Free Tools & Resources for IT Educators

A comprehensive guide to free software, platforms, and resources available to university instructors with .edu email addresses. These tools are particularly valuable for teaching programming, web development, cybersecurity, and data science.

🚀 Quick Start - Highest Priority Applications

These programs offer the most comprehensive benefits and should be your first priority:

GitHub Education (Teacher Benefits) - education.github.com/teachers
JetBrains Teacher Pack - jetbrains.com/community/education
MongoDB for Educators - mongodb.com/academia
AWS Educate - aws.amazon.com/education/awseducate
Figma Education - figma.com/education

💻 Development Tools & IDEs

JetBrains All Products Pack (Teacher License)

Teachers are eligible to use the JetBrains All Products Pack free of charge, which includes IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate, ReSharper Ultimate, and other IDEs and tools.

IDEs included:

WebStorm (ideal for JavaScript/React/MERN stack)
PyCharm (perfect for data science and Python courses)
IntelliJ IDEA (Java development)
DataGrip (database management)
And many more

Apply at: jetbrains.com/community/education

Why it matters: Industry-standard IDEs that provide professional-grade tools for teaching modern development practices.

GitHub Education Pack

Provides free access for verified educators, including AI-powered code suggestions and assignment generation tools, plus GitHub Classroom for course management.

Includes:

GitHub Pro account
GitHub Copilot (AI coding assistant)
GitHub Codespaces (cloud development environments)
Access to GitHub Classroom

Apply at: education.github.com/teachers

Why it matters: Essential for teaching version control, collaboration, and modern development workflows. GitHub Classroom makes managing coding assignments significantly easier.

Additional Development Tools (via GitHub Education Pack)

Postman

API development and testing
Essential for teaching RESTful APIs and backend development

GitKraken

Visual Git client
Helps students understand Git workflows more intuitively

MongoDB Compass

GUI for MongoDB
Free standalone tool for database visualization and management

☁️ Cloud Platforms & Hosting

AWS Educate

Provides no-cost access to cloud computing skills training developed by AWS experts.

Benefits:

AWS credits for classroom projects
Free training content and labs
Access to AWS services

Apply at: aws.amazon.com/education/awseducate

Why it matters: Students gain hands-on experience with the most widely-used cloud platform in the industry.

Microsoft Azure for Education

Puts professional developer tools, software, and services from Microsoft in the hands of faculty and students.

Benefits:

Azure credits for educational purposes
Visual Studio Enterprise
Access to Azure Dev Tools for Teaching

Apply at: azure.microsoft.com/education

Why it matters: Provides enterprise-level development tools and cloud infrastructure for teaching modern application deployment.

MongoDB Atlas (Educator Program)

Educators are eligible for free exploration of the multi-cloud data platform with $500 of MongoDB Atlas credits.

Benefits:

$500 in Atlas credits
Perfect for MERN stack courses
Cloud-hosted database for student projects

Apply at: mongodb.com/academia

Why it matters: Eliminates the need for local database setup and provides production-like database environments for learning.

Additional Hosting Platforms (via GitHub Education Pack)

Vercel

Seamless deployment for Next.js and React applications
Perfect for modern web development courses

Netlify

Easy deployment for static sites and frontend applications
Excellent for teaching CI/CD concepts

DigitalOcean

Typically $200 in credits
Great for teaching Linux administration, server management, and deployment
Full virtual private server (VPS) experience

🎨 Design & Productivity Software

Figma for Education

Free for students or teachers, used by professional designers, engineers, and makers to ideate, create, and share work.

Apply at: figma.com/education

Why it matters: Industry-standard UI/UX design tool essential for web development courses. Enables real-time collaboration on design projects.

Canva for Education

100% free for K12 teachers and their students. University educators should check eligibility.

Check at: canva.com/education

Why it matters: User-friendly design tool for creating course materials, presentations, and visual content without steep learning curves.

Notion (Education Discount)

Individual teachers may be eligible for 50% off Notion AI.

Why it matters: Powerful tool for organizing course materials, creating knowledge bases, and lesson planning. Great for maintaining course documentation.

Microsoft Office 365 Education

Check with your IT department - Many universities have institutional licenses providing free access to:

Word, Excel, PowerPoint
Microsoft Teams
OneDrive cloud storage
Outlook

Adobe Creative Cloud

Check with your IT department - Some universities have institutional licenses. If available, provides access to:

Photoshop
Illustrator
XD (UI/UX design)
Premiere Pro

📚 Learning Management & Course Creation Tools

GitHub Classroom

Free for educators and perfectly integrated with GitHub Education.

Why it matters: Automates the distribution and collection of coding assignments, provides feedback tools, and integrates seamlessly with version control workflows.

Best practice: Use alongside traditional LMS (like Google Classroom or Moodle) - handle theory and discussions in the LMS, coding assignments in GitHub Classroom.

Replit Teams for Education

Free collaborative online IDE for educators.

Benefits:

Students code together in real-time
No local setup required
Built-in collaboration features
Supports multiple programming languages

Apply at: replit.com/site/teams-for-education

Why it matters: Eliminates technical barriers to getting started with programming. Students can begin coding immediately without installation issues.

DataCamp for Education

Free classroom access available via GitHub Education Pack.

Why it matters: Provides interactive data science and programming courses that complement hands-on instruction. Students can learn at their own pace.

Kahoot!

Free educator plan available.

Why it matters: Gamified quizzes and assessments that boost student engagement. Particularly effective for review sessions and formative assessment.

Moodle

Free and open-source LMS.

Check with your institution - Many universities already have Moodle deployed.

Why it matters: Full-featured LMS with quizzes, forums, gradebooks, and extensive plugin ecosystem if you need more control than Google Classroom offers.

🔒 Cybersecurity & Encryption Tools

Cisco Networking Academy

Free comprehensive courses and resources.

Courses available:

Cybersecurity fundamentals
Network security
Ethical hacking
And many more

Apply at: netacad.com

Why it matters: Industry-recognized curriculum and certifications. Excellent supplementary material for security courses.

CrypTool (Free & Open Source)

Comprehensive e-learning platform for cryptography and cryptanalysis.

Why it matters: Hands-on tool for teaching encryption algorithms, cryptographic protocols, and security concepts with visual demonstrations.

Wireshark (Free)

Network protocol analyzer.

Why it matters: Essential tool for teaching network security, packet analysis, and understanding network communications at a deep level.

📊 Data Science & Intelligent Systems Tools

Google Colab (Free)

Free Jupyter notebooks with GPU access.

Why it matters: No setup required for students to start machine learning and data science work. Free GPU/TPU access removes hardware barriers to learning AI.

Kaggle (Free)

Data science platform with datasets, competitions, and learning resources.

Benefits:

Free datasets for projects
Community notebooks for learning
Free GPU/TPU access
Competitions for practical experience

Why it matters: Real-world datasets and problems. Students can learn from community solutions and compete to apply their skills.

Anaconda (Free)

Python distribution for data science.

Why it matters: Simplifies package management and environment setup for data science workflows. Includes Jupyter notebooks and essential data science libraries.

MongoDB University (Free)

Free certification courses on MongoDB.

Why it matters: High-quality courses you can recommend to students for deeper database knowledge. Certificates add value to student portfolios.

🛠️ Additional Essential Tools

For Web Development (MERN Stack)

React Developer Tools - Free browser extension for debugging React applications
Redux DevTools - Free browser extension for state management debugging
Postman - API testing (via GitHub Education Pack)

For Version Control

Git - Free and open source
GitHub Desktop - Free visual Git client
GitKraken - Available via GitHub Education Pack

For Communication

Discord - Free platform many educators use for class communities
Microsoft Teams - Often free through institutional Office 365 licenses
Slack - Free tier available, educational discounts may apply

📋 Application Checklist

Before applying to these programs, prepare:

Your university email address (@youruniversity.edu.ph)
Proof of employment (faculty ID, employment letter, or university website listing)
Course syllabi or teaching schedule (some programs require this)
Professional profile (LinkedIn or university faculty page)

🎯 Recommended Application Order

Week 1 - Essential Development Tools

GitHub Education (Teachers)
JetBrains Teacher Pack
Figma Education

Week 2 - Cloud & Databases

MongoDB for Educators
AWS Educate
Microsoft Azure for Education

Week 3 - Supplementary Tools

Replit Teams for Education
Cisco Networking Academy
DataCamp for Education (if using GitHub Education Pack)

Ongoing

Check with your IT department about institutional licenses (Microsoft, Adobe)
Explore GitHub Education Pack offerings as new partners are added regularly
Join educator communities to stay updated on new opportunities

💡 Pro Tips

Combine tools strategically: Use GitHub Classroom for coding assignments while using Google Classroom or Moodle for discussions, announcements, and non-coding materials.
Student accounts matter: Most of these programs also offer student versions. Encourage students to sign up with their university emails to access the same ecosystem.
Check renewal periods: Some licenses need annual renewal. Set calendar reminders to reapply before they expire.
Join educator communities: GitHub Education Community, JetBrains Educator Community, and others provide lesson plans, best practices, and peer support.
Start small: Don’t feel pressured to use everything at once. Start with 2-3 tools that address your immediate needs, then expand gradually.
Institutional licenses first: Check with your IT department before applying individually - your university may already have enterprise agreements that provide broader access.

📞 Questions or Issues?

Most educational programs have dedicated support teams for educators:

GitHub Education Support: education@github.com
JetBrains Education: academy@jetbrains.com
AWS Educate: Through their support portal
MongoDB Academia: academia@mongodb.com

Last Updated: September 2025

This list is regularly updated as new programs become available. Feel free to share with fellow educators and contribute additions!