TechieTeacher5280

Wow, I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last post! I've been so swamped lately that my one post a week goal has gone by the wayside. I recently started taking classes to earn an administrator licence and have also been helping my roommate buy a house (I'm a real estate agent on the side). I've hardly had a minute free, but I'm hoping to get a new post up tomorrow night. I can do it; I know I can! So check back tomorrow for my next post on free and useful software!

One of my coworkers came to me a week or so ago, frustrated because he wanted to show a YouTube video to his art class but wasn't able to, since our district blocks YouTube access. As you probably know, YouTube videos can't be downloaded through the site, and TeacherTube, which lets you download their videos, doesn't always have the ones that are needed. I promised him I would do some research into freeware that lets you download YouTube and other videos to your computer. So Nate (our art teacher), this one's for you!

Oh budget cuts, how I loathe thee. We recently learned that our district would not be getting as much money from the state this year as expected, and so, our budgets have been slashed. Any money left in our classroom budgets is gone (and I had plenty!). Any outstanding receipts will most likely not be reimbursed (there goes $200!!) We have been given 3 reams, yes a measly 1500 pieces of paper, for copies, which is expected to last us until the end of the year. God forbid the copier jam! Thank goodness I have the lowest copy count in the school, thanks to the nature of my job, though I pity our poor language arts teachers--1500 pieces of paper/170 students a day = very few assignments will be printed out anymore. Hope those kids can hand-copy at a reasonable pace! So for those of us in the same boat, or with limited budgets to begin with, I thought I'd focus on free software available online, either as downloads, or Web2.0. This week, I'll be taking a look at keyboarding softw