Shareware and Freeware Resources

Much can be said for acquiring something for free or sharing resources.
Today's topic focuses on shareware and freeware resources. Most of the
software and hardware products for adult learners cost money. However, if
you're savvy enough, by taking the time to learn about freeware and
shareware you can find a lot of software and hardware that can be used in
your classroom without breaking the bank.

Freeware as defined by the "free" online encyclopedia Wikpedia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)

Freeware refers to software distributed at no charge. Freeware source codes
may or may not be published, and permission to distribute modified versions
may or may not be granted.

Check out the following Freeware and you won't be disappointed. Keep in mind
that some of the sites below focus on K-12 settings.  I have found and heard
that parts of each of the sites can be useful for the ABE settings.

So much stuff - so little time

ReadPlease    www.readplease.com
Easy Office    www.tucows.com
Talk to Me     www.talk-to-me.net
Click-N-Type        www.lakefolks.org/cnt/
MathXpert        www.mathware.com/mathxpert.html
Algebrator        www.softmath.com
Study Works!        www.studyworksonline.com

Free Text Readers
.    Acrobat Reader, a free text reader for the Mac or PC.
.    Microsoft? Reader, a free text reader for the PC.
.    ReadPlease 2003 (Win only).
.    Tex-Edit Plus 4.5.1, a free text reader now shipping with Mac OSX
10.3.2.
The following programs convert E-text into synthetic speech (audio) and save
it in MP3 format:
.    TextAloud.
.    TextToAudio.
.    ReadPlease Reading Bar.
Scanning Books
How to Effectively Scan a Book
(http://www.esight.org/View.cfm?x=773&ov_id=-1) from Kelly Pierce, Adaptive
Technology Specialist at eSight Careers Network (www.esight.org) offers a
clear, accurate and easy-to-read recipe for each part of the digitizing
process. Kelly offers useful and time-saving suggestions for maximizing the
accuracy and usability of digital text scanned from a print source. She
separates the procedure into three distinct stages - scanning, processing,
and correcting - and provides tips & tricks for ensuring success in each
stage of the procedure.
Free Images

Some of the sites listed also include links to services that offer images at
a low cost.
Freeimages carries over 2500 stock photo images in a variety of categories.
All are free.
Yahoo Picture Gallery.
Google Image Search.
Fee for Use Images
Stock Photo Agencies
Prices for downloading images vary according to intended use. See the
details on each site for up-to-date cost information.
Corbis is a popular stock photo resource.
Comstock is another stock photo agency with extensive holdings.
Image Editing Software

See TUCOWS for a list of freeware and shareware image editing programs.
Shareware
Shareware text-to speech programs are available via the Internet from
shareware sites such as Tucows. Some examples of shareware and freeware
text-to-speech tools are:
HearIt, Macintosh freeware available from TUCOWS.
Speech10, Windows shareware available from register.com.
See TUCOWS for a list of freeware and shareware image editing programs.
Decompressing (Unzipping) Files
Use these free tools to unzip or decompress files:
WinZip? (PC files).
StuffIt Expander? (Mac).




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