My Teaching Toolkit

This list contains my most-used software used for preparing and teaching lessons.

My rules for this list? Lightweight, cross-platform, no ads, no AI, FOSS, and whenever possible, text-based.

Bob
Bob List by Bob , last updated 
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  1. Researching and Preparing

    Tools that I need to finding information and preparing any documents, handouts, etc.

    Nearly all of my documents are made using Pandoc and Markdown, written in Markor or Geany, with information saved on wallabag.

    Occasionally, I need to use LibreOffice Writer

  2. Markdown icon
     Like

    Markdown is a text-to-HTML conversion tool for web writers. Markdown allows you to write using an easy-to-read, easy-to-write plain text format, then convert it to structurally valid XHTML (or HTML).

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Markdown screenshot 1
    Markdown screenshot 1
  3. Pandoc icon
     Like

    Pandoc is a Haskell library for converting from one markup format to another, and a command-line tool that uses this library.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Pandoc screenshot 1
  4. Geany icon
     Like

    Geany is a powerful, stable and lightweight programmer's text editor that provides tons of useful features without bogging down your workflow.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Flatpak
    • Haiku
    Geany screenshot 1
    Geany screenshot 1
    Geany screenshot 2
    +5
    Geany screenshot 3
  5. Markor icon
     Like

    Markor is a TextEditor for Android, versatile, flexible, and lightweight. Markor utilizes simple markup formats like Markdown and todo.txt for note-taking and list management. It is versatile at working with text; it can also be used for keeping bookmarks, copying to clipboard...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
    Markor screenshot 1
    Markor screenshot 2
    Markor screenshot 3
  6. wallabag icon
     Like

    Open-source, self-hosted tool that extracts articles, offers offline mobile reading, powerful filters, migration from other services, and multiple download formats.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Google Chrome
    • Cloudron
    • Opera
    • Mozilla Firefox
    wallabag screenshot 1
    wallabag screenshot 1
    wallabag screenshot 2
    +4
    wallabag screenshot 3
  7. Todo.txt icon
     Like

    Track your tasks and projects in a plain text file, todo.txt. A todo.txt is software and operating system agnostic; it's searchable, portable, lightweight and easily manipulated.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    Todo.txt screenshot 1
  8. Poppler icon
     Like

    This is Poppler, a library for rendering PDF files, and examining or modifying their structure. Poppler originally came from the XPDF sources; please see the file README-XPDF for the original xpdf-3.03 README.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
  9. Thonny icon
     Like

    Python IDE for beginners. Its supports different ways of stepping through the code, step-by-step expression evaluation, detailed visualization of the call stack and a mode for explaining the concepts of references and...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Faithful representation of function calls.
    
Easy to get started.
    No-hassle variables.
  10. Python icon
     Like

    Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented, extensible programming language. It provides an extraordinary combination of clarity and versatility, and is free and comprehensively ported.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Symbian S60
    • BSD
    • AROS
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • OpenSolaris
    • MorphOS
    Python screenshot 1
    Python screenshot 1
    The Python 3.1 interpreter running in a GNOME Terminal
  11. Pygal icon
     Like

    Pygal is a dynamic SVG charting library written in Python.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Pygal screenshot 1
  12. Search engine of shadow libraries: books, papers, comics, magazines. Z-Library, Library Genesis, Sci-Hub. Fully resilient through open source code and data. Spread the word: everyone is welcome here!.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    Anna’s Archive screenshot 1
  13. ImageMagick is a software suite to create, edit, and compose bitmap images. It can read, convert and write images in a variety of formats (about 100) including GIF, JPEG, JPEG-2000, PNG, PDF, PhotoCD, TIFF, and DPX.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Xfce
    ImageMagick screenshot 1
    ImageMagick screenshot 1
  14. Inkscape icon
     Like

    Open source vector graphics editor supporting SVG with features like custom brushes, pressure sensitivity, and layer management across multiple platforms.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    Inkscape screenshot 1
    Inkscape screenshot 1
    Inkscape screenshot 2
    +8
    Inkscape screenshot 3
  15. DIagrams Through Ascii Art (ditaa) is a small, command-line tool built with Java icon Java to convert diagrams drawn ASCII art into bitmap graphics. ditaa interprets ascci art as a series of open and closed shapes, but it also uses special markup syntax...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Java
    DIagrams Through Ascii Art screenshot 1
  16. Open-source browser with Gecko engine, supporting HTML add-ons and providing privacy features like Enhanced Tracking Protection and third-party cookie blocking.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • AppImageHub
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Samsung Galaxy Store
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Flatpak
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    • Gecko
    Firefox Desktop (Light Theme)
    Firefox Desktop (Dark Theme)
    Firefox iOS (Light Theme)
    +7
    Firefox iOS (Dark Theme)
  17. A versatile open-source word processor with robust formatting, style options, and cross-platform availability, ideal for both memos and complex book publishing.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • ReactOS
    LibreOffice - Writer screenshot 1
    LibreOffice - Writer screenshot 1
    LibreOffice 6.1 on Windows 10 (without toolbars)
    +2
    LibreOffice - Writer screenshot 3
  18. Viewing and Presenting

  19. qpdfview icon
     Like

    qpdfview is a Qt-based tabbed document viewer using the Poppler library for PDF rendering and CUPS for printing. Support for the DjVu and PostScript formats can be added via plugins.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Haiku
    • Qt
    qpdfview screenshot 1
  20. Xournal++ icon
     Like

    Handwritten notes and PDF annotation app with pen input, shape drawing, customizable toolbar, image insertion, audio recording, and multi-platform support.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Xournal++ screenshot 1
    Xournal++ screenshot 1
    Xournal++ screenshot 2
    +1
    Xournal++ screenshot 3
  21. MPV icon
     Like

    MPV is an audio and movie player based on MPlayer icon MPlayer and mplayer2 icon mplayer2. It supports a wide variety of video file formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • F-Droid
    • Haiku
    • Xfce
    • Chocolatey
    MPV screenshot 1
    MPV screenshot 1
    MPV screenshot 2
  22. Pympress icon
     Like

    Dual-screen PDF reader for presentations written in Python. Show a presentation in one window and additional information in a presenter window.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Pympress screenshot 1
    Pympress screenshot 1
  23. SimpleScreenRecorder is a Linux screen recorder that supports X11 and OpenGL. It is easy to use, feature-rich, and has a Qt-based graphical user interface. It can record the entire screen or part of it, or record OpenGL applications directly.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    SimpleScreenRecorder screenshot 1
    SimpleScreenRecorder screenshot 2
  24. Synchronization and Sharing

  25. Syncthing icon
     Like

    Open-source, decentralized alternative ensuring data ownership with encrypted communication and peer-to-peer sync, void of central server reliance.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    • Termux
    • Terminal
    Syncthing screenshot 1
  26. Enhanced file sync tool offering individual sync conditions, Android-focused UI, battery fixes, two-way external SD support, and secure encrypted folders.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
    Syncthing-Fork screenshot 1
    Syncthing-Fork screenshot 2
    Syncthing-Fork screenshot 3
  27. Moodle icon
     Like

    Moodle is an open source tool for creating online dynamic web sites for their students. To work, it needs to be installed on a web server somewhere, either on one of your own computers or one at a web hosting company.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    Moodle Demosite Screenshot
  28. LocalSend icon
     Like

    LocalSend is a free, open-source, cross-platform file-sharing tool designed to securely share files and messages with nearby devices over your local network without needing an internet connection. Here are some of its key features:

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • AppImageHub
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Chocolatey
    LocalSend screenshot 1
    LocalSend screenshot 1
    LocalSend screenshot 2
    +5
    LocalSend screenshot 3
  29. Grading

  30. LibreOffice Calc is the spreadsheet program you've always needed. A fork of OpenOffice.org Calc, professional data miners and number crunchers will appreciate its comprehensive range of advanced functions.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • ReactOS
    • Flathub
    LibreOffice - Calc screenshot 1
    LibreOffice - Calc screenshot 1
    LibreOffice - Calc screenshot 2
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