Everybody just showed leadership in this project. We were all devoted to it and determined to succeed and make it happen. 
Everybody just showed leadership in this project. We were all devoted to it and determined to succeed and make it happen.
Below is a partial list of tools that are used in one or more of the CCC courses.
PRESENTATION
Prezi: "Prezi is zooming sketches on a digital napkin. It's visualization and storytelling without slides. Your ideas live on stage and on the web." An interesting alternative to traditional slideshow presentations. A free single user option is available. http://prezi.com/
POLLING
Poll Everywhere: Useful tool for creating your own text messaging system to enable live audience polling. Free for up to 30 users, so it's ideal for classroom teaching. You'll want to think carefully, though, about introducing cell phones as part of the classroom activity. Although it may feel like every student has a cell phone, any student without one will not be able to vote (unless you enable multiple voting from a single phone, which brings its own complications). http://www.polleverywhere.com/
VIRTUAL WORLDS
Teen Second Life: Free downloadable cross-platform client for entering a free virtual world. We have an independent island that is not on the main grid in Teen Second Life (see http://teen.secondlife.org), called the International Virtual Collaboration Space (IVCS). For a guided tour, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTtABmCOiCc
http://secondlife.org
GAME DESIGN
Many tools are available. These are the ones we support and endorse for first-time game developers in the ITRD course.
Scratch: Free, cross-platform graphical programming tool for presentations and game designs. http://scratch.mit.edu
Greenfoot: "Combination between a framework for creating two-dimensional grid assignments in Java and an integrated development environment (class browser, editor, compiler, execution, etc.) suitable for novice programmers." http://www.greenfoot.org/
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Moodle: Free, open-source learning management system. We use this to deliver all our online curricula. http://moodle.org
E-Portfolio: ELGG: Free, open-source "social engine" that we use as an ePortfolio tool. We have had it customized to function as a "single sign-on" with our Moodle online learning system. http://elgg.org/
WEB DEVELOPMENT
Wordpress: Free, open-source, server-based template that is nominally for creating blogs, but can be used to create simple and elegant Web sites. http://wordpress.org
Joomla: Free, open-source, server-based content management system for more robust Web development. http://joomla.org
NVU: Free, open-source and cross-platform HTML editor and FTP client. http://www.net2.com/nvu/index.html
Filezilla: Free, cross-platform FTP editor. http://filezilla-project.org/
SCREEN CAPTURE
Jing: A free downloadable software providing an easy-to-use screen capture function. It gives instant sharing capabilities during an online conversation and can be used on a Mac or PC. http://www.jingproject.com/
CONCEPT MAPPING
CMAP: Free, cross-platform downloadable client for creating and sharing concept maps. http://cmap.ihmc.us/conceptmap.html
Bubble.us: Free online concept mapping tool which allows users to create images of concept maps and share maps with others. http://bubbl.us/
IMAGE EDITING
Fotoflexer: Free online photo-editing tool; good substitute for those who can't afford Photoshop. http://fotoflexer.com/
ONLINE RESEARCH
iConn: Provides a collection of essential library and information resources for all Connecticut students, faculty, and residents. http://iconn.org
SCHEDULING
Doodle: A free and easy Web-based meeting scheduling tool. http://doodle.com/
FILM AND ANIMATION
Pencil: A free animation/drawing software for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It lets you create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon). It can be used to produce a simple 2D animation and is friendly and easy to use. http://www.pencil-animation.org/
Blender: A free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems. This is an advanced tool that provides and opportunity to produce fantastic 3D animations and models. The rewards can be substantial, but patience and time are essential. Current versions can sometimes be difficult to use and are not always friendly to Mac computers. A three button mouse is suggested. http://www.blender.org/
Celtx: "The world's first all-in-one media pre-production software. It has everything you need to take your story from concept to production. Celtx replaces 'paper, pen & binder' pre-production with a digital approach that's more complete, simpler to work with, and easier to share." http://celtx.com/
Inkscape: A Linux, Windows & OSX vector graphics editor featuring transparency, gradients, node editing, pattern fills, PNG export, and more. This free open source software aims for capabilities similar to Illustrator and is a simple alternative in the classroom. http://www.inkscape.org/
Audacity: A free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. It has similarities to Garageband and is suggested to PC users as an alternative. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/