is the new Kidzui Browser...
www.kidzui.com. This is really cool because all of the content is safe and checked and double checked, there's heaps of educational value and kids can share and make friends, They build their own avatar and just generally have a groovy old time!Parents receive reports so that they can see the sites their child has visited so that's a great feature also!
wow, really good list. My
wow, really good list. My children will be happy, they are keen on puzzles and similar games.
Nice list!
That's a nice list. I remember when I was in elementary school using all sorts of math games because they were fun. I'm sure I learned a lot from them but it doesn't seem like they make them the same caliber that they used to. I'll definitely look into some of these, thanks!
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