On the Hunt for FREE EC Tech

I was asked to present 4 mini sessions on technology integration for early childhood.  I LOVE working with technology, early childhood, differentiation and accessibility for special needs students.  I did not, however, already have this presentation ready.  So I began my search for ideas.

Pinterest was my first "go to" for ideas.  I always ask, "what is everyone else doing?"  I also know that many teachers "pin" from teacher blogs!  Cool! Two birds, one stone..... But what I discovered is that days of all free is dwindling and morphing into occasionally free, but mostly for purchase. Let's face it, money is money and teachers don't ever and may never make enough!!!!  I am all for supporting your family and supplementing the pitiful salaries teachers make, BUT I needed free resources for the other teachers who are not supplementing and have no budget to purchase cool creations and apps for their class.... NOW THE HUNT FOR FREE REALLY BEGAN.... 

So, I asked myself, "Where can a teacher find free resources without being directed to "MY TPT" page????" I actually answered my own question! The following resources are great to find FREE technology apps, websites, interactive whiteboard resources and much much more!  There are paid resources also, but those are EASY to find, right???

	Symbaloo Webmixes	Symbaloo offers free accounts.  Webmixes are created to house favorite sites, files, apps, etc in a grid of clickable buttons.  Webmixes can be saved, shared, embedded, and followed.  Webmixes are customizable and SEARCHABLE!!!! Here are some of my favorites for EC Tech.... Matt Gomez webmixes (he has several wonderful resources) PreK - K- 1st TA Networking Fall Great Classroom Tools
	Livebinders	Livebinders are digital "3 Ring Binders" online.  They can store websites, PDFs, Word docs, PowerPoints, and more all online.  They can be shared with others and embedded on blogs and websites in a variety of ways. Livebinders are SEARCHABLE also!!! To create your own binder, you must have a livebinder account, but it is free.  Livebinders has even created a bookmarklet tool to add to your browser toolbar for easy website saving.  Look for this handy feature under the "tools" tab of livebinders.
	Teachers Noteboook	Teacher's Notebook and Teachers Pay Teachers are online stores where you can create educational products and house them for sale in your own shop.  Sites like these are assisting teachers in making a little extra income on the things they are making for their classrooms anyway.  The beauty of these sites is that they offer freebies, drawings, specials, and even ideas of ways to create your own material specifically for the needs in your classroom and your students. You can search for any grade level, any subject, or resources by type, i.e. interactive whiteboards.  If you watch the sites regularly, and follow the creators on their blogs, many of them will host drawings and contests for free materials.  Sometimes all that is required is being the first to comment on the posting.  Weighing the cost of purchasing someone else's work against the amount of time it would take me to recreate it, and asking the question, "would it be just as cute????" *because CUTENESS can be a factor!* sometimes shows it is way worth it for me to buy.
	FREE INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS ON Teachers Pay Teachers

This was an incredible journey searching for free materials! I think that I found plenty of things for those teachers to go back to their classrooms and implement at least 1 thing they learned without a lot of prep.  If you would like to check out the resources I collected, feel free to check out MY livebinder here.

Where do you go to find the cool stuff, preferably free for your early childhood classroom?   Do you know about a well kept secret?  PLEASE SHARE!  We are all dying to know!

Until next time, Happy hunting!!!

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