Learning for Fun, for the Future and for Free

In these surreal times of personal and economic lock down many households are being forced to live with lots of free time but restricted financial resources, and kids are stuck at home probably glued to their electronic device of choice. Parents, I know you're trying your best to find new fun (and free!) things to fill their time but the task seems positively Sisyphean, right?

Don't underestimate the benefit your kids are getting from communicating with friends via Xbox, PlayStation, social media etc. The internet has facilitated the creation of some amazing communication tools that help protect the mental health of us all during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also offers a wealth of free resources to allow your offspring to learn new skills or brush up on existing ones without spending any more cash than you've already invested in hardware and an internet connection.

In the interest of parental solidarity I want to share a list of free resources I've found which if interspersed with off-screen activities should help pass time, learn new skills and maybe even ignite a passion for a new hobby! For now the list is mainly aimed at early teens and upwards.

Much of the software listed is Open Source and can hold its own against expensive commercial software. Whilst children will often end up using commercial software in their school or eventual workplace, they can certainly 'hone their craft' with these free alternatives.

Art / Graphics / Photography

Inkscape - Vector graphics editor, similar to Adobe Illustrator. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

GIMP - The Gnu Image Manipulation Program. Despite the humorous name this is an advanced image/photo editor that can compete with Adobe Photoshop. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Paint.net - A Windows-specific image/photo editor [Windows]

Krita - Professional painting/sketching program. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Autodesk Sketchbook - Professional painting/sketching program. [Windows / Mac / Android / iOS]

Blender - 3D graphics/animation suite. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Digital SLR Photography Magazine - Published by the Raspberry Pi Press, this monthly magazine is also made freely available as a PDF download on their website. Easily readable on a tablet or PC.

Video

YouTube - This one almost goes without saying but kids can use it to publish video, live stream, and find tutorials on any subject. It's not just for watching other people play Minecraft or Fortnite, or learning how to make slime!😊

OpenShot - Powerful video editing software, similar to Adobe Premiere. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Shotcut - Another video editing suite, similar functionality to OpenShot. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Kdenlive - My preferred free video editor. Powerful and intuitive once you learn your way around the interface. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Open Broadcaster Software - Video recording and live streaming. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Natron - Video effects software, similar to Adobe After Effects, with a steep learning curve. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Music/Audio

LMMS - A fully-featured Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) for music creation. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Audacity - Multi-track audio editing and recording software. Can be used for music, podcasts, and even making 'phone ringtones! [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Soundation - Collaborative online DAW, make music with friends. Free account allows users to create up to 10 projects. [Web]

Reading

Project Gutenberg - This website has a collection of over 60,000 free eBooks that can be read in a browser or downloaded to read on tablets (instructions for Android, iOS and Kindle devices).

Standard eBooks - A smaller collection of classic books than Project Gutenberg, but the books are carefully proofed and include metadata, cover art and modern typography. The books can be downloaded to read on tablets (instructions for Android, iOS and Kindle devices).

Cory Doctorow - Cory Doctorow is a sci-fi author and an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws. Whilst his books are available to purchase in physical, ebook and audio book formats through Amazon, Google Play Books etc., Cory also makes them freely available to download from his website in a multitude of formats.

Business / Education

LibreOffice - A fully-featured office software suite to rival Microsoft 365 / Office [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Diagrams.net - Diagramming / flowchart software similar to Microsoft Visio [Windows / Mac / Linux / Chrome OS / Web]

Scribus - Desktop publishing software. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Microsoft Math Solver - Enter your formula and this Microsoft tool will attempt to solve it as well as providing useful links to learning resources on the formula subject (calculus, algebra, etc.). It's not cheating, honestly... 😁. The mobile apps allow you not just to type a formula but also take a picture of it or write on screen. [Android / iOS / Web]

3D animals in Google Search - A Tiger in your garden! A Bear in your lounge! Using Google Chrome and a suitable 'phone or tablet you can interact with lifesize animals. A great one for the smaller kids.

Stellarium - A planetarium for your computer. [Windows / Mac / Linux / Web]

LibreCAD - 2-Dimensional Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

FreeCAD - An open-source parametric 3D modeler made primarily to design real-life objects of any size. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Programming / Electronics

MagPi Magazine - The official Raspberry Pi magazine - if you have one of these small computers in the house you're already fairly tech-savvy! Published by the Raspberry Pi Press, this monthly magazine is also made freely available as a PDF download on their website. Easily readable on a tablet or PC.

Wireframe Magazine - A fortnightly magazine that looks at how games are made, who makes them, and even guide you through the process of making your own. Published by the Raspberry Pi Press, this monthly magazine is also made freely available as a PDF download on their website. Easily readable on a tablet or PC. They also have a couple of books available for download which cover coding First-Person Shooters and some classic video games.

Python - A versatile and powerful yet fairly intuitive programming language. An invaluable skill on any potential programmer's CV and a great springboard into other programming languages. Plenty of tutorials are available online, including this collection of Microsoft videos on YouTube. [Windows / Mac / Linux]

Bubble - Bubble is a low-code/no-code platform and a great entry point into writing apps using workflows and drag-and-drop interfaces. Their free account provides tutorials and more than enough functionality to get started with this increasingly popular area of computing.

Other

HackSpace Magazine - A magazine "packed with projects for fixers and tinkerers of all abilities". Published by the Raspberry Pi Press, this monthly magazine is also made freely available as a PDF download on their website. Easily readable on a tablet or PC.

(Hello World) - The computing and digital making magazine for educators. Also published by the Raspberry Pi Press, this monthly magazine is yet another made freely available as a PDF download.

Archive.org - A huge collection of public domain material. Old movies, music, sounds, books, magazines, software, pictures, you'll find the lot here. You can lose hours or even days going through the content on this site but parental discretion is advised - this not an archive of child-friendly material only.

Alternativeto.net - If you want to find a free / open source alternative to a particular website or app then head to this site.