Computer Application Links

Blogs

Blogger

Create your own online blog now using this web-based software. Just create an account, name your blog, and choose a template. You can post graphics, publish your thoughts and invite others to do the same.

Blog Tools

This site offers freeware online blog tools.

Free Blog Templates

Offers colorful, attractive free templates, created to use with Blogger.

Blog Guide

A free 80 page thorough Guide Book to Blogging in an effective and professional manner.

Databases

Database Basics

A database is a collection of related data. A telephone book, a checkbook register, a recipe file, and an address book are all collections of related data. A database is created by opening a database application, entering a collection of data, and saving to a file. This page from McMasters University describes the structure of a database and defines basic database terms.

Step by Step Guides to using Databases

Geek Girls offer various easy to understand database tutorials.

Search Database.com

Comprehensive resource that helps in the development of databases as well as offers a diverse directory of online databases, worth checking out.

Desktop Publishing

Books and Booklet Templates

A free pdf book and booklet templates to download to help you to plan an educational or informative booklet for teaching and sharing.

Xerox Newsletter and Brochure Templates

Free brochure and newsletter templates from Xerox in Word format. (also cards, calendar, postcard templates).

HP Brochure and Flyer Templates

Free colorful templates in Word format.

Free Templates from StockLayouts

Some free templates to create colourful brochures, newsletters, flyers, postcards, letterhead and business cards.

Free Brochure Templates

Lots of free design templates to use with the free desktop publishing software,

The Free Site

A good place to find free photographs, images, fonts, etc.

PagePlus SE - Free Desktop Publishing Software

Open source software software that is easy to use, with preset document layouts, automated templates, nice colour schemes and artistic effects for creating various documents.

Free Templates

For various projects are also available from this site.

Microsoft Office Templates

Lots of templates to use with Microsoft Office, including brochures, flyers, booklets, Powerpoint, Excel, Word.

Flash

Flash Professional 8

Free demo copy of the professional industry-standard animation tool available. Steep learning curve.

Flash Kit Loops

A great resource for sound loops for background repeated music in Flash and other multimedia presentations.

Fotana Photo Album

Freeware to create online photo albums and galleries. Easy to use.

Free Layouts

Offers generators for creating Flash elements, web pages, scripts, graphic navigation bars, templates.

Flash Animation Tools

Offers freeware, easy to use tools to create Flash like animated creations.

SwishZone.com

Excellent user-friendly Flash-like programs that can be downloaded for 30 days free, including SwishMax, SwishPix, SwishStudio2, SwishVideo. Educators and Students get a very generous discount to buy the software with proof of student status even in Canada (Australian based company). Excellent programs for the serious learner and user!

General

Computer Awareness Training Tutorials

Online tutorials for basic computer use, Word, Excel and Power Point from Western Carolina University.

Software Tutorials

Dozens of illustrated tutorials for a variety of software programs, including graphics, office productivity, graphical interfaces, communications, scanning, database, presentation and specialty software programs, from Digital Education Network.

Graphics

3D Graphic Tools

A list of freeware 3D graphic tools to help you create realistic graphics. Some learning curve for most.

HP Free Presentation Images

Some really nice images to use in your project - business people, children and family, sports and recreation, nature and landscapes, conceptual, technology, cityscapes, industrial. Other templates available here too.

Free Clipart

Some usable free clip art for your media production - medical, people, activities, etc.

Corel Trial Graphic Programs

View and/or download 30 day trial software

DrawPlus 4

Free graphic design and vector drawing software, simple to use, professional quality results.

3DPlus 2

Free 3D Animation and Modeling Software, simple to use, powerful, professional looking.

PhotoPlus 6

Free image and photo editing software, that lets you create, manipulate, and enhance photos, graphics, and web animations.

GIMP Graphics Program

Open source, free graphics editor and image manipulation software that rivals Adobe Photoshop for ability, quality and complexity.

JAlbum Photo Album

JAlbum is an easy to use open source album and gallery software to add a professional gallery to your web site. If you are looking for an easy to install album or gallery for your site, JALbum offers the perfect solution. A unique software, JAlbum is first downloaded to your computer where you add your images off-line, then the program helps you upload the completed gallery to your site through a built-in ftp function.

Real SlideShow Basic

Freeware that allows you to combine audio, images to create media slide show.

Smart Draw

Free graphic software for drawing flowcharts, forms, floor plans, calendars, organizational charts, project charts, software designs, teaching materials, concept maps, flyers, scrapbooks, and more.

Internet

Free PerlCode.com

Excellent resource for creating onnline tests and quizzes using Perl Code services.

Multimedia

Licium’s Technology Resources

A list of products, services, resources, articles, a newsletter related to media production.

Snap Files

An extensive list of freeware Multimedia related software downloads.

Multimedia Development Tools

A number of different tools are rudimentary to the development of high-quality multimedia programs. These include analysis, design, production, management, and evaluation tools.

Multimedia Design for the World Wide Web

Web Style Guide's informational guidelines for using multimedia for teaching online.

ClipFactory Slideshows

Freeware that helps you to create slideshow presentations with MP3 background music. Requires a downloadable viewer file for visitors to see your creation.

Diji Album Editor

Shareware that helps you to combine photos and graphics, text, multimedia.

DigiBookShelf Photo Album

Free virtual photo album software that presents photos, sound and text in a virtual bookshelf interface.

PowerPoint

Powerpoint Tutorial

Free tutorial to help you to create a true multimedia Powerpoint presentation. Offers text and streaming video instruction.

Powerpoint in the Classroom

Another helpful site with a detailed tutorial for getting the most of out of Powerpoint: slides, adding images and charts, adding motion and sound, timing and rehearsing.

Powerpoint Tutorial from Electric Teacher

Yet another useful set of tutorials to help you perform common and not so common tasks in Powerpoint, including how to save your work as a web page.

Real PresenterOne Basic

Freeware that allows you to combine Powerpoint and rich media

Free Education Templates

Six pages (total of 116 templates) of lovely free education-focused Powerpoint templates to make your presentation shine!

HP Powerpoint Backgrounds

Unique free backgrounds to use with PPT presentations from Hewlett Packard. Some are really beautiful!

More Free Beautiful Backgrounds

208 really nice backgrounds available free here from Sonia Coleman Designs.

Powerpoint Templates

Free Powerpoint templates to spruce up your presentation.

More Powerpoint Templates

Here are some more free Powerpoint templates with some nice examples of finished work. Note there are more links to other templates at the bottom of the page once you click on this link.

Radio

AnalogX SimpleServer:Shout

Freeware to help you create streaming MP3 server.

Live365.com

Create and broadcast your own Internet radio station for a modest fee.

Create Your Own Internet Radio Show

Helpful article to help walk you through the process of setting up an Internet Radio show.

Spreadsheets

The Spreadsheet Page

Great resource for learning the ins and outs of spreadsheets. Covers programs like Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, Quattro Pro, Works and other more obscure programs.

Working with Excel

Nicely illustrated tutorial for Excel from the University of South Dakota.

Statistics

Using Excel for Statistics

Rich resource from The Association of Statistics Specialists on using the various statistical functions inherent in Microsoft's Excel Spreadsheet software.

Weft QDA Qualitative Software

Excellent open source (free) qualitiative software for analyzing phenomenological themes and other text based qualitative data.

Vassar Statistical Computation Center

A truly impressive site featuring various java based calculators for analyzing quantitative data using Chi Squares, t tests, correlation and regression, z tests, and analysis of variance. Also provides theory related to these statistical tests from Professor Richard Lowry of Vassar College.

Overview of QSR NUD*IST Software

My overview site on using this popular qualitative analysis software.

Video and Audio

Apple’s QuickTime

View and/or download multimedia player and displayer for audio, video, animation, graphics, text, music, virtual reality.

Audacity

This is an open source audio editor that lets students record audio from a microphone, line input, etc. and export the recording as MP3s, WAV, AIFF or other files.

CamStudio

This is a great open source program that allows students to record audio and video files and convert them into streaming Flash movie (SWF) files for the Web.

Real.com

Offers free and commercial products for audio, video and multimedia production and internet viewing.

Real Producer 10 Basic

Offers a free (more limited) and commercial version to create high quality audio and video productions for web use.

Squeakland

This is another open source media authoring software that was created for even young children to use.

WavCentral.com

An extensive collection of wav sound files for video, flash, web projects.

WindowsMedia.com

Offers downloads and guides to audio and video programs, clips, samples.

Windows Movie Maker

You can easily create, edit, and share and build your movie with a few simple drag-and-drops. Delete bad shots and include only the best scenes. Then share your movie via the Web via Windows Media Player, e-mail, or CD. Using third-party software you can even take movies you've made and turn them into DVDs. You can also save your movie back to the video tape in your camera to play back on a TV or on the camera itself.