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This group reviews software for kids and they have a preschool section. They say they are independent and don't take advertising money from the software companies. And, it actually writes reviews that are negative.

Here's the about us link http://superkids.com/aweb/pages/aboutsks.html

I read some of the reviews and most of the software is very "drill and skill", not discovery based. I think this leads parents and teachers to think that "drill and skill" is the way to go and I am uncomfortable with that - computer-based worksheets.

Post from Hatch Early Childhood, sharing their criteria for evaluating software aimed at young children.

Skype created a little piece of software that makes communicating with people around the world easy and fun. With Skype you can say hello or share a laugh with anyone, anywhere. And if both of you are on Skype, it's free.

This program is not suited well in servign as a web2.0 tool for children. This site can, however, be used as a tool of communication between caregivers and teachers. Though it does not have a direct influence on children, it can also be used to connect with other professionals to gain insight and advice.

OpenOffice is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international

Image editing software. free, can create a scrapbook, edit images, create templates, and screencapture.

Record onscreen activity. Edit it into a polished video. Share with the world. Camtasia Studio makes you look like a pro.

Gail Lovely's list of Top Ten Web 2.0 tools for young learners. Should be interesting to check this out.

#6. Glogster EDU- This is a great way to incorporate the school into the home. This program allows teacher to show caregivers what is being done in the classroom (i.e. uploading class calendars, posting students' projects, etc.). If teachers post educational practice links, students are able to practice certain skills learned in the classroom at home. This program also allows parents to connect with the teacher, it will allow parents and teachers to communicate via blogs.

Wonderful that someone put together a list of the top ten tools for young children,their parents and teachers. Several sites would be helpful in working with young children or counseling are: 1. Wordle - students could create a poster of words they know and continue adding new words. 2. Yola - a user friendly software that allows teacher, parents, student to create a web site.to share information with others. 3. Blogs - the KinderKids Blog published class projects that could be view by parents or serve as means of communicating with classrooms around the world.

A non-profit that reviews software by age group (2-4, 5-8). They also review TV shows, movies, books and music.

Site for creating artwork and images ideally for children ages 3 to 12. Anyone can access and download the application for free from the website (tuxpaint.org). The application has special features to engage children, including sound effects when tools are selected and used, and a cartoon displayed in the corner to give help and hints. The drawing tools that are available for children to use are paint brush, rubber stamp, line tool, shape tool, text tool, special effects (magic) tools, eraser, and undo. Also, teachers and children can easily open, save, and print creations.This program could be used in an early childhood setting to help children work on fine motor skills by using the mouse on the computer. It can also foster creativity because the children are allowed to create whatever they want, however they want, and there is no limit on the amount of pictures that can be created. I would use this program in centers in the early childhood setting so that children could get equal opportunity and assistance, if needed.

It is for mac or PC. It is free. it seems to be more versatile than other digital photo software.

This is a fun and useful website to create cards, scrapbooks, etc. and share them.

Picasa is a great way to organize photos into timelines and albums either on your computer or online. Picasa can be used to edit photos and add text. Movies, collages, slideshows can be made. Photos and items made from picasa can be used by parents, teachers, and children. Teachers can document the progress and activities throughout the school year. Children can use Picasa for showing off their projects or documenting their own personal progress.

This is free easy photo sharing and also works for Macs. Parents and children could conceivably use it at home to make illustrated books with captions since there is a caption writing feature.

Great site where anyone of all ages can upload pictures and create things like photo stories Picasa is free photo editing software from Google that makes your pictures look great. Sharing your best photos with friends and family is as easy as pressing a button!

Photos Story 3 is a way to combine photos, voice recordings, music, and writing . Children can bring their favorite stories to life or create their own. By creating photo stories in the class or at home, these stories can be shared to many.

that is a really great idea. That is amazing. Thanks for sharing

I actually downloaded this software recently. It was extremely easy to use and fun to play with. I created a couple of slideshows involving my siblings, and shared with my family via the email and they enjoyed it. I like how easy it is to share and how creative you can get with it. I feel that children could use this with some assistance, but they will be thrilled with the end result. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

Open source web browser

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe.

Adobe product downloads including Adobe Acrobat Reader, Flash Player and Air.

Floorplanner is a resource that I discovered in my EDIT 2000 class and have used numerous times since then. It is an interior design software that helps create layouts and floorplans, as the name might suggest. What does this have to do with education, right? My original use for it was to create my ideal classroom in the land of unlimited resources. If I wanted to, I could go back in and create a more realistic classroom so I could visually lay out how I wanted to conserve my space. This tool would be useful for anyone trying to visually plan out how to lay out a space, whether it be a classroom, bedroom, hospital room, cafeteria, etc. This resource taught me a lot about classroom layout and the way to make a classroom more efficient and user-friendly, which is huge in any educational setting.

Free downloadable software to record podcasts. Compatible with both Windows and Mac.

Only useful if someone contacts you to edit a document, or if you upload a document and contact them. More person to person, then person to internet community.

Writeboard is a collaborative document creation tool that can be used between a number of people. This tool quick for anyone to start up. On the homepage you can create your document to be edited by naming the document, then provide your email address. Once the wrtieboard is created you can begin typing! Once the document is complete you can invite people to view and edit your document as well as leave comments. Once the document has been edited by another person, you will be able to compare your document with the newest edited document. One of the challenges I faced when using this tool is the format of the document when typing. In order to indent or make a word bold or italic, a special code needed to be entered. For example, to make the word "Introduction" bold, you would have to type *Introduction*. This actually slowed my typing down, but I feel if this is a tool that you use often, these are codes you could catch on to. The strength of this tool is the option to invite anyone to edit. I feel that this would be useful for teachers to communicate back and forth to share activities and edit them. Or it could be useful as an assignment for students to share a paper and to edit the others. This would help their editing skills. I also like the option to compare and contrast your original document with one that has been recently edited. I think this would be helpful in seeing what improvments were made and choose whether or not you'd like to accept them. I think that this tool would be better for high-school students, or any teacher. The tool would be difficult for anyone younger to use.